Yale University Depportrtieiit OfBiology CflttlptiS address: Klirie Biology Touwr PO. Box 6666 New Hmeii, Coiirrecticict 06511-8112 Teleylrorie: Fax 20-3-432-61 61 203 432-3460 Kliire Uioloyy 7btuer 219 I'ruspect Sfreef October 30, 1991 Dr. Bernadine Healy Office of the Director National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20892 Dear Dr. Healy: We write regarding an important aspect of NIH'S policy concerning the training of scientists who are yaung wanen. policy is incanplete and can inhibit wanen fran pursuing careers as scientists. We feel that one aspect of this Currently, anyone who is awarded an NIH postdoctoral fellowship must serve full-time, for one, two or three consecutive years, as the case may be. Aside frm maternity leave (which, presumably, would cover the period involving the birth of a child) there is no allowance made for part-time service (and consequent extensions of the time of the award). Accordingly, a wman for whan full-time day care is not an option and who wishes to work part-time while rearing an infant, cannot do so while holding an NIH post- doctoral fellowship. against our national goal of training more young wanen as scientists. Fbrthemre, it stands in contrast to the corresponding policies at many of our home institutions to such an extent that a wanan being paid as a pst- doctoral associate in our laboratories can work part-time, but a wman in the same laboratory who is a holder of an NIH post-doctoral fellowship, cannot. under the circumstances described above often achieve bst as much as men This policy is unnecessarily restrictive and works It is also our general experience that wanen who work part-time or wcwn who work full-time: highly motivated. they are simply better organized and more We urge you to institute a re-examination of the policy addressed above. thirds or three-quarters time while child-rearing (perhaps to be considered as a kind of maternity leave under a broadened definition) would benefit the whole nation. A relaxation of the current guidelines to allow wanen to work two- Maxind Singer , Dirktor Carnegie Institution Sincerely, Sidney Al'tman Sterling Professor of Biology ..... Continued on next page The follawing individuals are signatories - in absentia. available for inspectian. Notes of assent are Dr. David Baltimore Office of the President Rockefeller University 1230 York Ave. New York, NY 10021 Dr. Alice Huang Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences New York University 6 Washington Spare, N. New York, NY, 10003 Professor Daniel Koshland, jr. - Editor, Science Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Barker Hall University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 Professor Dan Nathans Dept. of Mokcular Biology Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore, MD 21205 and Genetics 724 N. Wolfe St. Dr. Donna Shalala Office of the President University of Wisconsin Madison, WI 53706 Dr. Robert F. mldkrger Dept. of Biochemistry College of Physicians and Surgeons Colmbia University New York, NY 10032 Dr. Jeremy Knowles Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138 Dr. Phil mer, Chairman Department of Genetics Harvard Medical School 25 Shattuck St. Boston, MA 02115 Mr. Benno C. Schidt, jr. Office of the President Yale University Box 1302A Yale Station New Haven, CT 06520 Dr. Phil Sharp, Chairman Department of Biology Massachusetts Institute of 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cimbridge, MA 02139 Technology