Elite scientists to study neuronal circuits

I have great respect for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and today they have named scientists who will have the elite positions in a new research campus under construction.

In a press release issued today, the HHMI says when the group leaders arrive at Janelia Farm in the summer of 2006, they will have two ambitious goals waiting for them: Identifying the general principles that govern how information is processed by neuronal circuits; and developing imaging technologies and computational methods for image analysis.

Janelia Farm will provide a setting in which small research groups can explore fundamental biomedical questions in a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary culture. This $500 million, yes $500 million, campus will open in late 2006.

"These scientists are an exceptional group with diverse backgrounds and training," says HHMI President Thomas R. Cech. "They bring extensive experience in biology, computational biology, genetics, mathematics, and physics. But more importantly, they all share a deep curiosity about major scientific questions that lie at the boundaries of these disciplines."

The advanced degrees of these scientists include the following areas: physics, chemistry, computer science, biophysics, molecular biology, and genetics!

The subjects of interest to these scientists are wide ranging and include applying mathematical theories to understand how the brain is designed; studying the structure and function of genes and genomes; developing new methods for image analysis; understanding how genes, neurons, and neural circuits contribute to specific behaviors; and learning how the brain of the fruit fly processes information to navigate successfully.

HHMI says it has "picked big science problems that are not being addressed well in conventional research settings."

You can learn more at Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

This grouping of lead scientists will be awesome, and their work will undoubtedly provide amazing contributions in the future!