Chapter 172 - 157: Good News! Winning the National Youth Science Fund Project

Chapter 172: Chapter 157: Good News! Winning the National Youth Science Fund Project

For projects that needed improvement, he would also offer pertinent feedback, such as: the content was too broad, the objectives were unfocused...

As for the projects he ultimately rejected, he spent very little time on them. They all received classic, generic critiques:

1. The research scope is vague, with no clear innovation.

2. The scientific question is poorly defined or not identified at all.

3. Insufficient feasibility, primarily due to technical difficulties in implementation, with the proposal failing to provide adequate support or justify the necessity of funding this as an independent project.

4. A similar project has already been approved.

5. The overall quality of the proposal is poor.

...

The last one was a catch-all. For certain projects he didn’t intend to pass, he could cite issues with the budget or the research foundation. Everyone knew these weren’t the real deciding factors, but they worked as an excuse every time.

After all, there was a set approval ratio. With Liang Ang’s experience, he could easily manage that rate.

And among this batch of projects, Professor Liang Ang was particularly impressed with the proposal from Wu Ting’s team.

Dr. Wu Ting’s personal scientific acumen and his meticulous, rigorous attitude all left a deep impression on him. Moreover, the entire proposal was logically structured and clearly presented with text and illustrations. The project’s depth, potential impact, and clinical significance were all top-notch.

Finally, he moved to his final summary and tally.

In Professor Liang Ang’s scoring, Wu Ting’s team’s project was ranked first among the A-class projects, placing it in the "must-fund" category.

In principle, A-class projects from the online review were a sure thing unless special circumstances arose, such as a more outstanding project appearing in the same field. About half of the B-class projects could be funded, while Class C projects would not even be considered for the panel review and were automatically denied funding.

After Professor Liang Ang finished reviewing and submitting all the projects assigned to him, the other members of the expert panel also completed their submissions one after another.

...

...

Wan Qiang was an attending physician in the Special Oncology Department at the National Medical Science Academy’s Guang’an City Hospital in Qinghe City.

As the best National Hospital in Jin Country, Guang’an City Hospital was renowned. In particular, Physician Wan’s Special Oncology Department was ranked number one among all top-tier hospitals in the country!

Physician Wan’s team had also applied for a grant today, in the relatively less competitive field of Integrated National and Modern Medicine.

Physician Wan’s project was titled "A Clinical Study on the Efficacy of Guizhi Fuling Capsules Combined with Mifepristone in Treating Uterine Fibroids." To be honest, the project wasn’t even fully developed yet.

However, coming from a top-tier National Hospital, from the strongest Special Oncology Department no less, and proposing a project that integrated National and Modern Medicine, Physician Wan was still full of confidence.

Physician Wan’s mentor was the chief physician of the Special Oncology Department and was incredibly well-connected. Therefore, he believed that for projects of similar quality, the reviewing experts would definitely give his team priority.

After the online review concluded, the list of candidates selected for the panel review meeting was leaked.

Wan Qiang’s mentor had told him in advance that his project had been selected for the panel review.

Moreover, he learned that the competition in the Integrated National and Modern Medicine category of the medical sciences division was not fierce this year.

Only two projects received an A rating. One was Wan Qiang’s "A Clinical Study on the Efficacy of Guizhi Fuling Capsules Combined with Mifepristone in Treating Uterine Fibroids." The other was from a team he had never heard of, Dr. Wu Ting’s team from Fan City First Hospital. What’s more, the team leader was just a chief resident from a City First Hospital.

Of course, Wan Qiang couldn’t get his hands on the actual proposal, but just by glancing at the institution and the project leader’s name, he knew he could start celebrating early.

Especially since there were only two A-rated projects. ’In all likelihood, the project from Fan City First Hospital is just here to serve as my foil.’

After all, if he had to compete against a student from an equally prestigious hospital with a top-tier mentor at the final meeting, it would inevitably create some friction.

But for an obscure institution like City First Hospital to narrowly lose to the Qinghe City National Medical Science Academy’s Guang’an City Hospital—that would be considered a glorious defeat.

The Integrated National and Modern Medicine category was a niche field to begin with. By convention, there would only be one final grant awarded.

Wan Qiang felt a little sorry for Wu Ting’s team. ’Too bad Fan City First Hospital just doesn’t have enough clout.’

Furthermore, according to what his mentor had learned from the foundation’s leadership, the expert in charge of the medical sciences division for this year’s Youth Fund was Dean Liu Rong from the Qinghe City Jin Country General Hospital.

An expert assigned to be in charge of a specific field was also known as the lead reviewer.

The lead reviewer would receive the project proposals and the online review feedback, and would then read and reflect on them.

Of course, this work was all completed before the meeting. During the official panel review meeting, the lead reviewer would rank all the projects under their purview, establish an order, and, based on the number of slots allocated to them, decide which projects would be funded, which would not, and which would be designated as alternatives.

Therefore, looking at the entire review process, the lead reviewer held a great deal of power.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the results of the online review already established a natural order for the projects, and the lead reviewer would not easily alter this sequence. However, they did have the authority to do so, provided they offered a very detailed explanation and convinced the other experts to approve the adjustment.

So, in Wan Qiang’s judgment, in this competition between his team and the one from City First Hospital, even if they were neck and neck during the online review, or even if his project was slightly behind, as long as Dean Liu made a small adjustment and recommended it as the lead reviewer, the other experts would give his mentor face.

According to the information his mentor had gathered, the other members of the expert panel for this meeting included Dean Song from Jinggang University, Professor Fu Dazhi from Jin Country Medical University Affiliated First Hospital, and Professor Hu Sanyuan from Luochuan University Luochuan Hospital. They were all on decent terms with his mentor. While not exactly old friends, they would surely grant him this small bit of face.

’After all, try as he might, he couldn’t think of a single top-tier big shot associated with Fan City First Hospital.’

’And this Dr. Wu Ting, a mere resident—what kind of backing could he possibly have?’

...

...

Besides Wan Qiang, teams from all over the country that had participated in the National Natural Science Foundation project grants were all trying to gather information and waiting in anticipation.

In the field of Integrated National and Modern Medicine, many teams felt it was a pity for Wu Ting’s team this time.

Even some hospitals in Fan City felt that the competition they were up against was too strong.

...

...

At City First Hospital, besides Wu Ting, Yan Xi, Ling Ling, and Jin Yan were also waiting with bated breath, each of them incredibly nervous.

After all, Professor Ma Mengchao had already privately sent Wu Ting a single word: "Congratulations!"

Finally, after the panel review meeting, the final list of funded projects was released!

The project from Wu Ting’s team at Fan City First Hospital received the highest scores in both the medical division’s online review and the panel review meeting.

It successfully secured this year’s National Youth Fund project grant!

Meanwhile, in the Integrated National and Modern Medicine category, Wan Qiang’s "A Clinical Study on the Efficacy of Guizhi Fuling Capsules Combined with Mifepristone in Treating Uterine Fibroids" was narrowly defeated and designated as an alternative project.

Fan City First Hospital’s feat of defeating a project from the number one Special Oncology Department of Jin Country’s strongest National Hospital was all the more moving and praiseworthy!