The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has announced the recipients of the 2012 Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study. Established to honor the late James H. Gilliam, Jr., a charter trustee of HHMI who championed excellence and diversity in education and science, the program is designed to enrich science research and increase the diversity of college science faculties.

Nine students who participated in HHMI's Exceptional Research Opportunities Program, which aims to nurture the scientific curiosity and imagination of students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, were selected to receive $46,500 annually, for up to five years, in support of their Ph.D. studies. Since its inception in 2004, the program has supported fifty-three students.

The 2012 fellows and their undergraduate universities are Robert Amezquita, University of California-San Diego; Daniel Garcia, Harvey Mudd College; Deric Griffin, Louisiana State University and A&M College; Tien-Phat Huynh, University of California, Los Angeles; Lauren Rodriguez, University of California-Santa Cruz; Kailan Sierra-Davidson, Harvard University; Hugo Vega-Ramirez, University of California-Davis; Robert Wardlow, University of Maryland Baltimore County; and Martha Zepeda Rivera, University of Washington.

"These students share a passion and aptitude for research that has been shaped by their unique backgrounds and experience," said HHMI vice president for science education Sean B. Carroll. "That diversity of perspectives is crucial for the growth of the scientific community."