The Brain Prize 2026 David Ginty HHMI Investigator Harvard Medical School
Thrilled to see #HHMIInvestigator — & now 2026 @brainprize.org winner — David Ginty recognized by The Lundbeck Foundation for his pioneering work on the cellular architecture of touch & pain, which paved the way for a new generation of targeted pain therapies: bit.ly/4sbowiN.
No rabbits, no top hats — just #GilliamFellow Axel Vera leveling up on the standard poster session with a little sleight of hand. We guarantee you've never heard an anti-CRISPR (used to help control & improve precision gene editing) explainer like this before, & it's ... magic 🪄.
Here, UCLA researchers Courtney Young, Melissa Spencer & April Pyle have used a CRISPR-Cas9-based therapy to repair a patient's DMD gene & restore the missing protein (green).
Muscle fibers with a CRISPR-Cas9-based therapy to repair a patient's DMD gene & restore the missing protein (green).
These colorful muscle fibers tell a beautiful story of repair, & point to a potential approach to treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy — a rare, debilitating, & fatal disease. In DMD, a protein that helps muscle cells stay strong is missing.
Blood cells circulating in the head of a fruit fly.
Face of a fruit fly that helped #HHMIInvestigator Amita Sehgal and team uncover how sleep acts as a critical "cellular housekeeper," keeping our neurons healthy (and so much more) — findings that could drive a better understanding of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s: bit.ly/3ZKNFnK.
Gilliam Fellow attendees at the HHMI February 2026 Science Meeting
Calling all #GilliamFellows! 👋 Stay connected with the latest Gilliam program updates, stories, & community news — and contribute your highlights. Sign up by March 2 to get the first issue! hhmi.news/4u4W7MH
Chrysothemis Bown and Yoselin Paucar Iza
By uncovering the origins of a group of rare immune cells called Thetis cells, #GilliamFellow Yoselin Paucar Iza & #FreemanHrabowski Scholar @chrysothemisbrown.bsky.social are unlocking these cells' potential to help treat — or even prevent — food allergies & autoimmune diseases: bit.ly/4cnQpii.
What appears to be a dazzling, cosmic, rainbow-hued spiderweb against a black background.
🕸️Spider web or cell’s internal structure? This network of actin filaments — captured by #HHMIInvestigator Xiaowei Zhuang —was imaged using super-resolution STORM microscopy, showing details far beyond a standard microscope. Colors indicate depth: blues/purples closer, greens/yellows farther.
Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences Gerry Rubin Senior Group Leader HHMI Janelia Research Campus
Celebrating HHMI giant Gerry Rubin today, winner of the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences! Along w/ colleagues, Rubin — founding Exec. Dir. of our Janelia Research Campus — is recognized for mapping connectomes, the wiring diagrams of neurons that underlie how the brain functions: bit.ly/4aXkrs4
A sophisticated poem for our Valentine's crushes, zebrafish & fruit flies — two small-but-mighty model organisms critical to basic science. Fast to reproduce, genetically similar to humans, & key to potential breakthroughs in understanding development & disease. What's not to love?! 💘
David Clapham in a lab
After 50 years in science, former #HHMIInvestigator David Clapham’s advice is simple: “You have to see problem-solving as fun.” From training with Nobel laureates to deepening our understanding of ion channels & leading at HHMI, he retires with a lasting legacy: hhmi.news/3O3kYji.
SciShow Field Trips with HHMI Investigator Beth Stevens
What if the answers to Alzheimer’s & schizophrenia lie in glia, not neurons? Join “SciShow Field Trips” & our own Tangled Bank Studios inside #HHMIInvestigator Beth Stevens' lab to see how these long-ignored brain cells may help us better understand neurological diseases: bit.ly/4kjqU3R.
A lymph node from a mouse with allergies. Cells (yellow) react to allergens and become antibody-producing cells (red). These antibodies, known as IgE, are the cause of most allergies in humans.
Kids who grow up in biodiverse environments tend to have fewer allergies—& now we know why. #HHMIInvestigator Ruslan Medzhitov & co have found early exposure to diverse microbes creates broad immune memory, & an antibody that helps block allergic reactions later in life: bit.ly/4rGC59h.
🎶 Sound on! How does a young zebra finch's song connect to treating Parkinson's? #FreemanHrabowski Scholar Vikram Gadagkar & co have ID'd a dopamine-based neural signal in finches that could offer insights into motor learning in humans — esp. those w/conditions like Parkinson’s hhmi.news/4tndfNg
2026 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science Karolin Luger HHMI Investigator University of Colorado
We're proud to join the Vilcek Foundation in recognizing HHMI Investigator Karolin Luger, whose dedication & groundbreaking nucleosome research has led to the development of innovative new drug treatments, including cancer medicines. hhmi.news/49VciEd @vilcekfoundation.bsky.social
Luke Lavis, a Senior Group Leader at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus, in his lab
CLOSING SOON: Applications for Group Leader roles at our Janelia Research Campus close Feb. 3! Have original, transformative ideas for experimental approaches in imaging, molecular engineering, protein chemistry, mass spectrometry, & beyond? Learn more: janelia.org/groupleader 🧪
SciShow Field Trips featuring HHMI Investigator Feng Zhang
"SciShow Field Trips" & our own Tangled Bank Studios take you inside the lab of HHMI Investigator Feng Zhang. Known for engineering CRISPR-Cas9 for use in human cells, his next breakthrough could reach hard-to-access cells associated with conditions like ALS & Huntington's: bit.ly/49JomIt
HHMI Janelia Research Campus Group Leaders Alison Tebo and Srinivas Turaga in the lab.
