Three major trends will have a significant impact on the recruiting environment.
Growth of the NIH budget is flattening. After five years (1998--2003) of double-digit annual growth accomplished a doubling of the NIH budget, growth rates in the 2--3 percent range are expected for the near term. The creation of programs such as biodefense and the NIH Roadmap, coupled with commitments to ongoing multiyear grants, has tightened funding for traditional research. Against the backdrop of the NIH doubling and a strong economy in the late 1990s, a building boom has taken place in academic medicine. The top 30 NIH-funded medical schools all have embarked on significant construction projects to expand research space. This has created a demand for investigators who can fill the space productively. Funding for junior investigators has seen a significant decrease. The percentage of NIH awards to faculty under age 40 was halved from 35 percent in 1990 to 17 percent by 2001. | 
