How does HHMI funding differ from a typical research grant?

HHMI employs Investigators directly (full salary plus lab budget for renewable 5-7-year terms) rather than awarding project grants. There is no per-grant biosketch, application, or final report; Investigators undergo internal scientific review every 5-7 years.

Does HHMI require CRediT?

Not contractually, but HHMI has been a CRediT advocate since co-hosting the 2012 origin workshop. Detailed CRediT statements are the cultural norm on HHMI-funded publications, and HHMI Investigators are frequently cited as CRediT exemplars.

How does HHMI handle parallel NIH funding?

Most HHMI Investigators also hold NIH grants; the publication acknowledgement names both funding sources. NIH PubMed Central deposit and the immediate-no-embargo rule (effective 2025) apply to the NIH-funded portion in parallel.

Are HHMI publications all CC BY?

Yes - HHMI open-access policy effective 2022 requires CC BY at time of publication. Articles published before 2022 follow the prior HHMI policy that included a delayed-OA option.

Yes - HHMI Investigators link ORCID iDs in publication-tracking systems. CRediT roles on published articles attach to the ORCID-identified author, giving HHMI a clean trail from contributor to publication.

CRediT statement guide

HHMI - using CRediT in your application

HHMI is a longstanding CRediT advocate - it co-hosted the original 2012 workshop that produced CRediT 1.0. HHMI Investigators are frequently cited as CRediT exemplars and detailed contributorship is the cultural norm on HHMI-funded publications.

RecommendedPolicy year 2022United StatesBack to HHMI funder mandate

At application stage

What HHMI asks for in proposals

HHMI does not operate a conventional grant programme - it employs Investigators directly for renewable 5-7 year terms. There is no per-grant application or biosketch process; Investigators undergo internal scientific review every 5-7 years. The HHMI Investigator review is structured around scientific accomplishment narratives rather than structured CV templates.

Where to embed a CRediT statement

In the HHMI Investigator review materials, the scientific-accomplishment narrative is the natural place for CRediT-aligned articulation of your role on cited multi-author works. HHMI Investigators frequently use CRediT vocabulary in describing their contribution to laboratory-and-collaborator outputs because the foundation has been a CRediT advocate since 2012. For HHMI Investigators who also hold NIH grants (most do), NIH-application norms apply to that parallel funding stream.

Sample wording

In an HHMI scientific-accomplishment narrative: "On this multi-author paper, I held Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, and Writing - original draft. The Formal analysis was led by my postdoctoral fellow; the Investigation was distributed across three graduate students and two collaborator labs."

At final-report stage

How CRediT figures in HHMI progress and final reports

HHMI does not require per-grant final reports - the Investigator review cycle (every 5-7 years) is the only structured reporting. Resulting publications are tracked through HHMI publication-monitoring systems linked to Investigator ORCID iDs.

Does HHMI ingest CRediT as structured metadata?

HHMI tracks Investigator publications through ORCID linking and publication-monitoring infrastructure. CRediT statements on those publications appear via the journal layer (JATS metadata) and are visible in the publication record but are not parsed as structured fields in HHMI internal systems.

Common pitfalls

Things to avoid

Treating HHMI funding as equivalent to grant funding in administrative terms; HHMI employs Investigators directly and the mechanics are different.
Failing to apply CC BY immediately on HHMI-funded publications (required since 2022); HHMI is fully Plan S aligned.
Omitting the HHMI funding-acknowledgement statement on publications where work was supported by HHMI in part - even when other funding sources are also acknowledged.
Confusing the HHMI Investigator review cycle (every 5-7 years) with grant final reports; the structures and expectations differ.

Worked example

Sample CRediT statement for a HHMI proposal

Illustrative wording (names invented) - adapt to your team and confirm the HHMI-specific funding-acknowledgement format current at time of submission.

Conceptualization: D. Volkov, K. Patel. Methodology: D. Volkov, K. Patel, M. Reyes. Investigation: D. Volkov, M. Reyes, J. Schmidt. Formal analysis: K. Patel, M. Reyes. Writing - original draft: D. Volkov, K. Patel. Writing - review & editing: all authors. Visualization: M. Reyes. Resources: D. Volkov. Supervision: D. Volkov. Funding acquisition: D. Volkov. This work was supported in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and by the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01XXXXXXX. The CC BY 4.0 license has been applied to the Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission, in accordance with HHMI open-access policy.

Frequently asked

HHMI + CRediT - common questions

How does HHMI funding differ from a typical research grant?: HHMI employs Investigators directly (full salary plus lab budget for renewable 5-7-year terms) rather than awarding project grants. There is no per-grant biosketch, application, or final report; Investigators undergo internal scientific review every 5-7 years.
Does HHMI require CRediT?: Not contractually, but HHMI has been a CRediT advocate since co-hosting the 2012 origin workshop. Detailed CRediT statements are the cultural norm on HHMI-funded publications, and HHMI Investigators are frequently cited as CRediT exemplars.
How does HHMI handle parallel NIH funding?: Most HHMI Investigators also hold NIH grants; the publication acknowledgement names both funding sources. NIH PubMed Central deposit and the immediate-no-embargo rule (effective 2025) apply to the NIH-funded portion in parallel.
Are HHMI publications all CC BY?: Yes - HHMI open-access policy effective 2022 requires CC BY at time of publication. Articles published before 2022 follow the prior HHMI policy that included a delayed-OA option.
Does HHMI use ORCID?: Yes - HHMI Investigators link ORCID iDs in publication-tracking systems. CRediT roles on published articles attach to the ORCID-identified author, giving HHMI a clean trail from contributor to publication.

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