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There was a sharp increase in the number of scientific fields, research fronts, publications and patents in biomedicine in the last five years, which complicates the work of the experts on the selection of projects for priority funding. The approaches to the identification of perspective directions of research used in the world were examined. An attempt was made of formalization of the concepts of "breakthrough research" and "world level research" in relation to the Russian biomedical projects. The rationale for information support of expert decision-making about the prospects of development of individual areas of research in biomedicine is outlined.

The paper discusses feasibility of assessment of the state of the art in research in oncology using information technology and computed functional research structures. This structure allows to identify polar areas of interest, viz. active and passive research. Neutral directions of research serve to exchange information between the two polar areas. This approach allows quantitative evaluation of the importance of the research areas and their interrelationship and offers advantage over expert assessment methods. A critical area of research-genetic peculiarities of the malignant cell (tumor genetics)-is identified. The comparative data on the costs involved in analysis of planned research programs using experts and information technology are discussed.

Introduction of new economic principles in the activities of medical research institutions helps extend the rights and responsibilities of the institutes' stuff and make them economically interested in the results of their activity; these principles provide high quality of treatment and prophylaxis work and permit concentrating all the resources on the priority trends in medical research. The authors discuss the pressing problems in introducing the cost accounting system in the activity of a research institute in ophthalmology.