Mar 15, 2012 - Claremont, Calif. - Former Harvey Mudd College President’s Scholar Daniel Garcia ’10 has received a 2012 Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

The fellowship provides full support for up to five years of study toward a doctorate degree for outstanding students who are from groups underrepresented in the sciences. Fellows are selected based on their passion for research and personal commitment to increasing diversity in the sciences.

Garcia will receive $46,500 a year to support his graduate studies at the university of his choice. At HMC, he majored in biology and became interested in disease biology, specifically auto-immune diseases like arthritis and lupus.

“These fellows show tremendous potential both as scientists and leaders,” said William Galey, director of HHMI’s graduate and medical education program. “We think it is important to provide them with opportunities to excel.”

Fellows were chosen from a pool of applicants who participated in HHMI’s Exceptional Research Opportunities Program (EXROP), which aims to stimulate the scientific curiosity of students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. EXROP students work in the laboratories of HHMI investigators and learn about research careers by interacting with HHMI’s scientific community. Together, the EXROP and Gilliam programs help create a support network of scientists and scientists-in-training.

The Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study were created in honor of the late James H. Gilliam Jr., a charter HHMI trustee who spent his life nurturing excellence and diversity in science and education. In 2011, the program was expanded to allow up to 10 students each year to receive fellowships. Fifty-three students have become Gilliam Fellows since the program began in 2004.