image: The newest cohort of the HHMI Hanna Gray Fellows.
Credit: HHMI
Today, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute announced the selection of the newest Hanna Gray Fellows, a cohort of 25 outstanding early career scientists who have demonstrated a commitment to making foundational discoveries while building an inclusive culture in academic science.
The Institute will invest up to $1.5 million in support for each fellow over the course of up to eight years, spanning postdoctoral training through transition to starting their independent lab as a faculty member. This support allows each fellow the freedom to pursue challenging scientific questions at the forefront of their fields.
The newest cohort includes scientists working in research areas ranging from treatment-resistant cancers to sleep dysregulation to how animals evolved to live on land. Through their successful careers, Hanna Gray Fellows will move science forward and will recruit, mentor, and inspire the next generation of scientists from all backgrounds.
“HHMI is committed to investing in scientists who dare to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our lifetime,” said HHMI Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Leslie Vosshall. “Our Hanna Gray Fellows are not only exceptional scientists, but they are also leaders who have proven their dedication to creating a more inclusive future for science.”
Since the program’s founding in 2016, HHMI has committed more than $190 million to the Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program by selecting over 140 fellows, more than 30 of whom are already running thriving, independent labs as faculty around the country.
In addition to financial support, the newest cohort joins the vibrant, multi-generational HHMI community, where fellows learn with experts and each other how to build healthy research environments that are creative, bold, inclusive, and effective. The Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program is committed to supporting scientists from a broad range of backgrounds and geographies. This year’s newly announced fellows completed their academic training at a wide variety of institutions.
| California Insittute of Technology | Claremont McKenna College | Columbia University |
| Cornell University | Duke University | Harvard University |
| Hong Kong University of Science & Technology | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Mayo Clinic | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | Miami University |
| Morehouse School of Medicine | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile | Savannah State University |
| State University of New York at Oneonta | The Rockefeller University | The University of Texas at Dallas |
| Truman State University | University of California, Berkeley | University of California, Davis |
| University of California, San Diego | University of California, San Francisco | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| University of Florida | University of Kansas | University of Maryland Baltimore County |
| University of Minnesota, Duluth | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pittsburgh |
| University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez | University of Washington | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Washington & Jefferson College | Washington University in St. Louis | Weill Cornell Medicine |
| Yale University |
The program is named for Hanna Holborn Gray, former chair of the HHMI board of trustees and former president of the University of Chicago. During her tenure, the Institute made significant changes to its process for selecting the scientists in which it invests, opening its doors to an ever-increasing pool of applicants.
A competition for the next group of Hanna Gray Fellows opens immediately. In 2025, the Institute will again select up to 25 fellows to be announced in early 2026. This competition is open to all eligible applicants and no nomination is required. More information about the Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program and this year’s open competition is available at hhmi.org.
Below are the 25 new HHMI Hanna Gray Fellows, with their current institutions noted in parenthesis:
- Mahliyah “Maple” L. Adkins-Threats (Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center)
- Jhullian J. Alston (Boston Children's Hospital)
- Paige K. Arnold (The Rockefeller University)
- Amma Asare (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)
- Camillia Azimi (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)
- Brittany J. Bush (Stanford University)
- Jim G. Castellanos (The Rockefeller University)
- Peiwei Chen (Cornell University)
- Cori Fain (The University of Iowa)
- Sasha Fulton (Columbia University)
- Riley Galton (Stowers Institute for Medical Research)
- Colin Kim (Harvard University)
- Grant King (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center)
- Grace Liu (University of California, Berkeley)
- Alejandro López-Cruz (University of California, San Francisco)
- Juliet M. Mwirigi (Washington University in St. Louis)
- Julianne N. Peláez (Brandeis University)
- Loranzie Rogers (Harvard University)
- Daniela C. Soto (University of California, Santa Barbara)
- Donté Alexander (Alex) Stevens (Scripps Research Institute)
- Whitney A. Stevens-Sostre (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
- Jared Tangeman (Johns Hopkins University)
- Tiffany C. Taylor (University of Pittsburgh)
- José A. Velilla (University of California, San Francisco)
- Victoria Watson-Zink (Stanford University)
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HHMI is the largest private biomedical research institution in the nation. Our scientists make discoveries that advance human health and our fundamental understanding of biology. We also invest in transforming science education into a creative, inclusive endeavor that reflects the excitement of research. HHMI’s headquarters are located in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC.