Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study
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.
November 12, 2021
Gilliam Fellows Program statement
HHMI has a long-standing commitment to inclusion in science and science education. The goal of the Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study is to advance diversity and inclusion in U.S. science. To determine eligibility, HHMI relies on National Science Foundation data to identify populations underrepresented in science because of race, ethnicity, or disability.
We also recognize that there are other ethnic populations who might be underrepresented but who are not currently designated as such by the federal government. In the current competition, concerns have been raised about how HHMI can ensure that persons from these groups are able to apply. Because in the 2022 competition we did not provide nominators specific instructions as to how to nominate persons from other, demonstrably underrepresented ethnic groups, we have extended eligibility to a small number of applicants who were initially advised they were ineligible.
As we plan for future competitions, we are implementing two changes. First, we will work with universities that wish to nominate persons from ethnic groups not identified as underrepresented in science by federal agencies. Second, we will offer more explicit guidance to nominators about how we define eligibility, so they have the information they need to act on this provision. In addition, we will continue to consider how we and other organizations might better examine what ethnic groups are underrepresented in science.

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 are able to leverage their influence and implement activities that will remove 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, strong community where Fellows can focus on their science 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 them 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 Fellowships for Advanced Study were 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 three, four, and five of PhD study.
- For the 2022-2023 fellowship year 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 thirty-hour, year-long culturally responsive mentorship development 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 Fellowships for Advanced Study are open to eligible pairs comprising thesis advisers and PhD students (“adviser-student pairs”). Application for the Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study is by invitation only.
- Adviser-student pairs from eligible disciplines must be nominated by the HHMI-designated nominator.
- 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 mid-September. (See Application tab)
The adviser-student pairs must be studying scientific problems in biomedical sciences, life sciences, or 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.
Nominations should be made of students who (i) are in their second or third year of a PhD program, (ii) and/or have at least two full years of study remaining, and (iii) who have or will advance to candidacy by September 1, 2022.
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 Fellowships for Advanced Study is by invitation only.
HHMI’s Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study are awarded on the basis of:
- The commitment and/or demonstrated ability of the institution and the thesis adviser to develop scientists, especially doctoral students from populations historically excluded from and underrepresented in science;
- The demonstrated commitment by the institution and the thesis adviser to create a healthy and inclusive academic scientific ecosystem for all members (e.g., graduate students, postdocs, early career faculty);
- The candidate’s promise as a scientific investigator and leader in the scientific community, including as a college or university faculty member;
- 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 (from the nominator)
- Due: September 16, 2021
Eligibility Confirmation (to be completed by the thesis adviser)
- Due: October 13, 2021
Application (nominator, thesis adviser, student)
- Opens: October 27, 2021
- Closes: December 9, 2021
External Letter of Support (from student’s previous research adviser)
- Opens: October 27, 2021
- Closes: December 9, 2021
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 2022 Gilliam Program Announcement (PDF).
Current Advisers and Fellows
Cohort Year | Adviser/Co-Adviser | Institution | Fellow |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | Lisa Arendt | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Abbey Williams |
2021 | Jose Avalos Daniel J. Cohen |
Princeton University | Lisset Duran |
2021 | Steven Bensinger | University of California-Los Angeles | Kelly Kennewick |
2021 | Sue Biggins | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Daniel Barrero |
2021 | Paul Boutros | University of California-Los Angeles | Alfredo Gonzalez |
2021 | Mariana Byndloss | Vanderbilt University | Nicolas Shealy |
2021 | Christopher Chang | University of California-Berkeley | Angel Gonzalez-Valero |
2021 | Feixiong Cheng | Case Western Reserve University | Jessica Castrillon Lal |
2021 | Edward Chouchani | Harvard Medical School | Martha Ordonez |
2021 | Hiutung Chu | University of California-San Diego | Marvic Carrillo-Terrazas |
2021 | Kerri Coon | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Aldo Arellano |
