Specialty with most research funding

[spicysoup55]

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What specialties have the most research funding, both from the government and industry, now and going forward? I find many specialties interesting and am especially interested in clinical research, so am trying to figure out which specialties have the most opportunities.

 

[MadRadLad]

Rad Onc is probably up there.

 

[trino]

I could name 10 reasons why this thread is a bad idea, but I'll leave it to the more aggressive contributors to point them out

Edit: to actually be helpful, there's so much variation, even within specialties, with funding that it's a question not worth asking. For example, I'm sure obesity research gets a ton of funding compared to hypothyroidism (just throwing endocrinology topics out there). Don't pick your research based off funding, do what truely interests you. If you're good at it, you'll likely get funding. If you suck at research, you won't get funding even if you're in the highest funded field

 

[spicysoup55]

I could name 10 reasons why this thread is a bad idea, but I'll leave it to the more aggressive contributors to point them out

Edit: to actually be helpful, there's so much variation, even within specialties, with funding that it's a question not worth asking. For example, I'm sure obesity research gets a ton of funding compared to hypothyroidism (just throwing endocrinology topics out there). Don't pick your research based off funding, do what truely interests you. If you're good at it, you'll likely get funding. If you suck at research, you won't get funding even if you're in the highest funded field

That's a good point. I guess I wasn't asking only to figure out which specialties are the easiest to get grants in. I'm trying to figure out which specialties have the most opportunities for medical advancement in the near future, like if there are any new drugs or technologies that are changing treatment options in a field. Available funding would indicate the "potential" that the research in a field has. I know this question is a bit naive but would appreciate any comments.

 

[trino]

That's a good point. I guess I wasn't asking only to figure out which specialties are the easiest to get grants in. I'm trying to figure out which specialties have the most opportunities for medical advancement in the near future, like if there are any new drugs or technologies that are changing treatment options in a field. Available funding would indicate the "potential" that the research in a field has. I know this question is a bit naive but would appreciate any comments.

I see, there are plenty of these out there. What comes to mind, mostly because of familiarity, is immunotherapy and targeted therapy in oncology. If you're interested in clinical trials, this is a hot topic and very interesting (to me a least)

 

[karayaa]

Palliative care
Outcomes research/healthcare delivery science
Disparities research and other social justice-y topics

 

[GadRads]

This depends on the institute and category: http://report.nih.gov/categorical_spending.aspx and this might be change in the future depending on changing priorities.

Even then, funding is also dependent on the density of researchers in the field. Cancer gets a lot of funding, but it is also dense and competitive. It is better to look at funding rates, but then this could change in the future: http://report.nih.gov/success_rates/Success_ByIC.cfm

For now, it seems optho-related research is the least competitive.

 

[ophiuchi]

Funding is but one part of the research picture, and I would look a lot further than just funding if you want to do research as part of your career. Some specialties do not mesh well with a significant amount of time doing research, which makes it near impossible to continue securing funding while also balancing clinical duties (take a look at the Physician Scientists forum on SDN for some threads on this topic). Some fields also get to spend a lot more time doing research than others during training, too. I would also give early consideration to how you are going to get your training in research in order to survive the increasingly challenging funding climate -- no matter what branch of research you are interested in, it is a good idea to get further education on how to do it. If clinical research is your thing, there are masters level programs that will allow you to get the credentials you need in order to perform research at that level and actually get funded. See what resources your school has.

BUT, #1 thing above all else, you should really do what you love. There is intense competition for funding no matter what your topic is, and there are never any guarantees you'll make it in research. It's a GREAT thing that you love a lot of fields -- as long as you choose something that gets you out of bed in the morning, you're probably doing things right.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Anything that uses extensive monoclonal antibody treatments.

 

[masaraksh]

Rad Onc is probably up there.

Even though the equipment is not cheap, it is a rather small field so I am not sure how the total funding for it compares. I would imagine that rad onc specific research funding is dwarfed by the amount that goes into things like cancer biology, or other more med onc stuff.


Also, things like ortho, uro, neurosurg probably have a good amount of funding. Definitely easy to imagine lots of medical equipment manufacturer ties in ortho.