And the investment has paid off--as evidenced by, among other things, HHMI researchers' prolific and influential publication record: Last year, for example, nearly one- quarter of the 200 most cited biomedical publications by U.S. scientists were authored by HHMI-affiliated investigators (see story on page 14).
But despite the institute'S imposing presence and glowing achievements, some researchers and agency officials contend that certain side-effects of the HHMI program are not in the best interests of the scientific research community or the scientists themselves.
They claim, for example, that the program fosters a scientific elitism that is, as one of them puts it, "Unhealthy," especially in the current climate of stagnating or dwindling funding for biomedicine. Moreover, some HHMI appointees report that at times they have felt resentment from their colleagues--a result of what one Hughes investigator terms "the envy factor"--and, ironically, have been discriminated against when pursuing funding from other sources ...
