Seven Harvard scientists are among the 84 researchers nationwide named HHMI Faculty Scholars as part of a new initiative by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Simons Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to recognize and support early career scientists who show exceptional promise.
The scholars will receive grants of between $600,000 and $1.8 million over the next five years. In total, the program will award $83 million to researchers from 43 institutions across the United States.
“We are very excited to welcome these accomplished scientists into the HHMI community,” said HHMI’s president, Erin O’Shea. “We’re equally gratified to work alongside our philanthropic partners to help these early career scientists move science forward by pursuing their bold ideas.”
The Harvard winners are:
Emily Balskus, Morris Kahn Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Combining chemistry and microbiology, Balskus studies how gut microorganisms interact with one another and their human hosts. She is using this knowledge to design approaches for chemical manipulation of the growth and composition of microbial communities.
Thomas Bernhardt, professor of microbiology and immunobiology
Bernhardt is interested in finding out how bacteria build their cell walls in order to grow and divide. By identifying key enzymes in cell-wall synthesis, his research could help combat drug-resistant infections by providing new targets for antibiotics.
Flaminia Catteruccia, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases
To find new ways to control the spread of malaria, Catteruccia investigates the molecular and genetic mechanisms behind mosquito reproduction and malaria transmission. She has found that disrupting key physiological processes in the mated blood-fed mosquito can both sterilize females and prevent development of malaria parasites.
Victoria D’Souza, professor of molecular and cellular biology
D’Souza is using nuclear magnetic resonance to understand how retroviruses employ various RNA structures to aid in the transcription and translation of their genomes. By mapping the 3-D topology of viral nucleic acids, she hopes to learn more about how these molecules interact with host molecular components and how new therapeutics could potentially interfere with these interactions.
Chenghua Gu, associate professor of neurobiology
Gu is studying how the blood-brain barrier forms and functions. Better understanding of the nearly impermeable barrier could make it easier to deliver drugs to the brain. She is also exploring how neural activity influences the development and function of the blood vessels that supply the brain.
Stephen Liberles, associate professor of cell biology
The vagus nerve connects the brain to many of the body’s internal organs, controlling breathing, heart rate, appetite, blood pressure, and other functions. Liberles is studying how the nerve detects and alerts the brain to diverse stimuli such as nutrients ingested during a meal, inhaled respiratory gases, and toxins and irritants that cause nausea or coughing.
John Rinn, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology and associate professor of pathology
Rinn was a pioneer on long noncoding RNA genes in the human genome. He has dedicated his research to understanding how these genes contribute to human health and disease. He further aims to dissect the molecular grammar guiding their functional roles in hopes of finding new avenues of therapeutic intervention.
The grant program was created in response to growing concern about the significant challenges facing young scientists, particularly increased competition for grant funding amid declines in federal support. Within a few years of a new faculty appointment, a researcher’s institutional startup funds typically come to an end. Pressure to secure federal grant money may lead to “safe” grant proposals. As a result, potentially transformative projects can fall by the wayside.
“We are delighted to help enable superb early career scientists to bring transformative innovation to priority global health problems,” said Chris Karp, director of global health discovery and translational sciences at the Gates Foundation.
“This program will provide these scientists with much-needed flexible resources so they can follow their best research ideas,” added David Clapham, HHMI vice president and chief scientific officer.