2021 | Virginia Cornish | Columbia University in the City of New York | Arden Lee |
2021 | Catherine Drennan | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Dante Avalos |
2021 | Michel DuPage | University of California-Berkeley | Jesse Garcia Castillo |
2021 | Rachel Dutton | University of California-San Diego | Tara Spencer |
2021 | Emily Elliott | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | Elijah Hall |
2021 | Cagla Eroglu | Duke University Medical Center | Maria Pia Rodriguez Salazar |
2021 | Cassandra Extavour | Harvard University | Dwayne Evans |
2021 | Li Gan | Weill Cornell Medical College | Chloe Lopez-Lee |
2021 | Robert Gereau | Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine | Bobbie Brown |
2021 | Benjamin Glick | University of Chicago | Fernando Valbuena |
2021 | Daniel Grimes Karen Guillemin |
University of Oregon | Gabriel Luna-Arvizu |
2021 | Reuben Harris | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Medical School | Sofia Moraes |
2021 | Martin Jonikas | Princeton University | Micah Burton |
2021 | Daniel Kronauer | Rockefeller University | Lindsey Lopes |
2021 | Sanjay Kumar | University of California-Berkeley | Kwasi Amofa |
2021 | Jonathan Kurtis | Brown University | Amanda Ruiz |
2021 | Agnes Lacreuse | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Mélise Edwards |
2021 | Michael Laub | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Christopher Doering |
2021 | Maria Lehtinen | Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard University | Ya'el Courtney |
2021 | Cynthia Leifer | Cornell University | Karla García-Martínez |
2021 | Elizabeth Leslie | Emory University | Kimberly Diaz Perez |
2021 | Christian Lorson | University of Missouri-Columbia | Sara Ricardez Hernandez |
2021 | Karolin Luger | University of Colorado Boulder | Briana Aboulache |
2021 | Eric Martens | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Jaime Fuentes |
2021 | Vasant Muralidharan | University of Georgia | Alejandra Villegas |
2021 | Sonya Neal | University of California-San Diego | Analine Aguayo |
2021 | William Noble Brian Beliveau |
University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Robin Aguilar |
2021 | Joseph Puglisi | Stanford University | Carlos Alvarado |
2021 | Charles Rice | Rockefeller University | Gabrielle Paniccia |
2021 | Olivia Rissland | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Evan Morrison |
2021 | Daniel Siegwart | University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center | Ester Alvarez Benedicto |
2021 | Joseph Sisneros | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Loranzie Rogers |
2021 | Paul Slesinger Kristen Brennand |
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | Michael B. Fernando |
2021 | Anna Sorace | University of Alabama at Birmingham | Tiara Napier |
2021 | Jonathan Staley | University of Chicago | Matthew McDonough |
2021 | Ashleigh Theberge | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Tammi van Neel |
2021 | Shigeki Watanabe Seth Margolis |
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Chelsy Eddings |
2021 | Monte Winslow | Stanford University | Emily Ashkin |
2021 | Hyejung Won Joyce Besheer |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine | Nancy Sey |
2020 | Nicola Allen | Salk Institute for Biological Studies/University of California-San Diego | Jillybeth Burgado |
2020 | Graça Almeida-Porada | Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center | Martin Rodriguez |
2020 | James Alvarez | Duke University | Nina Marie Garcia |
2020 | Mark Andermann | Harvard University | Nghia Nguyen |
2020 | K. Mark Ansel | University of California-San Francisco | Priscila Muñoz-Sandoval |
2020 | Swathi Arur | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center/Baylor College of Medicine | Jacob Ortega |
2020 | Luis Barreiro | University of Chicago | Katherine Aracena |
2020 | Douda Bensasson | University of Georgia | Jacqueline Peña |
2020 | Kivanc Birsoy | Rockefeller University | Mariluz Soula |
2020 | Kathleen Caron | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine | Hernán Méndez |
2020 | Yolanda Chen | University of Vermont | Erika Bueno |
2020 | Catherine Drennan | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Sheena Vasquez |
2020 | Siobain Duffy | Rutgers University, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences | Alvin Crespo-Bellido |
2020 | Monica Dus | University of Michigan | Thibaut R. Pardo-García |
2020 | Sharon Gerecht | The Johns Hopkins University | Franklyn Hall |
2020 | David Ginsburg | University of Michigan Medical School | Candilianne Serrano-Zayas |
2020 | Rachel Green | The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Miguel Pacheco |
2020 | Diana Hargreaves | Salk Institute for Biological Studies/University of California-San Diego | Matthew Maxwell |
2020 | Ritchie Ho | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | Thomas Mota |
2020 | Joanna Jankowsky | Baylor College of Medicine | Gabriella Perez |
2020 | Thomas Kash | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine | Sofia Neira |
2020 | Alexis Komor | University of California-San Diego | Carlos Vasquez |
2020 | Lisa Komoroske | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Nadia Fernandez |
2020 | Genevieve Konopka | University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center | Ana Ortiz |
