ASPB applauds HHMI and GBMF for launching plant science program
Plant biologists have been making groundbreaking advances in research that address some of society's most urgent concerns, including discoveries that will help lead to improvements in human health, sustainable energy, nutritious foods, and environmental sustainability. Now two of the nation's largest private sponsors of scientific research are joining together to provide critical support for some of the country's most innovative plant scientists.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF) have just announced the HHMI-GBMF Plant Science Program, which will name up to 15 HHMI-GBMF Investigators in plant sciences to share $75 million in research funding over the next five years.
Tuan-hua David Ho, president of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), said that this new program "sends an important signal to the entire scientific community that plant biology research is essential to addressing some of the biggest challenges we face."
"Having such well-respected organizations as HHMI and GBMF step up for plant science will have a major impact well beyond the funding dollars they will provide," added Nicholas Carpita, who will succeed Ho as ASPB president on October 1, 2010.
Despite the central role of plants in health, energy, food, and environment, basic research in the plant sciences has been historically underfunded. "The small amount of federal support for plant biology research has limited our ability to answer fundamental questions about plants," said Vicki L. Chandler, chief program officer for science at GBMF and a past president of ASPB. "We hope that investing in some of the nation's top plant scientists will lead to enhanced understanding of plants and demonstrate the opportunities in plant biology for the next generation of scientists."
The plant scientists who will be named as HHMI-GBMF Investigators will join the ranks of nearly 340 existing HHMI investigators, many of whom are among the leaders in biomedical research. The current group of HHMI investigators includes 13 Nobel laureates and more than 140 members of the National Academy of Sciences. ASPB member Joanne Chory, professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and HHMI Investigator since 1997, said that being named an Investigator was a "life-changing" experience that allowed her to "do things that would otherwise be impossible." Joseph P. Noel, another HHMI Investigator and ASPB member at the Salk Institute agreed: HHMI support has given his laboratory "amazing flexibility" to follow the science in unanticipated directions beyond the specific aims mentioned in traditional grant proposals. According to Noel, "We are free to take chances, learn new things, and ultimately chase the most exciting phenomena emerging in the laboratory." ASPB member Steve Jacobsen, professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, had similar experiences, commenting that "becoming an HHMI Investigator dramatically changed my mindset and increased the scope of what was possible. The increased funding allowed us to enter the area of plant genomics, and the simulating interactions with other HHMI Investigators at the HHMI science meetings caused me to start thinking big."
This will be a one-time targeted competition for plant scientists. But rather than suggesting a fleeting interest, it actually means that plant science research is considered so integral to the overall missions of HHMI and GBMF in supporting research and science education that plant scientists will be fully incorporated into the HHMI Investigator program. HHMI vice president and chief scientific officer Jack E. Dixon pointed out that HHMI and GBMF hope that their approach will signal the need for more investment in the plant sciences. "For example, we are optimistic that, over time, we will receive more applications from plant scientists when we conduct general competitions for new HHMI Investigator positions," Dixon said.
Provided by American Society of Plant Biologists
