FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION:

Cindy Fox Aisen
(317)843-2276
aisenc@hhmi.org
Howard Hughes
Medical Institute

(301) 215-8500

		Winston A. Anderson, Ph.D. Howard University Washington, DC Request a photo Photo: Paul Fetters
Winston Anderson, a professor of biology at Howard University, plans to help undergraduates at the historically African-American institution develop skills that will give them a competitive edge for entrance into graduate and professional research careers in the biomedical sciences. More
		Utpal Banerjee, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Request a photo Photo: Joe Toreno
As a college student in India, Utpal Banerjee spent his summers working in several research laboratories, and those experiences were pivotal in his decision to become a scientist. Ever since he became a professor himself, Banerjee has been trying to provide the next generation of undergraduate students the same kind of hands-on, inquiry-based education that he received. More
		Catherine L. Drennan, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Request a photo Photo: Robert Klein/AP ©HHMI
Catherine Drennan understands why some Massachusetts Institute of Technology students may sign up for her freshman chemistry class grudgingly and only because it is required. More
		Sarah C.R. Elgin, Ph.D. Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO Request a photo Photo: Joe Angeles/WUSTL
Sarah Elgin remembers being drawn to science as a child because it offered a concrete way to understand the world around her. “I liked poking and prodding things,” she says. “I wanted to figure how they worked.” It’s that joy in learning new things that has pushed Elgin to create a program that provides the same opportunity for her students at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. More
		Irving R. Epstein, Ph.D. Brandeis University Waltham, MA Request a photo Photo: Robert Klein/AP © HHMI
Borrowing from the slang of the Old West, inner-city youth sometimes refer to their groups of friends as ‘posses.’ In academic circles, New York's successful Posse Foundation has given the word a new meaning: a group of inner-city high school students trained as leaders and role models, then enrolled at top colleges and universities. More
		Jo Handelsman, Ph.D. Yale University New Haven, CT Request a photo Photo: Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison
After speeding through college and graduate school, Jo Handelsman became a professor of plant pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when she was just 26. “I was so unprepared,” Handelsman recalls with a shudder. “We are extremely well prepared to do research. But that’s not all we do.” More
		Graham F. Hatfull, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA Request a photo Photo: John Heller/AP ©HHMI
Graham Hatfull knows from personal experience that straight-As are not the only path to a research career. “I was the kind of kid who was average academically, to put it nicely. I was blasé about it,” he says. But that changed when, as an undergraduate at the University of London, Hatfull became intrigued by an independent study project on the subcellular structure of plankton. More
		Richard M. Losick, Ph.D. Harvard University Cambridge, MA Request a photo Photo: George Nikitin/AP ©HHMI
When Richard Losick was an undergraduate at Princeton University, he made what he calls an ‘obscure’ discovery that served as the foundation for his senior thesis. “It didn’t make it into a journal,” he recalls. “But no one knew it before me, and that really excited me about science.” More
		Diane K. O'Dowd, Ph.D. University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA Request a photo Photo: John Hayes/AP © HHMI
Neurobiologist Diane O'Dowd began using interactive teaching in small classes at UC Irvine five years ago. Now she is incorporating active learning in an enormous introductory biology course. More
		Baldomero Olivera, Ph.D. University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT Request a photo Photo: Steve Wilson/AP ©HHMI
Growing up in the Philippines, Baldomero “Toto” Olivera recalls that cone snails were sold by the kilo in local seafood markets. As a child, however, Olivera was blissfully unaware of the impact that the predatory cone snail, Conus magus, would have on his life's work. More
		Scott A. Strobel, Ph.D. Yale University New Haven, CT Request a photo Photo: Amy Etra
In Scott Strobel's opinion, one of the biggest challenges in traditional scientific training is what he calls “the problem of ownership.” More
		Graham C. Walker, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Request a photo Photo: Courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Graham Walker knew that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was different. But he was still surprised when he arrived for a job interview in Cambridge in 1975 to discover that MIT was so serious about teaching undergraduates. “Honestly, I was so excited at the end of that first day that I couldn’t sleep,” he remembers. More
		Isiah M. Warner, Ph.D. Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA Request a photo Photo: Susan Cohen/AP, ©HHMI
Isiah Warner's research focuses on the development and application of improved methodology (chemical, mathematical, and instrumental) for studies of complex chemical systems. More

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