Molecular Biology Faculty
Leon Rosenberg
Lecturer with rank of Professor in Molecular Biology
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 Lewis Thomas Lab, 255 |
 (609) 258-5368 |
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Faculty Assistant
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Amanda Denzer-King
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(609) 258-6224 |
Research Focus
The medical and health research enterprise: organization, issues, and policy considerations
My research is aimed at a better understanding of the national enterprise that supports life sciences and medical research. Having spent many years as a bench scientist and an equal number as a department chair, medical school dean, and R&D head in industry, I have become interested in the recent history of the medical research enterprise, in the key players (government, academia, industry, foundations, independent institutes, and voluntary health agencies) that compose it, and in the policy issues that confront it. During the past five years, I have examined and written on the following issues: the need for more effective collaborations among academia, government, and industry; the disparate research cultures of academia and industry; the evolving nature of pharmaceutical industry R&D; the priority-setting process of the NIH; and the promise and problems surrounding gene therapy.
Most recently I have focused on the physician-scientist as an "endangered species" in the medical research community. The number of young physician-scientists, defined as M.D.s who devote all or a majority of their professional effort to research, has been declining for >20 years but only during the past decade has the matter reached crisis proportions. If something(s) is not done soon, there will be a dearth of young physician-scientists within 20 years. This will have profound, deleterious consequences on the medical research enterprise of our country and the world. The stated reasons for the decline are many but their relative significance has not been assessed. My colleagues and I are studying the importance of such factors as: the changing sex ratio of physicians (i.e., essentially half of all M.D.s are now female); the declining fraction of medical students with undergraduate majors in the physical and biological sciences; the paucity of medical scientists on medical school admissions committees; and the lack of incentives - financial, cultural, and emotional - to prepare for research careers. I believe it essential to assess these factors, and others, if we are to formulate policy recommendations that will halt the decline and lead to the revitalization of the physician-scientist career path.
Selected Publications
Rosenberg LE. (2008) Legacies of Garrod's brilliance. One hundred years – and counting. U Inherit Metab Dis. 31: 574-579. PubMed
Rosenberg LE. (2008) MD/PhD programs--a call for an accounting. JAMA. 300: 1208-1209. PubMed
Rosenberg LE (2006). Introductory speech for Francis S. Collins. Am J Hum Genet 79: 419-420. PubMed
Rosenberg LE (2005). 2004 Curt Stern Award Address. Introductory speech for Neil Risch. Am J Hum Genet 76: 219-220. PubMed
Ley TJ and Rosenberg LE (2005). The physician-scientist career pipeline in 2005: build it, and they will come. Jama 294: 1343-1351. PubMed
Rosenberg LE (2003). Brainsick: A Physician's Journey to the Brink. Cerebrum 4: 43-60.
Rosenberg L (2003). Acceptance of the Kober Medal. J Clin Invest 112: S7-8. PubMed
Varki A and Rosenberg LE (2002). Emerging opportunities and career paths for the young physician-scientist. Nat Med 8: 437-439. PubMed
Rosenberg LE (2002). Exceptional economic returns on investments in medical research. Med J Aust 177: 368-371. PubMed
Ley TJ and Rosenberg LE (2002). Removing career obstacles for young physician-scientists -- loan-repayment programs. N Engl J Med 346: 368-372. PubMed
Guelich JM, Singer BH, Castro MC and Rosenberg LE (2002). A gender gap in the next generation of physician-scientists: medical student interest and participation in research. J Investig Med 50: 412-418. PubMed
Rosenberg LE and Schechter AN (2000). Gene therapist, heal thyself. Science 287: 1751. PubMed
Rosenberg LE (2000). Young physician-scientists: internal Medicine's challenge. Ann Intern Med 133: 831-832. PubMed
Rosenberg LE (1999). The physician-scientist: an essential--and fragile--link in the medical research chain. J Clin Invest 103: 1621-1626. PubMed
Rosenberg L (1999). Physician-scientists--endangered and essential. Science 283: 331-332. PubMed
Bander KW and Rosenberg LE (1997). Building bridges between academia and industry: forms; foundations; functions. Yale J Biol Med 70: 213-217. PubMed
