Dr. Olga Boudker. Photo credit: John Abbott
When a scientist is named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, he or she joins the ranks of the most renowned biomedical researchers in the United States. These 330 or so explorers and innovators — among them 182 National Academy of Science members and 24 Nobel laureates — work to answer essential questions about such topics as how stem cells renew, how genes affect behavior, and how bacteria communicate with each other. It’s an honor that carries five years of unrestricted research support; in 2014 alone, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators received $706 million. Read more…