The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Simons Foundation announced an initiative to support talented, early-career scientists working in biology and biomedical research. They plan to invest $148 million in the program over the next 5 years.

Three philanthropic powerhouses have joined together to address the critical state of grant funding for young researchers in the United States. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Simons Foundation announced a new initiative to support talented, early-career scientists working in biology and biomedical research.

The charities expect to invest $148 million over the next 5 years in their Faculty Scholars Program, which will award up to 70 grants every 2 1/2 years to basic researchers and physician scientists at more than 220 eligible institutions.

The initiative is the first collaboration for the three charities, and it comes amid serious concerns that historically low success rates for NIH awards will lead to a dramatic decrease in the number of biomedical researchers. “There is no doubt the downward trend in research funding in the United States is hitting early-career scientists very hard,” says HHMI President Robert Tjian. The initiative will provide funding, mentoring opportunities, and other critical resources to encourage young scientists, he says.

“As the competition for grant support intensifies, many of our nation's early-career scientists are now spending extraordinary amounts of time chasing funding instead of pursuing their best ideas in lab,” says Erin O'Shea, vice president and chief scientific officer at HHMI. “We want to change that.”

The 5-year, nonrenewable awards will range from $100,000 to $400,000 per year in direct costs. Researchers with PhD or MD degrees who finished their training within the previous 4 to 10 years and who hold a tenured or tenure-track faculty appointment or equivalent at eligible institutions may apply. Women, minority researchers, and researchers working on diseases that disproportionately affect people living in low-resource settings are particularly encouraged to seek funding. The deadline for applications is July 28, 2015. The first round of awards will be announced in July 2016.