My Annotated HHMI Gilliam Fellowship Application
By Ya'el Courtney, PhD | Stanford Postdoc, Harvard PhD in Neuroscience
Last updated: April 2026
The HHMI Gilliam Fellowship is one of the most competitive and most meaningful fellowships available to PhD students in the biomedical sciences. When I was applying in 2020, I spent weeks trying to find actual examples of successful applications and coming up mostly empty. Most of what's out there is general advice, which helps, but it doesn't show you what a complete application actually looks like.
I was awarded the Gilliam Fellowship in 2021 and completed my three-year term in 2024. I've also written a detailed guide to the application. What I hadn't done until now is share the actual materials I submitted.
Here they are, annotated. I've broken my successful application into three separate pages, each one walking through the full text with commentary about what I was trying to do, why I made the choices I did, and what I'd do differently now.
A Note on What's Changed Since 2021
HHMI has made meaningful changes to the Gilliam application since I applied. If you're using my materials as a reference, here's what you should know:
The fellowship is now open to all eligible students. When I applied, each institution could only nominate a limited number of students. As of the 2024 cycle, any eligible PhD student can apply directly, without needing institutional nomination.
The research plan is shorter. My research plan was five pages. The current limit is three pages. The core structure still applies (background, aims, approach, anticipated results, limitations), but you'll need to be more concise than I was.
There's less emphasis on traditional publication metrics. The current program places more weight on a holistic view of your contributions: teaching, mentorship, outreach, DEI work. My application already emphasized these, but it's worth knowing that this shift has been formalized.
The Community Engagement Allowance is new. Fellows now receive $3,000 annually to lead community-facing science engagement projects. This wasn't part of the application when I applied, and it represents an important shift in what the fellowship expects from fellows. You'll need to propose a plan for how you'd use this allowance.
Advisors now participate in a year-long mentorship development course. This is a significant commitment and should be part of your conversation with your advisor before you apply together.
Even with these changes, the core of a strong Gilliam application hasn't changed. HHMI wants to see scientific excellence, a genuine commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in science, and a clear vision for how you'll use the fellowship to have an impact. The materials I'm sharing show one way to tell that story.
How to Use These Annotated Materials
These are examples, not templates. Do not copy my structure, my sentences, or my stories. Reviewers read hundreds of these essays, and they can tell immediately when a student has borrowed from a template. What I hope these materials give you is a sense of what a successful application looks like in practice: the level of specificity, the way personal narrative connects to professional vision, how to handle the balance between humility and confidence.
I also want to be transparent that this was my application in my circumstances. I had specific experiences, a specific career trajectory, and a specific relationship with my advisor. Your application should reflect your story, not mine.
If you find these materials useful and want personalized help with your own Gilliam application, I offer one-on-one coaching for fellowship applicants. I've now helped students across many fellowship programs put together strong applications, and the Gilliam is one I know especially well.
Questions about the Gilliam Fellowship or any other STEM fellowship application? Check out my full Gilliam guide or reach out for a free consultation.
