Research Money for China - NYTimes.com The decision to award millions of dollars to Chinese scientists in China by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is counterintuitive ("Global Research Awards Showcase China's Gains and Efforts to Retain Scientists," news article, Jan. 25). Since China has "thrown billions" for research, as you say, while in the United States the budget for the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, the predominant federal agencies that finance scientific research, has either decreased or remained stagnant, why divert even more money to China? There are plenty of American scientists who are struggling financially to maintain active research laboratories here at home that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute could easily finance so that they can continue to train the next generation of American scientists. Sending millions of dollars overseas during such a critical financial time for American scientists is irrational! The writer is an associate professor of biomedical engineering, genetics and orthopedics at Stony Brook University.