For decades the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has funded several hundred elite researchers who tend to cluster at top U.S. biomedical institutions. But a new “special” round of awards for its prestigious investigators program will alter that pattern by barring researchers from institutions that already have two or more such scholars.
It's a striking attempt to broaden geographic diversity by the $24 billion medical charity’s flagship program, which gives researchers $11 million over 7 years. And the move is winning praise even from some scientists whose schools will be left out. “It’s the right thing to do,” says Evan Eichler, one of eight HHMI investigators at the University of Washington.
Led by Stanford University’s tally of 22 HHMI investigators, just 39 institutions employ 254—a staggering 93%—of the 274 currently funded slots. Six schools are home to nearly half of the total pool.
That concentration of talent doesn’t square with a $2 billion diversity initiative that HHMI President Erin O’Shea launched in 2021. HHMI has decided to take “a more flexible approach anchored in inclusion” as well as excellence, O’Shea wrote last week in a memo to HHMI-funded scientists. She described the continuing evolution of the initiative, which also funds early-careers scholars with a commitment to a more diverse and equitable scientific work force. Some 330 institutions are now eligible to compete for those programs as well as for the flagship program.
The change will apply to awards made in 2026. If it had applied to most recent set of winners, announced in July, it would have had a notable impact. Of the 26 new investigators from 19 institutions, only two would have been eligible to compete for the honor—and the generous research funding that goes with it.
One current HHMI investigator accidentally let the cat out of the bag last week with a social media post, which was first reported by The Transmitter. “Just learned that faculty from Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and others won’t be eligible in the upcoming HHMI Investigator competition (2026?),” Martin Jonikas of Princeton University wrote on Bluesky, referring to information given out during a virtual HHMI town hall. Instead, he wrote, the competition “will be dedicated to bringing in people from institutions not currently well-represented at HHMI - max 1 current Investigator.” Jonikas declined further comment.
An HHMI spokesperson confirmed the news but clarified that this was a bonus funding round and that future competitions would likely revert to allowing scientists from institutions with multiple investigators to apply. “In this special competition, we are focusing on increasing [the number of] new institutions [that win awards],” the spokesperson emailed ScienceInsider. “To ensure the success of the competition, individuals at any institution that currently has 0 or 1 current Investigators will be eligible to apply in this [next] round. Any institution with 2 or more current Investigators [will be] ineligible.”
Eichler thinks that restriction makes a lot of sense. “It’s not as if there are no outstanding scientists in those places,” he says. “This new competition will hopefully create some balance.”
HHMI plans to announce details of the upcoming competition sometime next month, says the spokesperson, who declined further comment.
