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Howard Hughes Medical Institute is opening a new competition for US investigators. It plans to fund as many as 50 new researchers by Spring 2008 representing an investment of $600 million. Unlike the traditional HHMI investigator programs which have relied on nominations from the investigator's institution these are open to direct application (similar to a plan they announced in a smaller scale for physician scientists last November). The grants are meant for early career investigators (between 4 and 10 years into their first assistant professor or equivalent position). So get cracking. More info here

In a time when federal research funding seems lean as we've written about here and the gap between haves and have-nots in biomedical research widening as we've written about here, it's a bit heartening to see HHMI devoting more research dollars to scientists, and doing so in a less 'clubby' way. That said they?ll only be taking applications from scientists at roughly 200 approved institutions. Josie Briggs, senior scientific officer at HHMI explained to me that the list is compiled from the institutions from which HHMI currently accepts nominations along with the top funded institution lists from the NIH and NSF. "The intent is to be broad and include all academic institutions in the country with reasonably strong biomedical research programs," says Briggs, adding that several research institutes are on the list as well. See if your institution has made the list ...