Two
School of Medicine faculty were among a group of 43
recently tapped as Howard Hughes Medical Institute
investigators, a prestigious honor that recognizes the
nation's most promising biomedical scientists.
HHMI chose the scientists through a nationwide
competition that began in 2004, when the institute asked
approximately 300 universities, medical schools and
institutes to nominate candidates who demonstrated
exceptional promise within four to 10 years of their
becoming independent researchers.
The two winners from Johns Hopkins are Geraldine
Seydoux, professor of
molecular biology and
genetics, and Alex Kolodkin, professor of
neuroscience. With these two latest additions, the
university now has 14 HHMI investigators, scientists who
are recognized for their innovation, creativity and
productivity.
As HHMI investigators, Seydoux and Kolodkin will be
provided with funds, equipment and, perhaps most
importantly, the freedom to pursue challenging questions
and push the boundaries of science. HHMI prizes
intellectual daring and seeks to preserve the autonomy of
its scientists as they pursue their research.
A previous recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and
HHMI Predoctoral Fellowship, Seydoux has been studying the
molecular differences between somatic and germline cells
during embryonic development. Multicellular organisms
consist of two general cell types: somatic cells, which
form the individual body, and germline cells, which serve
for reproduction. Specifically, Seydoux's lab is using
genetic and molecular
approaches to characterize cell development mechanisms in
the nematode (roundworm) Caenorhabditis elegans.
"We are motivated to understand how development
works," she said. "A lot of diseases happen because things
go awry during development. So understanding how things
work during a normal, healthy development is valuable."
Geraldine Seydoux has been
studying the molecular differences between somatic and
germline cells during embryonic development.
PHOTO BY MATT HOUSTON / AP
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Seydoux, who was been at Johns Hopkins since 1996,
said that she was both surprised by and delighted with the
announcement.
"It was wonderful news for my lab. This is one of the
wonderful things about Hopkins, that you get to be
nominated for such honors. I am very grateful to be at an
institution where these types of opportunities are
available," she said. "This award gives us access to a lot
more resources. My lab is funded by NIH, a very generous
organization, and we are lucky enough to have two NIH
grants. But certainly the Howard Hughes award gives us much
more freedom to investigate new areas and take on bolder
projects. They basically say don't be afraid to be creative
and take on difficult questions, as they might very well be
worth pursuing."
Until now, Seydoux's lab has focused on development in
simple organisms, she said, but with the new funds she can
apply the principles she has been using to more complex
systems like mammals.
A McKnight Neuroscience Award recipient, Alex Kolodkin
has been researching how neuronal connectivity is
established during embryonic development and maintained in
the adult nervous system. This includes understanding how
extending neuronal processes find their way during
development, avoid "inappropriate" targets and get to their
final destination. His chief goal is to learn how certain
proteins act as "guidance cues" for growing nerves,
alternately repelling and attracting growth to keep a
developing nerve on the right track inside the body. To
define the basic principles of complex nervous system
organization, his lab works to identify genes in a fruit
fly model and also studies newfound molecules in mice for a
clearer picture of how they contribute to mammalian neural
development.
Ultimately, scientists want to be able to rebuild
damaged human nerve cells, and Kolodkin said his research
could help shed light on how to promote neuronal
regeneration of axons following injury or neural
degeneration.
As a postdoctoral fellow, Kolodkin led the discovery
of the largest known family of repulsive guidance cues — a
family of proteins called semaphorins, which can function
to prevent neurons from extending or migrating in the wrong
areas.
Alex Kolodkin has been researching
neuronal connectivity-how impulses find their way, avoid
'inappropriate' targets and get to their final
distination.
PHOTO BY MATT HOUSTON / AP
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Kolodkin said he, too, is extremely grateful and
honored to be chosen by HHMI.
"I'm still in shock," he said. "From my perspective,
this award allows us the freedom to ask any major question
we choose to take on. It is an extremely generous award and
will allow us to continue what we are doing while opening
up new opportunities for tackling innovative research
directions."
Through its flagship investigator program, HHMI
currently employs 298 of the nation's most innovative
scientists, who lead Hughes laboratories at 64
institutions.
The 43 men and women selected must now be formally
appointed, a process that will take up to six months. The
general competition for new investigators, the first since
2000, represents a continued expansion of the institute's
biomedical research mission.
A nonprofit medical research organization, HHMI was
established in 1953 by aviator-industrialist Howard Hughes,
who died in 1976. The institute, headquartered in Chevy
Chase, Md., is one of the largest philanthropies in the
world with an endowment of $12.8 billion at the close of
its 2004 fiscal year.
The institute's current annual research budget is $416
million. With the selection of the new investigators, it
will invest more than $300 million in additional support
for biomedical research over the next seven years.
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