Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study

The Graduate School invites nominations for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study. The fellowship program provides awards to pairs of dissertation advisors and graduate students based on what the HHMI values and considers essential components of the environment, particularly the institution and advisor’s commitment to creating a healthy academic ecosystem and the student’s potential for scientific leadership.

The award also aligns with and supports development in the OSU Grad Advantage core competencies for graduate students. Nominees are encouraged to complete the OSU Grad Advantage Self-Assessment Tool at the time of their nomination, or in the case of prospective students after they have been formally admitted to gauge their ongoing professional development.

Award Details

Fellows are supported for up to three years of dissertation research, typically in years 3 -5 of doctoral study. The 2023 fellowship cohort 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 advisor allowance of $3,000 to support diversity and inclusion efforts and the graduate level.

Advisors engage in a thirty-hour, yearlong culturally responsive mentorship development course through online modules and in-person meetings, learn best practices in improving communication, managing expectations, and developing inclusive mentoring relationships, develop an implementation plan, and receive support to address challenges related to diversity and inclusion and the graduate level.

Eligibility

Advisor-student pairs must be nominated by OSU’s HHMI-designated nominator at the Graduate School.
Advisor-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 the molecular, cellular, organismal, and ecological levels. This initiative does not support social science research.
Prospective fellows must be 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).
Prospective fellows must be from populations excluded from and underrepresented in science because of ethnicity, race, or disability status, or alumni of the HHMI EXROP program. Review the HHMI Gilliam Fellowship Program Announcement for guidelines.
Prospective fellows should be in their second or third year of a doctoral program, and/or have at least two full years of study remaining as of September 1, 2023.

Nomination Period

The nomination period begins on Monday, August 29, 2022. All nominations must be submitted by 5 pm., Friday, September 23, 2022.

Nomination Procedure

Nominations may be submitted by the nominee's graduate program director, department chair/head or appropriate college leadership. Students may not apply directly for this award. Each unit (as defined by university major code) may nominate no more than ONE nominee (total) per award cycle.

The Graduate School will review department nominees and select those that will move forward in the HHMI process. OSU’s HHMI-designated nominator will forward selected nominations to fulfill our allotted slots which are determined annually by HMMI.

If your advisor-student pair is selected by OSU and then HHMI to move forward in the process, additional materials will be requested. You can find information about the additional materials in the 2023 HHMI Gilliam Program Announcement.

Initial Nomination Materials

In the online nomination form, nominators will be required to prepare/upload the following materials as one PDF document using the following file name convention:

“Student’s last name_grad program_HHMI.pdf,” and upload it through the nomination form.

A nominating letter (1 page maximum) from college leadership or the nominee’s major professor, unit chair/head addressing the following:
1. Confirms the student is currently enrolled, in good academic standing, has at least two years remaining in their PhD program as of September 1, 2023, and indicates the student's year in their current degree program.
2. Indicates the applicable category(ies) (e.g., racial/ethnic underrepresented, disabled, or other underrepresented) and comments on why the category was selected.
  1. The applicable categories are listed under the Eligibility Section on page 3 of HHMI Gilliam Fellowship Program announcement.
Provide the student's research project discipline, research project title, and research project abstract.
A copy of the student’s résumé or curriculum vitae.