How do brain circuits control navigation? What gives spider silk proteins their strength? Can CRISPR help scientists design better drugs for treating tuberculosis?
These questions represent a slice of the diverse and compelling science studied by the 15 new Hanna Gray Fellows announced today by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The Institute will invest up to $25 million for their support over eight years. The fellows, all outstanding scientists early in their careers, will have the freedom to follow their curiosity and pursue challenging scientific questions at the forefront of their fields.
The group includes a physician-scientist trying to pin down factors that drive psychiatric illness, a plant biologist untangling the complex interactions between microbes and crops, and a neuroscientist investigating how information flows through vast networks of nerve cells.
“HHMI is committed to supporting people who will solve some of the greatest problems in science,” says Erin O’Shea, the president of HHMI. “To do this, we need people from all backgrounds – the best solutions will be found by a diverse set of people.”
The Hanna Gray Fellows come from gender, racial, ethnic, and other groups underrepresented in the life sciences. These scientists are poised to make significant contributions to science in the years to come, O’Shea says, and are all original thinkers with diverse perspectives. HHMI will support these young scientists at a critical time in their academic careers – when they transition from postdocs to principal investigators and begin to set up labs of their own.
“Being a Hanna Gray fellow is an extraordinary opportunity for me,” says Elsy Buitrago-Delgado, who studies early mammalian development. “I came to the US from Colombia to become a leader in developmental biology. I want to inspire the next generation of Latin American scientists.”
The Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program is named for Hanna Holborn Gray, former chair of the HHMI trustees and former president of the University of Chicago. Under Gray’s leadership, HHMI developed initiatives that foster diversity in science education. HHMI continues to carry forward this work on college and university campuses across the US.
A competition for the next group of Hanna Gray Fellows opens immediately. In 2020, the Institute will again select up to 15 fellows. This grant competition is open to all eligible applicants, and no nomination is required.
