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A diverse sleep and circadian biology research workforce provides a wide range of new skills sets, perspectives, and opportunities for scientists from a variety of backgrounds.
Goal 5: Foster the Development of a Strong and Diverse Workforce for Sleep and Circadian Research
The strategic goals are long-term objectives that, if reached, have the potential to change the landscape of sleep and circadian research. They set research priorities and benchmarks that will improve our scientific knowledge, transform healthcare, and advance public health and safety and the well-being of the nation.
Building a diverse scientific workforce, as well as recruiting and retaining currently active researchers in the fields of sleep and circadian biology, are high priorities. The diverse workforce includes all groups as highlighted by the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031),as well as people with different backgrounds and perspectives. Diversifying the sleep and circadian workforce should start as early in the education pipeline as possible to ensure that talented individuals can engage in sleep and circadian research at the beginning phases of their careers. The rapid growth of this area of investigation, with its inclusion of basic, clinical, and population sciences, affords investigators access to a variety of research shared by few other scientific disciplines. The increase in both the number of awards and the number of Institutes, Centers, and Offices across NIH that fund sleep and circadian research signifies its evolution and expansion into new areas, as well as its potential for further growth. These advancements provide new opportunities for scientists from a variety of backgrounds to engage in sleep and circadian-related research, including data science, implementation research, public health, nursing, medicine, and bioinformatics – all of which could advance human health and safety.