This may facilitate membership in these societies, particularly if sponsors or letters of recommendation are required. The young faculty member who arrives at an institution without a contact and without money, should find established investigators with which to collaborate. Starting out this way is the easiest way to get involved in research projects. If you have no one in your institution with whom you can collaborate, look for people with similar interests who might be willing to work with you at national meetings. If this is not an option, a second method of getting funding is through university grants.
Many institutions have small start-up grants to help young investigators.
These grants do not cover the entire costs of a project, but may defray some of the expenses and allow the young investigator to obtain preliminary data. Many pharmaceutical companies making everything from antibiotics to motility drugs to cancer imaging agents will pay several thousand dollars per patient enrolled into a clinical trial evaluating new products. Money obtained in such a manner does not have tight restrictions as to its spending and can often be used for salaries, equipment, travel and other expenses that the young faculty member might incur. The most respected way of obtaining funding is through private and government grants. The following is a listing of funding opportunities for research to which colon and rectal surgeons should be eligible.