UCSC Press Release: UCSC researchers chosen by Howard Hughes Medical Institute

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May 8, 2000
Contact: Tim Stephens (831) 459-2495; stephens@cats.ucsc.edu
Two UC Santa Cruz researchers selected by Howard Hughes Medical Institute for appointment as new investigators
For Immediate Release
SANTA CRUZ, CA--A biologist and a computer scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are among the 48 scientists selected in a national competition to be appointed as investigators for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). David Haussler, professor of computer science and director of the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, was selected as a full investigator and Yishi Jin, assistant professor of biology, was selected as an assistant investigator. They will be the first HHMI investigators at the UCSC campus.
"We are extremely pleased that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has recognized the superb talents of David Haussler and Yishi Jin. It is an indication of the strength of UCSC's contributions in the area of biomedical and engineering research," said UCSC Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood. Haussler and Jin will join 305 current HHMI investigators across the United States, a prestigious group whose members include several Nobel Prize winners and more than 60 members of the National Academy of Sciences.
"These new investigators are an incredibly talented group who have begun to make their mark on biomedical research," said Thomas R. Cech, who assumed HHMI's presidency on January 1. "We were looking for researchers who explore big questions and take risks--people with that special quality that leads to scientific breakthroughs and medical advances."
Haussler is one of 12 scientists selected in the field of computational biology as part of a new initiative by the institute to pursue the growing opportunities at the confluence of biology and computing. Haussler has done pioneering work to develop computational techniques for finding genes in DNA sequences and analyzing other kinds of genomic data. He is currently involved in the Human Genome Project, an international effort to identify and understand all of the roughly 100,000 human genes. Haussler was also recently honored with a University of California Presidential Chair.
For Jin, who studies the genetics of nervous system development, the selection by HHMI comes shortly after another major honor, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which she received in a White House ceremony in April. Most of Jin's research is based on experiments with a tiny nematode worm. She has been identifying the genes involved in creating the worm's relatively simple neural circuitry. So far, all of the genes she has found in the worm have turned out to have matching genes in humans and other organisms.
The new HHMI investigators must still be formally appointed. HHMI is a medical research organization that enters into long-term research collaboration agreements with universities and other academic research organizations, where its investigators hold faculty appointments. Under these agreements, HHMI investigators and their teams carry out research with considerable freedom and flexibility in HHMI-funded laboratories located on the various campuses. The institute expects to spend between $500,000 and $1 million annually for each of its new investigators, including support to the host institutions for graduate training, library resources, and other needs.
HHMI invited more than 200 U.S. institutions involved in biomedical research to nominate outstanding biomedical scientists to be considered for appointment as HHMI investigators. The 430 candidates nominated by their institutions were evaluated last month by a review committee of distinguished biomedical scientists meeting on the HHMI campus in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Following the recommendations of the advisers, 48 scientists were selected for potential appointment.
The initiative in computational biology builds on recent efforts by scientists to solve important biological problems with new computational tools. The initiative complements the biomedical research that Hughes investigators have traditionally carried out in fields such as cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, and structural biology.
During the past few years, HHMI scientists have made significant discoveries related to heart disease, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, tuberculosis, obesity, and many other medical problems. They also have developed important new research tools. Papers published by HHMI scientists are among those cited most often by other researchers.
Additional information about the HHMI investigators is available on the Web at http://www.hhmi.org/news.
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May 8, 2000 Contact: Tim Stephens (831) 459-2495; stephens@cats.ucsc.edu Two UC Santa Cruz researchers selected by Howard Hughes Medical Institute for appointment as new investigators For Immediate Release SANTA CRUZ, CA--A biologist and a computer scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are among the 48 scientists selected in a national competition to be appointed as investigators for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). David Haussler, professor of computer science and director of the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, was selected as a full investigator and Yishi Jin, assistant professor of biology, was selected as an assistant investigator. They will be the first HHMI investigators at the UCSC campus. "We are extremely pleased that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has recognized the superb talents of David Haussler and Yishi Jin. It is an indication of the strength of UCSC's contributions in the area of biomedical and engineering research," said UCSC Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood. Haussler and Jin will join 305 current HHMI investigators across the United States, a prestigious group whose members include several Nobel Prize winners and more than 60 members of the National Academy of Sciences. "These new investigators are an incredibly talented group who have begun to make their mark on biomedical research," said Thomas R. Cech, who assumed HHMI's presidency on January 1. "We were looking for researchers who explore big questions and take risks--people with that special quality that leads to scientific breakthroughs and medical advances." Haussler is one of 12 scientists selected in the field of computational biology as part of a new initiative by the institute to pursue the growing opportunities at the confluence of biology and computing. Haussler has done pioneering work to develop computational techniques for finding genes in DNA sequences and analyzing other kinds of genomic data. He is currently involved in the Human Genome Project, an international effort to identify and understand all of the roughly 100,000 human genes. Haussler was also recently honored with a University of California Presidential Chair. For Jin, who studies the genetics of nervous system development, the selection by HHMI comes shortly after another major honor, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which she received in a White House ceremony in April. Most of Jin's research is based on experiments with a tiny nematode worm. She has been identifying the genes involved in creating the worm's relatively simple neural circuitry. So far, all of the genes she has found in the worm have turned out to have matching genes in humans and other organisms. The new HHMI investigators must still be formally appointed. HHMI is a medical research organization that enters into long-term research collaboration agreements with universities and other academic research organizations, where its investigators hold faculty appointments. Under these agreements, HHMI investigators and their teams carry out research with considerable freedom and flexibility in HHMI-funded laboratories located on the various campuses. The institute expects to spend between $500,000 and $1 million annually for each of its new investigators, including support to the host institutions for graduate training, library resources, and other needs. HHMI invited more than 200 U.S. institutions involved in biomedical research to nominate outstanding biomedical scientists to be considered for appointment as HHMI investigators. The 430 candidates nominated by their institutions were evaluated last month by a review committee of distinguished biomedical scientists meeting on the HHMI campus in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Following the recommendations of the advisers, 48 scientists were selected for potential appointment. The initiative in computational biology builds on recent efforts by scientists to solve important biological problems with new computational tools. The initiative complements the biomedical research that Hughes investigators have traditionally carried out in fields such as cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, and structural biology. During the past few years, HHMI scientists have made significant discoveries related to heart disease, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, tuberculosis, obesity, and many other medical problems. They also have developed important new research tools. Papers published by HHMI scientists are among those cited most often by other researchers. Additional information about the HHMI investigators is available on the Web at http://www.hhmi.org/news. ##### Press Release Home \| Search Press Releases \| Press Release Archive \| Services for Journalists
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