New HHMI Investigators

Two VP&S scientists were among 26 leading researchers named as new investigators of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. These highly sought-after appointments provide each new investigator with steady and generous support for several years. Dmitriy Aronov studies how a brief event, experienced only once, can become a memory that lasts a lifetime. To study such “episodic” memories, Dr. Aronov’s lab uses a unique memory specialist, the black-capped chickadee.

Samuel Sternberg is an expert on the CRISPR-Cas systems of RNA-guided nucleic acid targeting and on the development of these systems for genome engineering applications. His lab searches the genomes of bacteria, archaea, and viruses for additional hidden non-coding RNA molecules that can be converted into novel tools to precisely manipulate the human genome.