WIKIMEDIA, StFXTwenty-seven US scientists will join the prestigious ranks of existing Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers, with today’s (May 9) announcement of the awardees. Hailing from 19 institutions across the country, the researchers score a 5-year appointment that will pay their full salary, benefits, and a substantial research and equipment budget over that time. “HHMI has a very simple mission,” said HHMI President Robert Tjian in a statement. “We find the best original-thinking scientists and give them the resources to follow their instincts in discovering basic biological processes that may one day lead to better medical outcomes. This is a very talented group of scientists. And while we cannot predict where their research will take them, we’re eager to help them move science forward.”
The list of new HHMI researchers includes:
Peter Baumann, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, who studies telomerase and asexual reproduction in a unisexual whiptail lizard species
Michael Brainard, University of California, San Francisco, who studies the neurophysiological underpinnings of song learning in birds
Karl Deisseroth, Stanford University, an optogenetics pioneer
Peter Reddien, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who studies regeneration in planaria
Rachel Wilson, Harvard Medical School, who studies sensory processing in Drosophila
Yukiko Yamashita, University of Michigan, who studies the intricacies of stem cell differentiation
Check out the full list of HHMI awardees at the HHMI website.
Correction (May 9): The original version of this article referred to the arrangement enjoyed by HHMI Investigators as a "grant." In fact, these positions are appointments, with HHMI ...
