HHMI selects new clinical investigators

They will join 324 HHMI investigators across the United States, a group whose recent honors include the National Medal of Science and the Lasker Award. Earlier this month, nine HHMI investigators were elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences.

Those selected are Robert B. Darnell, The Rockefeller University; Brian J. Druker, Oregon Health & Science University; Todd R. Golub, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Katherine A. High, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Helen H. Hobbs, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Brendan H.L. Lee, Baylor College of Medicine; Emmanuel J. Mignot, Stanford University School of Medicine; Charles L. Sawyers, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Robert F. Siliciano, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Edwin M. Stone, University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; Bruce D. Walker, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; Christopher A. Walsh, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

"This group of physician-scientists has already made impressive contributions to understanding some of society's most vexing health problems, including AIDS, cardiovascular disease and cancer," said HHMI President Thomas R. Cech. "We believe that they have the potential to continue to improve healthcare by finding new ways to translate basic science discoveries into useful therapy for patients."

"Medical research is thriving today, primarily as a result of the powerful new tools of molecular biology that have revealed new concepts about the inner workings of the human cell," said Joseph L. Goldstein of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and chairman of HHMI's Medical Advisory Board. "What are crucially needed are more patient-oriented researchers with the expertise to translate and transform these molecular advances into the realities of clinical medicine. In the conquest of any disease, patient-oriented researchers are essential at every stage -- from the delineation of a new syndrome, to elucidation of pathogenesis, to design and evaluation of a new drug."

With the completion of the human genome sequence and the advent of other technological advances such as those in the area of biomedical imaging, there are new opportunities for bridging the gap between advances in basic science and clinical research. The purpose of this investigator competition was to identify researchers whose scientific work is guided by their interaction with patients or other human subjects.

Although several of the 324 current HHMI investigators are doing patient-oriented research on diseases such as colon cancer, hypertension, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the majority of Hughes scientists focus on basic research directed toward understanding the genetic, molecular and cellular bases of human disease. This type of research is generally characterized as being disease-oriented rather than patient-oriented, because the research does not require significant contact with patients.

In June 2001, letters inviting nominations were sent to 119 institutions, including medical schools, research institutes, schools of public health and some independent hospitals. By September 10, 2001, the closing date for nominations, 138 nominations had been received. A review committee of distinguished biomedical scientists evaluated the nominations. Following the recommendations of the advisors, 12 physician-scientists were selected for appointment.

The Institute is a medical research organization that enters into long-term collaboration agreements with universities and other academic research organizations, where its investigators hold faculty appointments. Under these agreements, HHMI investigators, all of whom are employees of the Institute, carry out their research with considerable freedom and flexibility in HHMI laboratories located on various campuses. This model emphasizes "people, not projects" and differs from the grant-based approach used elsewhere. The Institute expects to provide initial research budgets of up to $1 million annually for each of its new investigators, plus payments to the host institutions for laboratory space.

The Institute's biomedical research expenditures this fiscal year will total about $450 million. In addition to conducting medical research, the Institute has a large grants program that supports science education in the United States and the research of a select group of biomedical scientists in other countries. HHMI grants will total more than $100 million during the current fiscal year.

Established in 1953 by the aviator-industrialist for whom it is named, the Institute maintains its headquarters and conference center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.