The Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Maryland, has announced the selection of sixty-nine medical, dental, and veterinary students to receive year-long research fellowships.

Participants in the HHMI Medical Research Fellows Program — a $2.5 million annual initiative designed to strengthen and expand the nation's pool of physician-scientists and medically trained researchers — will spend the year conducting basic, translational, or applied biomedical research at academic or nonprofit research institutions across the country. In addition, five students will work with researchers at the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV, a collaborative partnership between HHMI and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in Durban, South Africa.

This year, eight medical research fellows are being funded by six HHMI partner organizations — the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Duchenne Research Fund, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, and K-RITH.

"We expect that when medical students immerse themselves in a year of laboratory research, they will gain insights about the process of science," said David J. Asai, senior director of science education at HHMI. "This hands-on experience is intended to encourage the development of physician-scientists who will enjoy an extra edge when figuring out solutions to basic as well as clinical problems."

For a complete list of fellowship recipients, visit the HHMI Web site.