Gilliam Fellows Program

Overview

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Equitable Science

Gilliam Fellows Program

Preparing science leaders through paired awards to graduate students and their thesis advisors who, together, are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in science. Fellowship provides up to three years of funding, professional development, and community.

The Gilliam Fellows Program aspires to build a more inclusive scientific ecosystem by supporting scientists at two levels — graduate students and their faculty thesis advisors.

The program invests in graduate trainees who are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in science, and engaging their communities in science, and empowers them as future science leaders. The Fellowship also provides support for thesis advisors to enhance their mentorship skills and act as change-makers to develop more inclusive and healthy scientific training environments.

Each student-advisor pair receives an annual award of $53,000 for up to three years. Fellows join a vibrant community and are offered professional development in leadership and science communication, and opportunities to engage with and learn from peers, program alumni, and HHMI scientists. As a part of the award, Fellows create a project that engages their communities in the process of science and scientific discovery and/or promotes healthy and inclusive science training environments.

Their advisors also join a cohort of peers, participate in HHMI’s intensive, one-year mentorship skills development course, and support their Fellow’s development and implementation of their Gilliam community engagement project.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Award details

Fellows are supported for up to three years of dissertation research, typically in years 3-5 of PhD study

For 2025, the fellowship award is $53,000 per year. This includes an annual Fellow stipend of $36,000, an institutional allowance (in lieu of tuition and fees) of $10,000, a Fellow’s discretionary allowance of $4,000, and a community engagement allowance of $3,000 to support activities, led by the Fellow, that engage their communities in the process of science and scientific discovery and/or improve the health and inclusivity of science training environments.

Program highlights for Fellows:

* Attend the Gilliam Annual Meeting to
* meet and connect with other Fellows
* share research with the Gilliam community
* participate in leadership and science communications training and professional development sessions
* Learn about the latest research from HHMI scientists, present an e-poster, and gain career advice at HHMI Science Meetings
* Receive support for attending discipline-specific conferences, advanced courses, and other professional development activities

Program highlights for advisors:

* Engage in a 30-hour, year-long mentorship skills development course through interactive online modules and two in-person meetings
* Learn best practices in improving communication, managing expectations, and developing equitable and inclusive mentoring relationships from nationally recognized facilitators
* Collaborate with the Fellow in the development and implementation of activities to engage their communities in the process of science and scientific discovery and/or advance equitable, inclusive, and healthy science training environments

Eligibility

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