The 60-page volume details extraordinary findings from HFSP-supported research, high-profile scientific papers that have resulted from these breakthrough discoveries, and newly awarded HFSP Research Grants and Fellowships. In total, this year’s Science Digest represents more than 40 projects, involving 55 international scientists from more than 26 countries.
This year, the HFSP Science Digest features a special section on investigations in synthetic biology and the origin of life that are generating remarkable new insights that will reshape our understanding of key biological assumptions.
“I am proud to say that this edition of the Science Digest showcases the vital role that basic, frontier life science research plays in generating valuable innovations that are important to the scientific enterprise and to our innovation economy,” said Pavel Kabat, HFSPO Secretary-General. “Basic research provides the vital foundation for human society by exploring whole new fields and disciplines from which innovative medical treatments, medications, and engineered solutions can emerge."
The Science Digest is divided into three sections, Section 1 focuses on outstanding HFSP Research Grant and Fellowship projects that were completed in 2023. Section 2 includes a topical overview on exciting research in a broad area, and this year, that focus is on synthetic biology and origin of life research. Section 3 presents a select array of HFSP-supported research that has yielded impressive innovations – demonstrating once again the vital link between basic research that seeks to reveal new discoveries and the emergent knowledge that spins off valuable innovations.
HFSP Research Grants prioritize international collaboration, particularly those projects that propose investigations involving researchers from more than two countries. About two-thirds of HFSP-funded projects involve teams in three or more countries, and almost all involve intercontinental collaboration. In this regard, HFSP creates networks that transcend national and disciplinary borders and establishes opportunities that go far beyond what would be possible through classical, bilateral collaborations.
HFSP postdoctoral opportunities, both Long-Term Fellowships and Cross-Disciplinary Fellowships, enable early career scientists to move to a new country and experience new research environments and fields. Specific effort is made to encourage and support early career scientists from disciplines outside the life sciences to embark on a career path in the life sciences through cross-disciplinary research. This is yet another way HFSP is opening new horizons and exploring new frontiers.
Indeed, HFSP provides a unique forum for scientists to enter international collaborations in life science research, and at times in their careers, that go beyond what most science funding mechanisms support.
Access the Science Digest 2023 here. Hard copies can be requested at communications@hfsp.org.