Gilliam Fellows Program
The program provides awards to pairs of dissertation advisers and their graduate students based on what HHMI values and considers essential components of the environment, particularly the institution and adviser’s commitment to creating a healthy academic ecosystem and the student’s potential for scientific leadership.

The goals of the Gilliam program are to ensure that students from groups historically excluded from and underrepresented in science are prepared to assume leadership roles in science and science education, and to foster the development of a healthier, more inclusive academic scientific ecosystem by partnering with faculty and institutions committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in the sciences.
Gilliam Advisers
Gilliam Advisers play a key role as change-makers who can foster the development of a more inclusive academic scientific environment. To facilitate this role, all Advisers participate in a year-long, culturally responsive mentorship development course, which is a hallmark of the Gilliam program.
Advisers are empowered to disseminate lessons learned to their lab, department, and institution to make an exponentially greater impact on creating a healthy academic scientific ecosystem. Additionally, Advisers receive a modest award to address challenges to diversity and inclusion at the graduate level.
Through their development of diversity and inclusion projects, Advisers can leverage their influence and implement activities to lessen undue burden from populations historically excluded and underrepresented in science.
Read about Advisers’ Projects »
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“I used the knowledge gained from the Gilliam mentor training to develop workshops for faculty in my department on how to create and maintain an inclusive and diverse work environment. Faculty that participated see a visible change in the confidence of their underrepresented mentees.”
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Gilliam Fellows
Becoming part of a diverse, supportive, and strong community of scholars is a highlight of the Gilliam Fellows’ experience in the program.
Fellows’ attendance at the Gilliam Annual Meeting and participation in HHMI leadership training gives them the tools to use their strengths and experiences to the benefit of science, to influence the environment, maximize their collaborations, and elevate their voices as scientific leaders.
Gilliam-specific sessions at the HHMI Science Meetings further enable Fellows to engage with their peers, increase their scientific knowledge, and gain important insight and advice from leading HHMI scientists.
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“The Gilliam community constantly inspires me. It has given me a group of peers to whom I can relate, who are passionate about scientific discovery, pursuing careers in academia, and making science a more inclusive space for people of all backgrounds. The support of my Gilliam family has been invaluable throughout graduate school, and I know these relationships will remain throughout my entire career.”
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About James H. Gilliam, Jr.
The Gilliam Fellows Program was created in 2004 in honor of the late James H. Gilliam, Jr., a charter Trustee of HHMI and chair of its Audit and Compensation Committee. Mr. Gilliam was a respected business and civic leader who spent his life nurturing excellence and diversity in science and education.

- Fellows are supported for up to three years of dissertation research, typically in years
3–5 of PhD study. - For the 2023 fellowship cohort the award amount is $53,000 per year. This includes an annual fellow stipend of $36,000, an institution allowance (in lieu of tuition and fees) of $10,000, a fellow’s discretionary allowance of $4,000, and an adviser allowance of $3,000 to support diversity and inclusion efforts at the graduate level.
Advisers' Benefits
- Engage in a thirty-hour, year-long culturally responsive mentorship development course through interactive online modules and in-person meetings
- Build a community of advisers and share knowledge and experiences
- Learn best practices in improving communication, managing expectations, and developing equitable and inclusive mentoring relationships from nationally recognized facilitators
- Develop an implementation plan to disseminate mentor training with feedback from facilitators
- Receive support to address challenges to diversity and inclusion at the graduate level
Read about Advisers’ Projects »
![]() | “I chose to focus my initial dissemination efforts from the Gilliam Adviser training on teaching the faculty in my department about culturally aware and inclusive practices. Faculty learn specific actions they can take to improve mentoring and create a more inclusive culture in science. Most importantly, they appear to be discussing cultural awareness regularly and taking individual actions to effect positive changes in our graduate training environments.” |
Fellows' Benefits
- Become part of a vibrant, supportive community of Gilliam Fellows
- Enhance leadership and professional development skills in annual training
- Present research and network with other trainees and scientists at the Gilliam annual meeting and at HHMI science meetings
- Gain career advice and insight from HHMI investigators at Gilliam-specific discussion sessions
- Receive support to participate in discipline-specific meetings, advanced courses, and other professional development events and activities
![]() | “The Gilliam Fellows’ discussion with HHMI Investigator Dr. Samara Reck-Peterson was very worthwhile. I will utilize her advice in collaborating with lab members, being truly invested in their research, and effectively communicating my most valuable attributes when applying to postdoc positions. She was very open to sharing her own hardships and showed her humility and honesty in that teamwork is a key contributor to academic breakthroughs.” |
HHMI’s Gilliam Fellows Program is open to eligible pairs comprising thesis advisers and PhD students (“adviser-student pairs”). Application for the Gilliam Fellows Program is by invitation only.
