Many of you may have seen the NIH director's provocative Policy Forum essay entitled "The NIH Roadmap" in the October 3rd issue of Science. This document has stirred considerable interest among the scientific community. In it, and at related websites, Dr. Zerhouni lays out his vision for the future of NIH at this "critical moment".
Although I was curious about the document in general, I read this piece with a particular eye to the question of where behavioral sciences and or the study of human complex behavior might lie in the Roadmap. Would the study of behavior appear as a lane on the superhighway of science, or as a dirt road on the other side of the deer fence.
I first read the piece in Science (attached here), looking for any mention of the word "behavior". It appears only once. The relevant sentence is the following:
"Solving the puzzle of complex diseases, from obesity to cancer, will require a holistic understanding of the interplay between factors such as genetics, diet, infectious agents, environment, behavior, and social structures."
Perhaps the study of behavior would be just one of the multiple possible ramps on and off the main highway of science.
Next, I reviewed the entire NIH Roadmap website, looking for the word "behavior" throughout its 122 pages. I found 7 instances:
(p 9) �The goal of these initiatives [Innovations in Interdisciplinary Technology and Methods] is to facilitate interdisciplinary research, which includes the behavioral, and social sciences, by developing and improving methods and measurement.�
(p 20) �Once developed, these probes will in turn aid the development of effective therapeutic agents by monitoring their biological behavior.�
(p 27) �Scientists have long envisioned a new era of �molecular medicine,� or detecting and treating the specific molecules that underlie human disease and behavior.�
(p 29) ��.as science has advanced over the past decade and the molecular secrets of life have become more accessible, two fundamental themes are apparent: the study of human biology and behavior is a wonderfully dynamic process, and the traditional divisions within biomedical research may in some instances impede the pace of scientific discovery.�
(p 29) �For instance, behavioral scientists, molecular biologists and mathematicians might combine their research tools, approaches and technologies to more powerfully solve the puzzles of complex health problems such as pain and obesity.�
(p 35) �Clinicians must be trained to work in the interdisciplinary, team-oriented environments that characterize today�s emerging research efforts. Specific training is needed in an array of disciplines important to the conduct of clinical studies, including epidemiology, behavioral medicine and patient-oriented research.�
(p 35) �The emphasis will be on new strategies and curricula with training opportunities that span a variety of disease areas; a broad range of clinical disciplines, including medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and other allied health professions; and a wide array of research areas, including biostatistics, behavioral medicine, clinical pharmacology and epidemiology. Generic training programs will be administered by a single institute on behalf of NIH, and programs focused on a specific disease or organ will be administered by the relevant institute.�
So, what can we conclude? The glass may be half empty (there is no clear statement that behavior plays a critical role and will be the object of increasingly intense research activity) or half full (there is clear evidence that NIH believes that social and behavioral scientists should be part of "research teams of the future".