2020 | Konrad Kording | University of Pennsylvania | Ilenna Jones |
2020 | Kelly Liu | Cornell University | Marissa Baccas |
2020 | Robert Malenka | Stanford University School of Medicine | Daniel Cardozo Pinto |
2020 | Seth Margolis | The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Michael Hopkins |
2020 | Wallace Marshall | University of California-San Francisco | Ulises Diaz |
2020 | Andreas Martin | University of California-Berkeley | Santiago Yori Restrepo |
2020 | Robert Mauck | Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania | Ryan Daniels |
2020 | Douglas Melton | Harvard University | Alana Van Dervort |
2020 | Timothy Mitchison | Harvard Medical School | Lillian Horin |
2020 | Shruti Naik | New York University School of Medicine | Kody Mansfield |
2020 | Lauren O'Connell | Stanford University | Aurora Alvarez-Buylla |
2020 | Kathrin Plath | University of California-Los Angeles | Clara Cano |
2020 | John Rawls | Duke University School of Medicine | Briana Davis |
2020 | Amita Sehgal | Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania | Jessica Schwarz |
2020 | Aakanksha Singhvi | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington-Seattle Campus | German Rojas |
2020 | Gina Turrigiano | Brandeis University | Andrea Guerrero |
2020 | Noah Whiteman | University of California-Berkeley | Jessica Aguilar |
2020 | Karen Zito | University of California-Davis | Nicole Claiborne |
2019 | Regina Baucom | University of Michigan | Nia Johnson |
2019 | Peter Chien | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Samar Mahmoud |
2019 | Seemay Chou | University of California-San Francisco, School of Medicine | Fauna Yarza |
2019 | Daniel Colon-Ramos | University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras | Ernesto Cabezas-Bou |
2019 | Susan Daniel | Cornell University | Ferra Pinnock |
2019 | Ian Davis Peter Mucha |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine Dartmouth College |
Andrew Hinton |
2019 | Ian Davis | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Shelsa Marcel |
2019 | Marcelo Dietrich | Yale University | Gabriela Bosque-Ortiz |
2019 | Chris Dulla | Tufts University School of Medicine | Sadi Quinones |
2019 | Kafui Dzirasa | Duke University | Elise Adamson |
2019 | Ruth Anne Eatock | The University of Chicago | Selina Baeza-Loya |
2019 | Camilla Forsberg | University of California-Santa Cruz | Donna Poscablo |
2019 | Michael Francis | University of Massachusetts Medical School | Kellianne Alexander |
2019 | James Fraser | University of California-San Francisco | Roberto Efraín Díaz |
2019 | Rachelle Gaudet | Harvard University | José Velilla |
2019 | Jason Gestwicki | University of California-San Francisco | Kelly Montgomery |
2019 | J. Silvio Gutkind | University of California-San Diego School of Medicine | Michael Allevato |
2019 | Corey Harwell | Harvard University | Christopher Reid |
2019 | Mark Heise | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine | Brea Hampton |
2019 | Luisa Iruela-Arispe | University of California-Los Angeles | Gloria Hernandez |
2019 | John Jewett | University of Arizona | Natasha Cornejo |
2019 | Alec Kimmelman | New York University School of Medicine | Joel Encarnacion-Rosado |
2019 | Katherine King | Baylor College of Medicine | Daniel Morales-Mantilla |
2019 | Erez Lieberman Aiden | Baylor College of Medicine | Per Aspera Adastra |
2019 | Judy Liu | Brown University | Alexis Toliver |
2019 | Alea Mills | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory | David Johnson |
2019 | Jennifer Nemhauser | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Román Ramos-Báez |
2019 | Medha Pathak | University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine | Jesse Holt |
2019 | Scott Pletcher | University of Michigan | Kristina Weaver |
2019 | April Pyle | University of California-Los Angeles | Devin Gibbs |
2019 | Priya Rajasethupathy | The Rockefeller University | Josue Regalado |
2019 | Samara Reck-Peterson | University of California-San Diego | Donte Stevens |
2019 | Antonis Rokas | Vanderbilt University | Jacob Steenwyk |
2019 | Sunny Shin | University of Pennsylvania Perleman School of Medicine | Natasha Lopes-Fischer |
2019 | Benjamin Sivyer | Oregon Health and Science University | Tavita Garrett |
2019 | Michelle Southard-Smith | Vanderbilt University | Justin Avila |
2019 | Jorge Torres | University of California-Los Angeles | Erick Velasquez |
2019 | Robert Weiss | Cornell University | Irma Fernandez |
2019 | Danny Winder | Vanderbilt University | Kellie Williford |
2019 | Kim Woodrow | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Jamie Hernandez |
2018 | Rudy Behnia | Columbia University in the City of New York | Jessica Kohn |
2018 | Elizabeth Brainerd | Brown University | Jeremy Lomax |
2018 | Robert Froemke | New York University School of Medicine | Naomi Caraballo (Lopez-Caraballo) |
2018 | Angela Jefferson | Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Francis Cambronero |
2018 | David Linden | The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Jessie Benedict |
2018 | Michelle Lynne Reniere | Vanderbilt University | Monica Cesinger |
2018 | Melissa Spencer | University of California-Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine | Raquel Aragon |
2018 | Danny Winder | Vanderbilt University School of Medicine | Jordan Brown |
2018-2021 cohorts active as of October 1, 2021.