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.
- 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
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
Eligibility
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 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).