On Mar. 23, 2015, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Simons Foundation launched the Faculty Scholars Program which provided much needed research support to outstanding early-career scientists in the United States.

The philanthropies invested a total of $148 million in research support over the program’s first five years, and awarded up to 70 grants every 2.5 years to promising scientists who had great potential to make unique contributions to their field.