A deeper understanding of how plants function and respond to stress is essential to address global challenges such as climate change, the increasing demand for food and the consequences that both have for Earth’s environment and the quality of life. In collaboration with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the HHMI/GBMF Plant Biology Investigator Program seeks to improve this understanding by supporting the research of some of the nation’s most outstanding plant scientists and strives to transform the field of plant biology by increasing novel innovative basic research and stimulating cross-disciplinary synergies. The program launched in 2010 with the solicitation of applications from plant scientists at the forefront of their fields, leading to the selection of 15 scientists who received five-year appointments. These HHMI/GBMF Plant Biology Investigators continue to produce exciting results in a variety of different areas of plant biology.