Howard Hughes Medical Institute

THE HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE IS A PHILANTHROPY THAT SERVES SOCIETY THROUGH THE DIRECT CONDUCT OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION.

MEDICAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES (A) THE HHMI INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM (B) JANELIA RESEARCH CAMPUS (A) THE HHMI INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM THE HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE'S APPROACH TO BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CAN BE SUMMARIZED IN THREE WORDS: PEOPLE, NOT PROJECTS. BY EMPLOYING SCIENTISTS AS HHMI INVESTIGATORS - RATHER THAN AWARDING RESEARCH GRANTS - THE INSTITUTE PROVIDES LONG-TERM, FLEXIBLE FUNDING THAT ENABLES ITS RESEARCHERS TO PURSUE THEIR SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS WHEREVER THEY LEAD. HHMI BELIEVES THAT SCIENTISTS OF EXCEPTIONAL TALENT AND IMAGINATION WILL MAKE FUNDAMENTAL DISCOVERIES OF LASTING SCIENTIFIC VALUE AND BENEFIT TO HUMANITY IF THEY ARE GIVEN THE RESOURCES, TIME, AND FREEDOM TO PURSUE CHALLENGING QUESTIONS. HHMI INVESTIGATORS RECEIVE A SEVEN-YEAR APPOINTMENT, WHICH IS RENEWABLE PENDING FAVORABLE SCIENTIFIC REVIEW. THE INSTITUTE NURTURES THE CREATIVITY AND INTELLECTUAL DARING OF SCIENTISTS WHO ARE WILLING TO SET ASIDE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM OR THE EASY QUESTION FOR A FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM THAT MAY TAKE MANY YEARS TO SOLVE. AMONG THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT DISTINGUISH THIS GROUP OF SCIENTISTS ARE QUALITIES SUCH AS CREATIVITY, A PENCHANT FOR RISK-TAKING, AND A COMMITMENT TO DISCOVERY, PRODUCTIVITY, AND PERSEVERANCE. THIS UNIQUE RESEARCH MODEL IS AN IMAGINATIVE AND POWERFUL ALTERNATIVE TO FUNDING BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH THROUGH GRANTS. THE HHMI INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM EMPLOYS MORE THAN 260 HHMI RESEARCHERS, AMONG THEM 15 NOBEL LAUREATES AND MORE THAN 150 MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. HHMI INVESTIGATORS DIRECT INSTITUTE RESEARCH LABORATORIES ON THE CAMPUSES OF ABOUT 60 UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. SINCE THE EARLY 1990S, INVESTIGATORS HAVE BEEN SELECTED THROUGH RIGOROUS NATIONAL COMPETITIONS. THE INSTITUTE SOLICITS APPLICATIONS DIRECTLY FROM SCIENTISTS AT MEDICAL SCHOOLS AND OTHER RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH THE AIM OF IDENTIFYING THOSE WHO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE. HHMI EMPLOYS AN OPEN APPLICATION PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT IT IS SELECTING ITS RESEARCHERS FROM A BROAD AND DEEP POOL OF SCIENTIFIC TALENT. IN FEBRUARY 2022, LESLIE B. VOSSHALL, PHD, BECAME HHMI'S VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER. VOSSHALL, WHO HAS BEEN AN HHMI INVESTIGATOR AT THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY SINCE 2008, LEADS AND MANAGES HHMI'S SCIENCE DEPARTMENT PORTFOLIO, WHICH INCLUDES THE HHMI INVESTIGATOR, HANNA H. GRAY FELLOWS, AND FREEMAN HRABOWSKI SCHOLARS PROGRAMS, AMONG OTHER EFFORTS. (B) JANELIA RESEARCH CAMPUS HHMI'S JANELIA RESEARCH CAMPUS IN ASHBURN, VIRGINIA, HELPS OPEN SCIENTIFIC FIELDS BY BREAKING THROUGH TECHNICAL AND INTELLECTUAL BARRIERS. AT JANELIA, INTEGRATED TEAMS OF LAB SCIENTISTS AND TOOL-BUILDERS PURSUE A SMALL NUMBER OF SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS WITH POTENTIAL FOR TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT. TO DRIVE SCIENCE FORWARD, METHODS, RESULTS, AND TOOLS ARE SHARED WITH THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. IN SEPTEMBER 2022, JANELIA BEGAN A RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN TO HIRE GROUP LEADERS AND SENIOR GROUP LEADERS TO LEAD LABORATORIES ACROSS RESEARCH AREAS, PARTICULARLY THE NEWEST RESEARCH AREA, 4D CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY (4DCP). 4DCP AIMS TO EXAMINE HOW CELLS WORK AND COMMUNICATE ACROSS SCALES TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN ORGANS AND ORGANISMS, AN EFFORT THAT LEVERAGES JANELIA'S STRENGTHS IN DEVELOPING CUTTING-EDGE MOLECULAR TOOLS AND IMAGING TECHNOLOGIES AS WELL AS COMPUTATIONAL AND THEORETICAL METHODS. AS A RESULT OF THE RECRUITMENT EFFORT, JANELIA WILL ADD TWO SENIOR GROUP LEADERS AND FIVE GROUP LEADERS IN 4DCP, ONE SENIOR GROUP LEADER IN MOLECULAR TOOLS AND IMAGING, ONE GROUP LEADER IN COMPUTATION & THEORY, AND ONE GROUP LEADER IN MECHANISTIC COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE. THESE SCIENTISTS WILL JOIN JANELIA IN EARLY FY23. IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, THERE WERE 24 GROUP LEADERS, 12 SENIOR GROUP LEADERS, THREE FELLOWS, AND SIX JANELIA SCHOLARS AT JANELIA, IN ADDITION TO GRADUATE STUDENTS, OTHER SCIENTIFIC TRAINEES, AND VISITING SCIENTISTS. IN 2022, JANELIA ALSO RESTARTED ITS VIBRANT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE PROGRAM, WHICH BRINGS MANY SCIENTISTS TO ITS CAMPUS EACH YEAR FOR EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS.

SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAMS (A) SCIENCE EDUCATION GRANT AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS (B) EDUCATIONAL MEDIA GROUP (C) TANGLED BANK STUDIOS (D) HANNA H GRAY FELLOWS (E) E-LIFE OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)

SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE 4C: SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SCHOLARS PROGRAM HHMI CONTINUES TO SUPPORT FORTY-ONE SCIENTISTS FROM 16 COUNTRIES WHO WERE SELECTED IN 2017 AS INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SCHOLARS, EXCEPTIONAL EARLY-CAREER SCIENTISTS POISED TO ADVANCE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH ACROSS THE GLOBE. HHMI TEAMED UP WITH THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION, WELLCOME, AND THE CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN FOUNDATION TO DEVELOP SCIENTIFIC TALENT AROUND THE WORLD, AND WITH THESE PARTNERS AWARDED A TOTAL OF OVER $29.3 MILLION TO THIS GROUP OF SCHOLARS. EACH RESEARCHER RECEIVES A FIVE-YEAR AWARD OF $715,000, INCLUDING INDIRECT COSTS. THE AWARD IS A MAJOR BOOST FOR SCIENTISTS EARLY IN THEIR CAREERS AND OFFERS THE FREEDOM TO PURSUE NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS AND CREATIVE PROJECTS THAT COULD DEVELOP INTO TOP-NOTCH SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS. AFRICA HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN SOUTH AFRICA IN 2009, HHMI HELPED LAUNCH THE KWAZULU-NATAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR TB-HIV (K-RITH) IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL (UKZN) AND HAS PROVIDED SIGNIFICANT FUNDING TO SUPPORT ITS RESEARCH EFFORTS. IN 2016, IN A MOVE TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY, K-RITH JOINED FORCES WITH THE AFRICA CENTRE FOR POPULATION HEALTH TO FORM A GROUNDBREAKING NEW INTERDISCIPLINARY INSTITUTE TO FIGHT TUBERCULOSIS (TB), HIV AND RELATED DISEASES. THE NEW ORGANIZATION, THE AFRICA HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE (AHRI), IS LOCATED AT THE HEART OF SOUTH AFRICA'S TB AND HIV CO-EPIDEMIC IN KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCE. THE EFFORT BRINGS TOGETHER THE AFRICA CENTRE'S DETAILED POPULATION DATA FROM OVER 100,000 PARTICIPANTS, WITH K-RITH'S EXPERTISE IN BASIC SCIENCE AND ITS WORLD-CLASS LABORATORY FACILITIES. HHMI, TOGETHER WITH WELLCOME, CONTINUES TO PROVIDE GRANT SUPPORT TO AHRI, WITH THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON AND UKZN SERVING AS SIGNIFICANT ACADEMIC PARTNERS. AHRI IS COMMITTED TO WORKING TOWARDS THE ELIMINATION OF HIV AND TB. TO ACHIEVE THIS, THE INSTITUTE BRINGS TOGETHER LEADING RESEARCHERS FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, USES CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE TO IMPROVE PEOPLE'S HEALTH, AND HELPS TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF AFRICAN SCIENTISTS.