Newswise — The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) today announced that it will invest $200 million in a new cadre of 19 investigators, a group of individuals known for pushing the boundaries of biomedical research.
The four long-time ASCB members in the new group of investigators announced include:
Clifford Brangwynne, associate professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University, who is studying self-assembly in biological materials;
Samara Reck-Peterson, professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, who studies the mechanisms and regulation of the molecular motors dynein and kinesin;
Gia Voeltz, associate professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who seeks to understand the processes that regulate the structure and function of the endoplasmic reticulum; and
Meng Wang, associate professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, who is investigating organism aging, lipid metabolism, and reproductive senescence.
“We selected these scientists because they know how to ask hard and interesting questions with skill and intellectual courage,” says David Clapham, HHMI’s vice president and chief scientific officer. “We believe they have the potential to make breakthroughs over time.”
Each of the 19 new investigators will receive roughly $8 million over a seven-year term, which is renewable pending a scientific review. In addition, investigator support includes a guaranteed two-year transition period. This new group of investigators is the first to be appointed to a seven-year term (previous terms lasted five years). HHMI selected the new investigators from a pool of 675 eligible applicants. The scientists represent 15 U.S. institutions and will join an investigator community that now numbers over 300. To see the entire list of HHMI Investigators, visit https://www.hhmi.org/
“Every scientist is unique, but they all need one thing: time,” says HHMI President Erin O’Shea. “HHMI is dedicated to providing outstanding biomedical scientists with the time and resources to do their best work. We think of this as investing in people, not just projects.”
To date, 28 current or former HHMI scientists have won the Nobel Prize. Investigators have made big leaps forward in HIV vaccine development, microbiome and circadian rhythm research, immunotherapy, and the genome editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9, among other fields.
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