Two MIT professors are among 44 new Howard Hughes Medical Institute appointees.
Tania A. Baker and Tyler Jacks, both assistant professors of biology, were chosen from 285 nominations by a panel of experts who judged the 44 scientists as "being likely to make significant advances in biomedical research and to develop new approaches to overcoming diseases," according to a statement by HHMI president Purnell W. Choppin, MD. The appointees join 225 other scientists now doing research at 53 medical centers and universities in the United States.
HHMI investigators conduct basic biomedical research in five broad areas: cell biology and regulation, genetics, immunology, neuroscience and structural biology. HHMI, which is headquartered in Chevy Chase, MD, and was founded in 1953, enters into long-term research collaboration agreements with the universities and other institutions that are hosts for its investigators. Under these agreements, the investigators must spend at least 75 percent of their time doing research.
Of HHMI's $333 million budget for the current year, $280 million is earmarked for research. In addition to conducting medical research, HHMI also has a large grants program. Since 1988, it has awarded more than $300 million to strengthen science education and encourage talented young people, particularly women and minorities, to pursue research and science teaching careers. HHMI plans to award $52.5 million in grants this year.
A version of this article appeared in the April 13, 1994 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 38, Number 29).