- Adviser-student pairs must be nominated by the HHMI-designated nominator.
- Adviser-student pairs must be studying scientific problems in biomedical sciences, life sciences, and biological questions in related disciplines. This includes basic research on a variety of biological systems and at all scales including at the molecular, cellular, organismal, and ecological levels. This initiative does not support social science research.
- Prospective fellows must be (i) U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, undocumented childhood arrivals, or undocumented individuals who have been granted temporary permission to stay in the U.S. (DACA), and (ii) be from populations excluded from and underrepresented in science because of ethnicity, race, or disability status, or alumni of the HHMI EXROP program and (iii) be at the appropriate stage of their PhD training.
Notifications will be sent to the designated nominator by HHMI in August, and the deadline for nominations for the competition is late-September. (See Application tab)
Nominations should be made of students who (i) are in their second or third year of a PhD program, and/or (ii) have at least two full years of study remaining as of September 1, 2023.
Students who are enrolled in or affiliated with a funded MD/PhD or other dual-degree program are not eligible (e.g., MSTP or institutionally funded program).
Note: Application for the Gilliam Fellows Program is by invitation only.
HHMI’s Gilliam Fellowships are awarded on the basis of:
- The student’s promise as a scientific investigator and leader in the scientific community;
- The commitment and/or demonstrated ability of the thesis adviser and institution to develop scientists, especially persons from populations historically excluded from and underrepresented in science;
- The demonstrated commitment by the thesis adviser and institution to facilitate institutional change to create a healthy and inclusive academic scientific ecosystem for all members (e.g., graduate students, postdocs, early career faculty);
- An evaluation of all submitted materials from the nominator, adviser, student, and previous research adviser. All these materials will be critical elements in the evaluation of the application.
Components of the application
Nomination and Eligibility Confirmation (from the nominator)
- Due: September 29, 2022
Application (nominator, thesis adviser, student)
- Opens: October 20, 2022
- Closes: December 8, 2022
External Letter of Support (from student’s previous research adviser)
- Opens: October 20, 2022
- Closes: December 8, 2022
Please note that the application prompts are subject to change for each new competition. For more information about the nomination and application components, please refer to the 2023 Gilliam Program Announcement (PDF).
Current Fellows and Advisers
Cohort Year | Fellow | Adviser/Co-Adviser | Institution |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Karim Abdelaal | Kafui Dzirasa | Duke University |
2022 | Jaquesta Adams | Markita Landry | University of California, Berkeley |
2022 | Joseph Aguilera | Erica Larschan | Brown University |
2022 | Ifé Akano | Yael David | Weill Cornell Medicine |
2022 | Aura Alonso-Rodriguez | Taylor Ricketts | University of Vermont |
2022 | Natasha Baas-Thomas | Donald Katz | Brandeis University |
2022 | Laymon Ball | Laura Lagomarsino | Louisiana State University |
2022 | Myles Bartholomew | Richard Freiman | Brown University |
2022 | Albit Caban | Steve Ramirez | Boston University |
2022 | Jose Campos Duran | Sarah Henrickson | University of Pennsylvania |
2022 | Alexis Carey | Ashani Weeraratna | The Johns Hopkins University |
2022 | Jesus Castor-Macias | Carlos Aguilar | University of Michigan |
2022 | Lennice Castro | Matthew Daugherty | University of California, San Diego |
2022 | Carlene Chinn | Marcelo Wood | University of California, Irvine |
2022 | Elaida Dimwamwa | Garrett Stanley | Georgia Institute of Technology |
2022 | Ryan Elbashir | Matthew Vander Heiden | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
2022 | Yesenia Garcia | Shannon Gourley | Emory University |
2022 | Melanie Gil | Vivian Gama | Vanderbilt University |
2022 | Tania Gonzalez-Robles | Kelly Ruggles | New York University Grossman School of Medicine |
2022 | Billie Goolsby | Lauren O'Connell | Stanford University |
2022 | Ayress Grinage | Chelsea Specht | Cornell University |
2022 | Miguel Guardado | Ryan Hernandez | University of California, San Francisco |
2022 | Nadia Holness | Sarah Ewald | University of Virginia School of Medicine |
2022 | Yanabah Jaques | Daniela Kaufer | University of California, Berkeley |
2022 | Jarildy Javier | Larry Young Malavika Murugan |
Emory University |
2022 | Jessica Jones | John Tuthill | University of Washington |
2022 | Krisangel López | Albert Auguste | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
