The Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase announced a new $300 million program Monday aimed specifically at bolstering early-career scientists.
“We really have to provide funding and support for people that are going to be our next generation” of scientists, said Jack Dixon, HHMI vice president and chief scientific officer. “It’s fair to say that many young people are discouraged,” as they spend much time writing grant proposals and have trouble receiving funds, he added.
Within 24 hours of the announcement, 60 people had already submitted letters of intent to apply, said Dixon. He predicts the applicant pool may exceed 1,000 before the April 30 deadline for letters of intent. The program targets scientists with two to six years of experience since becoming assistant professors at over 200 U.S. institutions. Applicants are welcome from a wide range of fields — from biology to chemistry, computer science, physics and engineering — as long as the research relates to biology or medicine. HHMI will chose as many as 70 scientists by the end of the year and will provide their salaries at their current institutions and lab budgets for six years. Budgets will range from $150,000 to $250,000 for the first three years and $300,000 for the last three years.
“There’s been a gap for people at this stage in their career … you need to have a reputation and a record of publications … to get funds,” said Richard Zakour, executive director of Rockville-based MdBio and MdBio Foundation, part of the Tech Council of Maryland. Zakour, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology, knows the difficulty of obtaining funds early on.
“I hope it will have a considerable impact” in light of flat federal funding, said Gregory Petsko, a professor of biochemistry and chemistry at Brandeis University. Petsko, a member of the HHMI advisory board, was involved in creating the program. With an endowment of $18.7 billion, the institute plans to continue the program in 2011, said Dixon.
