The Howard Hughes Medical Institutes announced it will spend more than a half billion dollars to fund high-risk, high reward areas of study where there is little or no guarantee of success, but where breakthroughs could lead to significant advances.

The $600 million will go to 56 of the nation’s “most creative biomedical scientists,” working in fields such as microbiology, genetics, immunology, bioengineering, synthetic biology and the ecology of infectious disease.

“These 56 scientists will bring new and innovative ways of thinking about biology to the HHMI community. 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,” said Thomas R. Cech, the institute's president.

The awarded scientists, 42 men and 14 women, were appointed Hughes investigators, joining other 300 leading scientists across the nation who already work for the institute. About 124 of them are members of the National Academy of Sciences and 12 have been honored with the Nobel Prize.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is currently the second wealthiest philanthropic organization in the United States, behind the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with nearly $19 billion. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes and was used partially in the past as a tax haven for his fortune.