Image: Gretchen Ertl
Five researchers from Harvard Medical School have been named among 26 new HHMI Investigators by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
HHMI supports investigators to do research that radically changes our understanding of how biology works, pushing the boundaries of basic biological and biomedical sciences and working across scientific disciplines in a wide range of organisms.
“HHMI is committed to supporting visionary scientists who are pursuing discoveries that will change our world for the better,” said HHMI vice president and chief scientific officer Leslie Vosshall.
Together, the investigators will be awarded more than $300 million. Each investigator will receive roughly $11 million in support over a seven-year term, which is renewable indefinitely pending successful scientific review. This support includes their full salary and benefits, a research budget, scientific equipment, and additional resources.
HHMI selects investigators through a national open competition. Nearly 1,000 eligible scientists submitted applications this year. The evaluation included a focus on research culture and mentoring and highlighted individuals’ efforts to make science open and accessible to all.
“These newest HHMI Investigators are extraordinary, not only because of their outstanding research endeavors, but also because they mentor and empower the next generation of scientists to work alongside them at the cutting edge,” said HHMI president Erin O’Shea.
The new HHMI Investigators from HMS are:
- Jonathan Abraham, associate professor of microbiology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS. Abraham studies how viruses infect cells and replicate their genomes, with a particular focus on emerging viruses. Abraham’s lab aims to bolster outbreak preparedness by carrying out fundamental studies on the proteins that play critical roles in the life cycles of these viruses.
- Edward Chouchani, HMS associate professor of cell biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Chouchani studies metabolite signaling, a crucial process in regulating living systems. His lab is developing new technologies to better understand the language of core metabolite signals. By understanding how nature uses metabolism to regulate biological systems, Chouchani hopes to develop new opportunities for treating human disease.
- Steven McCarroll, the Dorothy and Milton Flier Professor of Biomedical Science and Genetics at HMS and director of genomic neurobiology in the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. McCarroll studies how repeated DNA affects biology. Thousands of places in our genomes contain regions in which simple DNA sequences are repeated many times. McCarroll’s lab seeks to understand how DNA repetition carries out differently in different types of cells, changing the biology of those cells and contributing to brain disorders such as Huntington’s disease, with the goal of preventing DNA-repetition disorders.
- Vijay Sankaran, HMS professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital. Sankaran studies hematopoiesis, the process by which the human body produces millions of red and white blood cells and platelets every second. His lab focuses on how genetic differences can influence blood cell production in both health and disease with the hope of developing novel therapies.
- Sichen (Susan) Shao, associate professor of cell biology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS. Shao studies the molecular mechanisms that actively curate cellular proteomes. Since proteins carry out most biological functions, the quantity and quality of specific proteins must be carefully regulated to maintain health and prevent disease. Shao’s lab seeks to understand how protein biosynthesis and degradation factors work to achieve cellular homeostasis and how these mechanisms are tuned to meet the distinct needs of specialized cells, such as red blood cells and neurons.
HHMI is a biomedical research institution and philanthropy that advances the discovery and sharing of scientific knowledge. To date, more than 30 current or former HHMI scientists have won the Nobel Prize.
