FOREWORD 
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute remains 
the largest private, nonprofit scientific and phil- 
anthropic organization in the United States engaged 
in the direct conduct of biomedical research. As an 
institute without walls, it conducts research in its 
laboratories headed by 222 investigators located at 
53 medical schools, universities, and research insti- 
tutions in 40 cities and 23 states across the nation. 
Through its philanthropic grants program, HHMI 
also supports various aspects of education in the 
sciences, from elementary school through postgrad- 
uate research training, and the research of outstand- 
ing biomedical scientists in selected countries out- 
side of the United States. The total number of 
Institute employees, including 184 in its Bethesda 
offices, was 2,136. The budget in support of the 
research activities was $273. 2 million and was 
$51.2 million in the grants program. 
HHMI scientists conduct research in five broad 
areas that together encompass most of biomedical 
research: cell biology and regulation, genetics, im- 
munology, neuroscience, and structural biology. In 
this volume, each investigator has reported the prog- 
ress made by his or her research group during the 
past year. A bibliography citing the publications of 
each laboratory during this period is included. 
These chapters document a year of considerable 
achievements and progress toward the goals stated 
in the Institute's charter — "the promotion of hu- 
man knowledge within the field of basic sciences 
(principally the field of medical research and medi- 
cal education) and the effective application thereof 
for the benefit of mankind." 
In recognition of the international nature of 
science, the Institute launched in 1991 a limited 
and experimental program whereby outstanding in- 
vestigators, still in the developmental stages of their 
careers, were invited to apply for five-year research 
grants. The first countries selected were our neigh- 
bors, Canada and Mexico. You will read in this vol- 
ume about the research accomplishments during 
the first grant year of the 24 scholars (14 from Can- 
ada and 10 from Mexico) initially selected. A second 
competition was held for scientists in Australia, New 
Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Grant awards are 
being made in 1993 to the institutions of the 
scholars selected in support of their work, and their 
reports will appear in later volumes. This interna- 
tional program is separate from the Institute's medi- 
cal research program, in which HHMI investigators 
are employees of the Institute. The international 
scholars do not join the HHMI staff; their research is 
supported by grants from the Institute. 
Highlighting the year were six scientific meet- 
ings, one of which was attended by each of the Insti- 
tute's investigators, the international scholars, and 
HHMI advisors. Most of the topics were selected to 
cut across the five program areas of the Institute and 
to bring together its scientists in different disci- 
plines who otherwise might not meet to discuss 
their research. It has been gratifying to see the ex- 
change of ideas and the development of collabora- 
tive associations during the sessions. The Institute 
also sponsors each year several workshops that ex- 
plore in depth selected topics of special interest. 
These smaller, more informal gatherings are gener- 
ally organized by one or several of the Institute's 
investigators or advisors and include also experts 
from outside the HHMI family and abroad. A list of 
these meetings is found elsewhere in this volume. 
In 1988, through its grant programs, the Institute 
undertook the development of a number of activi- 
ties to ensure that the scientific community will 
continue to be sustained and invigorated by the en- 
trance of new talent and enthusiasm. The HHMI- 
supported programs in biomedical sciences now 
reach out to students at all levels, from kindergarten 
through postdoctoral research training. The insti- 
tute supports graduate students, medical students, 
and physicians through fellowships; undergraduate 
institutions through an undergraduate science edu- 
cation grants program; and science museums 
through a public science and precoUege education 
program. Details of these activities appear in this 
volume in the section on grants and special pro- 
grams and in another annual HHMI publication, 
Grants for Science Education. 
The Institute published the third in a series of 
occasional reports for a general audience on topics 
in basic biomedical sciences. From Egg to Adult. 
This joined two other reports. Blazing a Genetic 
Trail and Finding the Critical Shapes, which have 
been distributed free of charge to teachers, govern- 
ment officials, business leaders, journalists, and sci- 
entists, and are being used in over a thousand 
classrooms. Another publication aimed at providing 
an overview of the research of each of the Institute's 
investigators and international scholars in nontech- 
nical language is the annual publication Research 
in Progress. A general Annual Report of the How- 
FOREWORD Vii 
