Greater Reliance on Shared Resources Can Enrich the Future Success of Academic Research

Federal funding for academic research is currently under scrutiny. Significant changes are anticipated, and we are already observing large cuts across all government agencies. Bracing for possible reductions in federal funding, academic institutions are proactively reviewing operations to minimize the impact on institutional research. After 50 years of successfully enhancing academic research, shared research resources (SRRs) are a proven model of providing efficiency and cost-effectiveness. SRRs provide critical data that have led to a significant number of high-impact publications and a considerable increase in funding for investigators. SRRs are positioned to make further improvements to the institutional research ecosystem through targeted investments and proper strategic planning with institutional leadership. Improvements, such as those outlined in this study, can significantly drive academic biomedical research, increasing competitiveness for research funding, which can ease the impact of cuts to current federal funding models.