Objective 8: Further develop, diversify, and sustain a scientific workforce capable of accomplishing the NHLBI’s mission

Needed new approaches will ensure the continuing development of a diverse scientific workforce equipped with the relevant skills, knowledge, and resources to tackle future  heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) challenges. This goal will require strategic interventions all along the research career continuum, including K to 12 education, collegiate and postdoctoral studies, and career development from early investigator to senior scientist. While this is relevant in all areas of development, particular attention is warranted for under-represented groups in science. Collaborative partnerships will be critical to collectively work toward the challenge of expanding the exposure of young students to the wonders of science and sustain that interest through college and graduate education. It is also critical to embrace research training as a lifelong exploration of scientific curiosity in which the NIH promotes the adoption of new disciplines, tools, and technologies as the scientific and public health landscape continually undergoes dynamic change.

Envision a future in which we are able to...
  • Enable innovative solutions to pressing health problems by promoting the development of multidisciplinary teams capable of leveraging diverse skills and perspectives from crosscutting research fields such as data science, computational biology, quantitative population sciences, behavioral science, and implementation science.

Related Priorities

Compelling Question
What kinds of exposures, beginning in early education, would stimulate and maintain students' interest in and understanding of science, particularly students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds? (8.CQ.01)
Compelling Question
How can we foster diversity among trainees and in the HLBS scientific workforce so that our research community reflects the makeup of the population at large and has ample participation of individuals from disadvantaged and medically underserved communities? (8.CQ.02)
Compelling Question
How can clinical research training programs increase cultural competency about diseases or conditions that disproportionately affect underserved populations and attract and retain researchers who better understand the populations affected? (8.CQ.03)
Compelling Question
What are the best strategies to develop a highly competent and diverse scientific workforce-across the spectrum from basic to population science-to address domestic and international health inequities? (8.CQ.04)
Compelling Question
How do we ensure that HLBS trainees across the career continuum are aware of and prepared for a variety of possible scientific career opportunities (e.g., careers in teaching, industry, government)? (8.CQ.05)
Compelling Question
How do we best develop a scientific workforce that is fluent in product development and commercialization issues, including regulatory, intellectual property, and business issues, in order to bring products for HLBS indications to the market? (8.CQ.06)
Compelling Question
How do we attract more students/trainees into traditional research fields (e.g., physiology, integrative biology) that are as critical to advancing science as emerging fields (e.g., "omics," big data), but do not have the same cache and are thus on the decline? (8.CQ.07)
Compelling Question
How do we add communication skills to our training programs to improve scientists' communication with the public? How do we also improve the ability of basic and clinical scientists to understand each other's scientific language and appreciate the importance of the other's research questions and findings? (8.CQ.08)
Compelling Question
How can we harness virtual learning technologies (e.g., immersive learning simulations, serious games) to address the needs of the modern and future biomedical workforce? (8.CQ.09)
Compelling Question
How can we better incorporate interdisciplinary and team science in our training and career development programs to prepare scientists for collaborative research and for using emerging technologies and resources? (8.CQ.10)

Overarching Objectives

  1. Understand normal biological function and resilience
  2. Investigate newly discovered pathobiological mechanisms important to the onset and progression of HLBS diseases
  3. Investigate factors that account for differences in health among populations
  4. Identify factors that account for individual differences in pathobiology and in responses to treatments
  5. Develop and optimize novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to prevent, treat, and cure HLBS diseases
  6. Optimize clinical and implementation research to improve health and reduce disease
  7. Leverage emerging opportunities in data science to open new frontiers in HLBS research
  8. Further develop, diversify, and sustain a scientific workforce capable of accomplishing the NHLBI’s mission