2022 | Maya Lopez-Ichikawa | Matthew Spitzer | University of California, San Francisco |
2022 | Peter Lotfy | Jose Ordovas-Montanes | Harvard Medical School |
2022 | Ricardo Lozoya | Richard Daneman | University of California, San Diego |
2022 | Kimberly Lukasik | Stephanie Gupton | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
2022 | Ahmed Mahmoud | Karuna Ganesh | Weill Cornell Medicine |
2022 | Vanessa Mariscal | Fitnat Yildiz Seth Rubin |
University of California, Santa Cruz |
2022 | Reo Maynard | Gordon Bennett | University of California, Merced |
2022 | Daniel Mendez | Thomas Bastian Michael Georgieff |
University of Minnesota Medical School |
2022 | Katherine Morillo | Coleen Murphy | Princeton University |
2022 | Lauren Neal | Leslie Vosshall | The Rockefeller University |
2022 | Katia Niño | Eric Pietras | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus |
2022 | Maria Ortiz-Juza | Jose Rodriguez-Romaguera | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
2022 | Alexander Paredes | Aaron Smith | University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
2022 | Leila May Pascual | Sam Sober | Emory University |
2022 | Zeena Rivera | Alicia Izquierdo Andrew Wikenheiser |
University of California, Los Angeles |
2022 | Cristina Rivera Quiles | Michelle Mazei-Robison | Michigan State University |
2022 | Leeza Santiago Millan | Fred Winston | Harvard Medical School |
2022 | Franklin Staback Rodriguez | Janis Burkhardt | University of Pennsylvania |
2022 | Eric Stokes | Jason Aoto | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus |
2022 | Héctor Torres Vera | Alanna Schepartz | University of California, Berkeley |
2022 | Axel Vera | Ronald Raines | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
2022 | Jillian Walton | Alison Buchan | University of Tennessee, Knoxville |
2022 | Franceine Welcome | Michael Airola | Stony Brook University |
2022 | Maya Woolfolk | Hopi Hoekstra | Harvard University |
2021 | Briana Aboulache | Karolin Luger | University of Colorado Boulder |
2021 | Analine Aguayo | Sonya Neal | University of California, San Diego |
2021 | Robin Aguilar | William Noble Brian Beliveau |
University of Washington |
2021 | Carlos Alvarado | Joseph Puglisi | Stanford University |
2021 | Ester Alvarez Benedicto | Daniel Siegwart | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center |
2021 | Kwasi Amofa | Sanjay Kumar | University of California, Berkeley |
2021 | Aldo Arellano | Kerri Coon | University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2021 | Emily Ashkin | Monte Winslow | Stanford University |
2021 | Dante Avalos | Catherine Drennan | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
2021 | Daniel Barrero | Sue Biggins | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center/University of Washington |
2021 | Bobbie Brown | Robert Gereau | Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine |
2021 | Micah Burton | Martin Jonikas | Princeton University |
2021 | Marvic Carrillo-Terrazas | Hiutung Chu | University of California, San Diego |
2021 | Jessica Castrillon Lal | Feixiong Cheng | Case Western Reserve University |
2021 | Ya'el Courtney | Maria Lehtinen | Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard University |
2021 | Kimberly Diaz Perez | Elizabeth Leslie | Emory University |
2021 | Christopher Doering | Michael Laub | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
2021 | Lisset Duran | Jose Avalos Daniel J. Cohen |
Princeton University |
2021 | Chelsy Eddings | Shigeki Watanabe Seth Margolis |
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine |
2021 | Mélise Edwards | Agnes Lacreuse | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
2021 | Dwayne Evans | Cassandra Extavour | Harvard University |
2021 | Michael B. Fernando | Paul Slesinger Kristen Brennand |
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
2021 | Jaime Fuentes | Eric Martens | University of Michigan |
2021 | Jesse Garcia Castillo | Michel DuPage | University of California, Berkeley |
2021 | Karla García-Martínez | Cynthia Leifer | Cornell University |
2021 | Alfredo Gonzalez | Paul Boutros | University of California, Los Angeles |
2021 | Angel Gonzalez-Valero | Christopher Chang | University of California, Berkeley |
2021 | Elijah Hall | Emily Elliott | University of Pittsburgh |
2021 | Kelly Kennewick | Steven Bensinger | University of California, Los Angeles |
2021 | Arden Lee | Virginia Cornish | Columbia University |
2021 | Lindsey Lopes | Daniel Kronauer | The Rockefeller University |
2021 | Chloe Lopez-Lee | Li Gan | Weill Cornell Medicine |
2021 | Gabriel Luna-Arvizu | Daniel Grimes Karen Guillemin |
University of Oregon |
2021 | Matthew McDonough | Jonathan Staley | The University of Chicago |
2021 | Sofia Moraes | Reuben Harris | University of Minnesota Medical School |
2021 | Evan Morrison | Olivia Rissland | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus |
