The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has announced the recipients of its 2016 Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study.

Established in 2004 to honor the late James H. Gilliam, Jr., who championed excellence and diversity in education and science, the program provides each of the thirty-four fellows with $46,000 in graduate school support annually for up to four years to help move them toward a career in scientific research and teaching. Fellows also attend meetings with HHMI scientists and receive intensive mentoring from their advisors.

Successful applicants to the fellowship program are selected based on their academic excellence, scientific potential, and commitment to the advancement of diversity and inclusion in the life sciences and must be from a racial or disadvantaged group that is underrepresented in the sciences. Prior to being named a Gilliam fellow, each student participated in HHMI's Exceptional Research Opportunities Program, which provides undergraduates from groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences with the opportunity to conduct research under the mentorship of HHMI scientists.

For a complete list of this year's Gilliam Fellows, see the HHMI website.