Thought of the Day

“Uppity” is a fascinating concept when it comes to NIH Grant award. 

Ginther: looking at effects for applicants (I missed the women only for PhD but showed the same trends) pic.twitter.com/sP7pu7Z6c1

— Gary McDowell🏳️‍🌈 🇮🇪 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@GaryMcDowellPhD) April 8, 2016

We know the sentiment applies to newer and younger investigators. I’ve heard countless review and Program Officer comments which amount to “let’s not get too big for your britches, young un!” in my day. 

I wonder how much of the Ginther effect is related to sentiments similar to “damn uppity [insert subvocalization]”? 

What about grant scooping?

Enough about getting your paper scooped.

What about when someone keeps down rating your grant proposals with ticky tack criticisms and then, lo and behold, starts working on your topic of interest. 

Did you just convince them it was an awesome topic and they think they can do better*? 

Or is there some nefarious attempt to steal “your” grant at play?
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*they can’t.