The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is to award funding to 56 of the country's top scientists over their first term of appointment and includes 42 men and 14 women representing 31 institutions nationwide.
Such scientific questions driving the new investigators' research include: How does aging contribute to neurodegeneration? Which genetic changes alter behaviour throughout evolution? What can bacteria teach chemists about designing better antibiotics? And does climate change affect the spread of infectious diseases?
"These 56 scientists will bring new and innovative ways of thinking about biology to the HHMI community," said Thomas Cech, the institute's president.
"They are poised to advance scientific knowledge dramatically in the coming years, and we are committed to providing them with the freedom and flexibility to do so."
The HHMI's act of philanthropy flies in the face of recent funding issues where researchers were left dismayed at the start of the year by the news that 2009's budget for the National Institutes of Health - the largest single supporter of biomedical research in the U.S - would boost spending by a meagre 0.5 per cent.
Research groups had been lobbying hard for a 6.7 per cent increase for 2008 to 2010 in order to make up for the flat funding record of recent years.
HHMI's funding is not only a boost to the scientific community of America but comes with its own set of requests that ensures the money is ploughed straight into the heart of the research.
By appointing the selected scientists as Hughes investigators rather than awarding research grants HHMI investigators have the freedom to explore and, if necessary, to change direction in their research.
The HHMI vowed they would have support to follow their ideas through to fruition even if that process takes many years.
The selection process marks a new direction for the HHMI as it opens up general competition to the direct application process as a way of selecting investigators from a broader and deeper pool of scientists.
"Opening the competition to a direct application process allowed us to identify new investigators who are working in areas that have historically been core strengths of the Institute - such as neuroscience and structural biology," said Jack Dixon, vice president and chief scientific officer at HHMI.
"But we have also added research fields that have not been strongly represented in the past. This is truly an expansion for HHMI."
HHMI chose the 56 scientists from among 1,070 applications submitted in a nationwide competition, which was announced in 2007. Researchers with 4 to 10 years of experience as faculty members at more than 200 institutions were eligible to apply.
HHMI said that the 56 newly selected investigators would now be formally appointed, a process that would take up to six months.