Holding the Pipeline Together

Supporting Early Career Scientists in Uncertain Times

One of the most common conversations I’ve had this week is about early career investigators. Whether I’m talking with mentors or trainees, we’re all asking the same questions: How do we support the next generation? How do we keep the already leaky pipeline from breaking completely?

The threats are piling up, fast:

• Potential NIH cuts and restructuring are causing uncertainty, especially with new policies like not funding animal-only studies, the new upfront funding rule which could substantially reduce the number of grants awarded, a potential 40% reduction in NIH funding, and potential cuts to indirect rates

• Canceled diversity grants have left some trainees without funding mid-project.

• Training awards have been cut.

• Immigration barriers are straining international trainees.

• Student loan caps in the “big beautiful bill” will likely push students toward high-paying specialties and away from research.

• Endowment and royalty taxes in the same bill will put further pressure on research infrastructure and may lead to institutions pulling back on start-up packages and training support.

• Non-profit funders are oversaturated with more competition for awards that don’t fully support salaries.

• Mentors are strapped for funding and emotional bandwidth.

• Hiring freezes mean trainees finishing up have a harder time finding jobs.

• Postdocs are vulnerable. Easier to cut, harder to retain.

• Burnout is real. Some are leaving science altogether just to find some certainty.

OMG…just writing all of that out is so overwhelming….

So let’s play it out. What happens if we let this ride?

What if the pipeline of new researchers collapses? It’s not just a loss to academia—it’s a loss to science, innovation, and ultimately, patient care. It means:

• Fewer therapies.

• Fewer scientists entering government, industry, or academia.

• No one to train the next generation—those kids who are just now dreaming of a career in science.

• The loss of the most creative minds—the ones with wild, world-changing ideas who just need a canvas to make them a reality.

In rheumatology, we’ve studied this: one pre-COVID study found that funding and mentorship were the key factors to staying in research. And both are now in shorter and shorter supply. So here’s the spoiler: there are no clear answers. As a colleague recently reminded me, the first step is simply to acknowledge the uncertainty.

We’re in the uncertainty zone.

Welcome to my world. As a rheumatologist and an epidemiologist, I live here in the gray space. The good news is that are a variety of approaches for managing uncertainty.

(Side note: The hardest lecture I ever gave to first year medical students was on managing uncertainty… who later wrote in comments that they didn’t like it because they didn’t know what to study for the test… my bad…. But I’m trying again here. New audience, no test.)

So the question becomes: in the face of all this uncertainty, what can we do—practically, meaningfully—to support our people and keep things moving?

For Trainees / Early Career Investigators:

1. Re-examine your goals. Do you really want a career in academic research? If the answer is no—or maybe not—better to figure that out sooner than later.

2. Reflect on values, skills, and purpose. One of the most useful exercises I’ve done was writing a “Leadership Point of View” with a coach. It helped clarify what drives me, what matters, and how I make decisions. I still use it today, six years later, to help guide my decisions on opportunities and my career direction. (Book rec: True North by Bill George.)

3. Network like it’s your job. Leverage every connection, every opportunity.

4. Plan-B-it-up (yes, I made it a verb). When I’m feeling stuck or a grant doesn’t get funded, I give myself 30-60 minutes to spiral—I Google jobs, scan LinkedIn—just to remind myself I’m employable and let the fear go so it doesn’t block my creativity. Sometimes, that pause is enough to reflect, reset, and just remind myself it’s going to be ok (and there are plenty of options if it’s not but today’s not the day to go there!).

5. Find (and multiply) your sponsors. Mentors give advice. Sponsors open doors. You need both—but especially the latter in tougher times.

6. Build your peer network. Some of the best support and advice I’ve ever gotten has come from people at my own career stage.

7. Get strategic about money. Find mission-driven centers or philanthropy-supported programs at your institution and align. You’re not selling out—you’re finding fit.

For Mentors:

8. Ask 10x more questions than you answer. We haven’t lived through this version of research uncertainty. We can’t lead from experience—but we can be sounding boards, connectors, and coaches.

9. Remember the pipeline. If you’re on a study section, don’t be the cranky senior reviewer. Be the one who protects the next generation.

For All of Us:

10. Preserve your energy. This is a marathon. You can't help anyone or effectively be helped if you're burned out. (Book rec: The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr.) Also seek mental health support if you need that - check out the Employee Assistance Programs at your institution.

11. Share what you’ve built. Open up infrastructure and support systems to trainees and ECI colleagues.

12. Advocate. Call your reps. Email the appropriations committee. Use 5 Calls.

13. Rethink philanthropy. Shift some of that energy—and those dollars—toward early career support.

14. Create two-way bridges. Industry-academia mobility needs to be bi-directional. Right now, once someone leaves, they rarely come back. Let’s change that. Maybe we need to find a way to allow those that leave to keep a toe in the door so that they could come back.

For Leaders and Administrators:

15. Do. Not. Add. More. Burden. This is not the time to launch a new web-based training or documentation system. (I’m still recovering from my permanent gag reflex resulting from “wellness” trainings post-COVID… and my twentieth HIPAA training is overdue…). Unburden your people. Give them time to reflect and think. Please.

Finally, to everyone: keep doing good work.
We can’t let this moment derail the mission.
Science is still worth it. Let’s make sure our people can stay in it.

My disclosures:

I am an academic rheumatologist, epidemiologist, and mom. My research is funded by the NIH, private foundations, pharmaceutical companies, and philanthropy. I consult for and work with pharmaceutical companies in my research. I am co-founder of a non-profit organization and founder of Research Pathfinder, LLC. My thoughts are my own and not reflective of my employer.

References:

https://hbr.org/2025/03/how-to-build-career-resilience-in-uncertain-times

https://hbr.org/2007/10/manage-your-energy-not-your-time

Coaches are awesome but expensive. Check out this paper on using your AI friend as a coach! I tried it! It’s fun! https://hbr.org/2025/04/want-to-use-ai-as-a-career-coach-use-these-prompts?ab=at_art_art_pb_1x4_s02

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamminsky/2025/07/03/unprecedented-student-loan-overhaul-in-big-beautiful-bill-passes-house-heads-to-trump/

https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025/06/trumps-nih-budget-plan-00392834

https://www.manuscriptedit.com/scholar-hangout/nih-grant-cuts-in-2025/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-trumps-federal-funding-cuts-are-hurting-early-career-researchers-and/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

There are many such mentoring and pipeline papers but a few (that I happen to know well…):

Barriers and Facilitators of a Career in Rheumatology Research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25708626/

Qualitative assessment and model for mentor-mentee relationships in Rheumatology research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28544766/

Impact of COVID on trainees and plans to go into research in Rheumatology: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36342380/