Table 2.

Advantages to having basic and translational scientists in clinical divisions

Advantages to the Clinical Unit

Advantages to the Ph.D., Basic or Translational Scientist

•Enhancement of multidisciplinary approaches and grant opportunities •Synergy with clinical disease focus •Provides mechanistic/causality training to clinical trainees •Improves cultural competency so physicians realize the demands of the laboratory •Enhances success of T32 applications and mentoring plans •Provides faculty without clinical demands for divisional service (e.g., fellowship advisory committees, seminar organization, biorepositories) •Collaborations with basic science laboratories may allow junior clinicians opportunity to generate preliminary data for career development awards •Given higher probability of success for Ph.D.s to be NIH-funded, basic scientists may increase USNWR and NIH ranking and reputation

•Access to clinical expertise in diagnosis, and treatment •Access to clinical trainees •Improved access to patient-derived data and specimens •Improved cultural competency so scientists understand the demands of clinical schedules and patient consent •Hiring additional basic scientists in clinical units will help ensure role models for norms of promotion and success in clinical units •Translational research directions may be more valued in clinical units than in basic science departments •Ability to devote more professional effort to research with a reduced teaching load relative to many basic science departments •Salary structures may be higher than basic science units, especially for those on the tenure-track

Definition of abbreviations: NIH = National Institutes of Health; USNWR = U.S. News and World Report.