As part of the Convergence: The Future of Health Workshop, I contributed some remarks to the “Challenges in Funding Convergence” panel held in Washington DC on March 25th. During this section, I discussed about my experiences finding funding for engineering research in the biomedical sciences.  I  shared some success stories from individuals in the Institute for Regenerative Engineering which focused on how engineers and physicists receive funding from federal agencies, as well as how they were treated by peer review at federal funding sources. I also provided several recommendations as to how the funding and review system could be changed to better include engineers and physicists who conduct convergence research.

My mentor, Dr. Robert Langer of MIT, started the session with some information about funding sources for convergent biomedical research with an emphasis on engineers, and also recalled his efforts funding his research over the years.

Thanks to Dr. Kate Stoll, Senior Policy Advisor of MIT’s Washington office, for inviting me.

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