The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to medical research, has announced a new program that will award $300 million to up as many as 70 young scientists. The Early Career Scientist Program
will pay salaries and provide research money for people who have held tenure-track positions for only two to six years, with the goal of supporting them through the early period before they are likely to get a research grant from the National Institutes of Health. It could also provide funds for scientists who have already received their first government research grant and are seeking renewal. HHMI officials say the criteria for their program will be different enough to spread the wealth around. The Institute expects that successful applicants would be among the most outstanding in the nation.
The goal of the new program is to open the pool of money to more scientists at an early stage, said Jack E. Dixon, the institute's vice president and chief scientific officer, when they are most likely to produce new and innovative ideas. "We are trying to open this up to the entire spectrum of people in this early stage in their careers," Mr. Dixon said. He noted that the institute set criteria different from the review process used by the NIH in order to broaden the pool of successful applicants. Mr. Dixon said the institute's review criteria would be based not only on applicants' past achievements, but creativity and innovation. This will encourage young scientists to pursue "fringe interests" beyond their postdoctoral work.