Biosensors help scientists understand the brain & body like never before, but building one can take years. Researchers Alison Tebo & Srinivas Turaga at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus are using AI to build a tool that will vastly speed biosensor development for all scientists: hhmi.news/4rdhvNt
2/2: Hynes discovered key molecules involved in cell adhesion, driving a better understanding of development and cancer metastasis. Their enormous contributions to basic science and human health live on.
In Memoriam Richard O. Hynes, HHMI Investigator Emeriti Joel F. Habener, HHMI Investigator Emeriti
1/2: It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Joel Habener and Richard Hynes, members of the HHMI Investigator community for more than 3 decades. Habener's discoveries helped transform the treatment of diabetes, obesity, and related conditions.
Samuel Washington Jr. in his classroom
Samuel Washington Jr. instructing a student on a microscope
Samuel Washington Jr. giving a lesson to his students
Science teacher & HHMI BioInteractive Ambassador Samuel Washington Jr. draws students in with more than textbooks. “At first, kids love science—bugs, their bodies, the outdoors—but if you don’t tap into that natural curiosity, they lose it." Via @neatoday.bsky.social bit.ly/4pD1w9W 📸Shea Kastriner
Image of an animal cell showcases web-like fibers called vimentin — a protein that provides mechanical stability to cells and tissues
Created using fluorescence microscopy, this stunning image of an animal cell showcases thin, web-like fibers called vimentin — a protein that provides mechanical stability to cells and tissues, despite a single vimentin being ~7000x smaller than the width of a human hair. 📸 @aaandmoore.bsky.social
Melanie McReynolds and her former Ph.D. mentor, Wendy Hanna–Rose, examine a specimen using a light microscope in McReynolds’s lab at Penn State in 2025.
Driven by an experience familiar to many — watching parents age — HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow Melanie McReynolds wants to answer a fundamental question: How can we age healthier? The key may lie in better understanding NAD+ & how its levels decline as we grow older. Via @asbmb.bsky.social: bit.ly/45tDuHB
12 years after unlocking the famously "undruggable" K-Ras protein — a discovery still driving treatments for cancers with notoriously poor survival rates — HHMI Investigator Kevan Shokat & team are charting new therapies to outmaneuver drug resistance: hhmi.news/3LwWaz5
@ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social
Want to learn state-of-the-art deep learning techniques for microscopy image analysis? Apply by Jan. 15 to join us for a bootcamp at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus. Gain hands-on experience with tools & frameworks you can use in your own research: bit.ly/4sqejiG 🧪
NYE fireworks < neurons expressing iGluSnFR3!
Developed at our Janelia Research Campus, iGluSnFR3 is a fluorescent sensor designed to rapidly detect & image glutamate — our brains' main chemical messenger — allowing researchers to observe (dazzling) neural communication as it happens. 🎆
When gene expression goes wrong, it can cause abnormal cellular growth, cancer, & more. HHMI Investigator Michelle Wang (Cornell University) & collaborators have discovered that nucleosomes—long thought to be obstacles to gene expression—actually help the process work more smoothly. bit.ly/4q9xA6e
Someone holds a finished ChemisTree ornament
Researchers at HHMI Janelia's Research Campus make ChemisTree ornaments
Researchers at HHMI Janelia's Research Campus make ChemisTree ornaments
ChemisTree ornament on a tree
Our kind of annual tradition: Glucose + Tollens’ reagent + festive swirling = a chemical reaction that creates a thin layer of silver, loads of seasonal cheer, & ornaments worthy of being passed down for ... well, a few weeks at least. Happy holidays to all those who celebrate! ✨
Rising undergrad junior or senior? Last chance to apply! Applications close TOMORROW, Dec. 22, 11:59pm EST. 🧪
Our 9-week summer research experience includes hands-on lab work, a generous stipend, & mentorship from some of the nation’s top scientists. Learn more & apply at bit.ly/CechFellows.
"Watching my students who didn’t really know if they wanted to do research turn around & fall in love with research … that’s been the most meaningful." — HHMI Postdoc Scientist Brea Manuel, '25 program mentor. 🧪
Rising junior or senior? *Applications close 11:59pm EST Dec. 22* ⏰❗bit.ly/CechFellows
