Governmental Support of Research in Fetal and Newborn Physiology

Abstract

To support the investigators who labor to advance knowledge in a given field of scientific research, a critical element is that of the financial resources for such endeavors. In the earliest years of experimental investigation, the occasional King and other patron gave of their largesse to support the William Harveys and his ilk. Contributing to the advancement of science in a significant manner, such support was limited and irregular (Frank 1980). In Great Britain, it was in the mid- to late-nineteenth century that the predecessors of the Medical Research Council (MRC) developed. At this time, tuberculosis was one of the nation’s chief health problems. In 1901, a “Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the Relations of Human and Animal Tuberculosis” was established under the chairmanship of Sir Michael Foster, professor of physiology at the University of Cambridge, to determine whether the disease was the same in both species, and the extent to which they could infect one another. In a large part, and with recognition of the German and French governmental-sponsorship research to advances in medicine and healthcare, this study helped to crystallize in the minds of many leaders, political as well as academic, the concept that the promotion of medical research is a responsibility of the state. In 1891, “The British Institute of Preventative Medicine” had been established in London. In 1903, this title was changed to “The Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine.” The National Insurance Act of 1911 stipulated that research not be limited to tuberculosis, and 2 years later (1913) a Medical Research Committee was established.