HHMI international research scholars to meet in Queensland, Australia

Scientists from 29 countries to discuss biomedical research

Howard Hughes Medical Institute's international research scholars will gather to share their research. Scientists from Australia, Uganda and Israel, for example, will compare work on malaria and other parasitic diseases. Researchers from Canada, Russia and other nations will discuss how biomedical science can best use new genomic techniques. Other sessions will bring together scientists from nations as diverse as India and Argentina, Hungary and Mexico, to discuss biological research ranging from protein folding to virology.

HHMI President Thomas R. Cech, a Nobel laureate, will open the meeting at the Novotel Palm Cove Resort (north of Cairns) on Tuesday evening, June 25. One hundred twenty-one of HHMI's international research scholars from 29 countries will present scientific talks on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, June 26-28.

Since 1991, HHMI has awarded over $100 million in five-year grants to support the work of outstanding biomedical scientists at their own institutions around the world. In many cases, HHMI support has enabled scientists to carry out research in the face of difficult economic conditions, providing critical funds for supplies, the support of graduate students, travel to meetings and other needs. Additional information about the Institute's international program, including research abstracts and biographical information about the 132 scientists it supports, will be available after May 24th at www.hhmi.org/grants/international.

HHMI's international program complements its mission of carrying out research with its own scientific teams at 69 locations across the United States. For more information, see www.hhmi.org.