Yale’s MacMicking selected as Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator

John D. MacMicking, a tenured associate professor of microbial pathogenesis at Yale, is one of 26 scientists named May 19 as investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

The HHMI grants to scientists from 19 institutions across the United States for basic biomedical research are worth $153 million over the next five years. The new HHMI investigators — who include four current HHMI early career scientists — were selected for their individual scientific excellence from a group of 894 eligible applicants.

MacMicking is a leading expert on recent discoveries that most nucleated cells — not just those of the immune system — have developed sophisticated antimicrobial strategies to defend against infection. Many of these strategies are orchestrated through interferon signaling pathways.

“His discoveries about how individual cells protect themselves against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens is forcing scientists to reconsider what constitutes the boundaries and breadth of the traditional immune system,” the HHMI wrote in announcing his selection.

Through the HHMI Investigator Program, the institute has joined with more than 70 distinguished U.S. universities, hospitals, institutes, and medical schools to create an environment that provides flexible, long-term support for approximately 330 Hughes investigators and members of their research teams. HHMI investigators are widely recognized for their creativity and research accomplishments: 182 HHMI investigators are members of the National Academy of Sciences, and there are currently 17 Nobel laureates within the investigator community.

The new HHMI investigators are expected to begin their appointments in September 2015.