2021 | Tiara Napier | Anna Sorace | University of Alabama at Birmingham |
2021 | Martha Ordonez | Edward Chouchani | Harvard Medical School |
2021 | Gabrielle Paniccia | Charles Rice | The Rockefeller University |
2021 | Sara Ricardez Hernandez | Christian Lorson | University of Missouri-Columbia |
2021 | Maria Pia Rodriguez Salazar | Cagla Eroglu | Duke University Medical Center |
2021 | Loranzie Rogers | Joseph Sisneros | University of Washington |
2021 | Amanda Ruiz | Jonathan Kurtis | Brown University |
2021 | Nancy Sey | Hyejung Won Joyce Besheer |
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine |
2021 | Nicolas Shealy | Mariana Byndloss | Vanderbilt University |
2021 | Tara Spencer | Rachel Dutton | University of California, San Diego |
2021 | Fernando Valbuena | Benjamin Glick | The University of Chicago |
2021 | Tammi van Neel | Ashleigh Theberge | University of Washington |
2021 | Alejandra Villegas | Vasant Muralidharan | University of Georgia |
2021 | Abbey Williams | Lisa Arendt | University of Wisconsin-Madison |
2020 | Jessica Aguilar | Noah Whiteman | University of California, Berkeley |
2020 | Aurora Alvarez-Buylla | Lauren O'Connell | Stanford University |
2020 | Katherine Aracena | Luis Barreiro | The University of Chicago |
2020 | Marissa Baccas | Kelly Liu | Cornell University |
2020 | Erika Bueno | Yolanda Chen | University of Vermont |
2020 | Jillybeth Burgado | Nicola Allen | Salk Institute for Biological Studies/University of California, San Diego |
2020 | Clara Cano | Kathrin Plath | University of California, Los Angeles |
2020 | Daniel Cardozo Pinto | Robert Malenka | Stanford University School of Medicine |
2020 | Nicole Claiborne | Karen Zito | University of California, Davis |
2020 | Alvin Crespo-Bellido | Siobain Duffy | Rutgers University-New Brunswick |
2020 | Ryan Daniels | Robert Mauck | Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania |
2020 | Briana Davis | John Rawls | Duke University School of Medicine |
2020 | Ulises Diaz | Wallace Marshall | University of California, San Francisco |
2020 | Nadia Fernandez | Lisa Komoroske | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
2020 | Nina Marie Garcia | James Alvarez | Duke University |
2020 | Andrea Guerrero | Gina Turrigiano | Brandeis University |
2020 | Michael Hopkins | Seth Margolis | The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine |
2020 | Lillian Horin | Timothy Mitchison | Harvard Medical School |
2020 | Ilenna Jones | Konrad Kording | University of Pennsylvania |
2020 | Kody Mansfield | Shruti Naik | New York University Grossman School of Medicine |
2020 | Matthew Maxwell | Diana Hargreaves | Salk Institute for Biological Studies/University of California, San Diego |
2020 | Hernán Méndez | Thomas Kash | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine |
2020 | Thomas Mota | Ritchie Ho | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center |
2020 | Priscila Muñoz-Sandoval | K. Mark Ansel | University of California, San Francisco |
2020 | Sofia Neira | Thomas Kash | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine |
2020 | Nghia Nguyen | Mark Andermann | Harvard University |
2020 | Jacob Ortega | Swathi Arur | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center/Baylor College of Medicine |
2020 | Ana Ortiz | Genevieve Konopka | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center |
2020 | Miguel Pacheco | Rachel Green | The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine |
2020 | Jacqueline Peña | Douda Bensasson | University of Georgia |
2020 | Gabriella Perez | Joanna Jankowsky | Baylor College of Medicine |
2020 | German Rojas | Aakanksha Singhvi | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center/University of Washington |
2020 | Jessica Schwarz | Amita Sehgal | Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania |
2020 | Candilianne Serrano-Zayas | David Ginsburg | University of Michigan Medical School |
2020 | Mariluz Soula | Kivanc Birsoy | The Rockefeller University |
2020 | Alana Van Dervort | Douglas Melton | Harvard University |
2020 | Carlos Vasquez | Alexis Komor | University of California, San Diego |
2020 | Sheena Vasquez | Catherine Drennan | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
2020 | Santiago Yori Restrepo | Andreas Martin | University of California, Berkeley |
2019 | Elise Adamson | Kafui Dzirasa | Duke University |
2019 | Devin Gibbs | April Pyle | University of California, Los Angeles |
2019 | Kelly Montgomery | Jason Gestwicki | University of California, San Francisco |
2019 | Ferra Pinnock | Susan Daniel | Cornell University |
2019 | Josue Regalado | Priya Rajasethupathy | The Rockefeller University |
2019 | Donte Stevens | Samara Reck-Peterson | University of California, San Diego |
2019 | Alexis Toliver | Judy Liu | Brown University |
2019-2022 cohorts active as of September 1, 2022.