Wulfman... wrote:
I think it's important to know who's trying to get a research grant.
Lots of others who have come here on the forum for research and surveys have offered their background information.
Plus, I think it's disingenuous and fraudulent to NOT identify yourself when you're asking people (on the forum) to help you achieve some goal.
Den
.
Sorry, Den. Perhaps I should have mentioned that in addition to being a sleep apnea patient, I am also a student working on medical research as a volunteer. The reason why I used my identity as a patient here, and on the NHLBI forum, is because the research topic I was promoting is one that I do not do research on, that I am not an expert on, and that is not directly related to my current work. I learned all of what I know about the topic in my role as a sleep apnea patient. From the perspective of the scientific community, it would be considered extremely inappropriate to present oneself as an expert on a topic that one is not actually an expert on. It did not occur to me that anyone would view it the opposite way, but now that you point it out, I understand your concern.
Just to be clear, the entire reason why I promoted that research idea is because I think it is a very important topic for the health of the public that is currently being overlooked by the medical community. I have been partially disabled for most of my life by the effects of childhood onset sleep apnea that was not correctly diagnosed for decades, and the experience has made me passionate about not wanting others to have to go through the same thing. I also want to be clear that the NHLBI is not awarding any funding through this process, they are just deciding on long term priorities. Even in the long run, the research idea I submitted has very low likelihood of getting funded, and if it did get funded, it is exceedingly unlikely that I would be involved in carrying out the project. (I would not be considered qualified because my area of research expertise has nothing to do with the structure of the airway.) It had not occurred to me that there is a remote possibility that I could one day personally benefit from this process until you suggested the idea, and although I cannot claim that it is completely impossible, that certainly played no role in my motivation to advance the topic. Nevertheless, I apologize for my oversight in failing to realize that, although I was doing this in my free time as a patient (not in any professional role), I should have directly mentioned my involvement in health research. I certainly was not trying to hide it, as I thought it was fairly obvious from some of my posts. I would be happy to provide you with more details about myself, my work, and the reasons why I care about this topic; feel free to send me a private message.
