Sir

Your News story “Young biologists rejected as NIH budget squeezes training grants” (Nature 428, 879; 200410.1038/428879a) laments the loss of training positions caused by the stagnant training budget at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The desire to hire all deserving candidates is understandable. However, the scientific community must realize that it is in everyone's interest to make sure trainees receive adequate compensation, even if that means fewer positions are funded overall.

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology is concerned that funding restrictions will limit the growth of stipends and benefits for all NIH-supported trainees and fellows.

The NIH Kirschstein–NRSA (National Research Service Award) institutional training grants and individual fellowships are the gold standard for postdoctoral research training in the United States. They identify our most talented and promising young researchers. Despite the prestige of this award, postdoctoral NRSA fellows are not guaranteed access to basic employment benefits. With the median age of postdoctoral fellows rising, these benefits are particularly critical to those who must support families with relatively low salaries and inadequate health and retirement benefits.

The Kirschstein–NRSA programme should put aside extra funds to cover the costs of health and other benefits — even if this requires funding fewer slots. This will enhance the stature of the NIH Kirschstein–NRSA programme and strengthen its ability to recruit exceptional research talent.

This much-needed increase in NRSA benefits will send a positive signal to the best and brightest young scientific minds in the United States. We also favour an increase in the NIH training budget, but given the severe budget constraints, it may be necessary to reduce the number of NRSA postdoctoral positions. There is no doubt that this will be a painful decision. However, we cannot afford to compromise the programme by penalizing these outstanding young scientists.