Beginning this fall, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the largest private biomedical research organization in the United States, is opening five competitions for biological and biomedical scientists across career stages – starting with the Gilliam Fellows competition for 2nd- and 3rd-year PhD students next week.We know that talented scientists are everywhere, and this year we want to do everything we can to ensure our programs reach as many potential applicants as possible, including at institutions where HHMI hasn’t historically had a strong presence.Below are the competition open and close dates and details for each program that you can pass along to your faculty colleagues, postdocs, and PhD students. We also have a digital poster you can download here with information about all five programs.
September 1 – October 27, 2026: Gilliam Fellows competition for 2nd- and 3rd-year PhD students November 3 – December 15, 2026: Combined competition for Freeman Hrabowski Scholars (early career faculty) and Hanna Gray Fellows (postdocs) open to postdocs and faculty at eligible institutions with up to seven years of experience since doctoral degree or transition to independence November 10 – December 17, 2026: Cech Fellows competition for rising undergraduate juniors and seniors to perform summer research in an HHMI lab September 28, 2027 – March 7, 2028: HHMI Investigator competition for any tenured or tenure-track faculty at an eligible institution with at least seven years’ experience leading an independent lab and a current grant. No upper career stage limit.