{"668620":{"#nid":"668620","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Graduate Student and Advisor Pair Awarded HHMI Gilliam Fellowship","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor the second consecutive year, a Georgia Tech student and their advisor have been awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study. Autumn Peterson, a Ph.D. student in biology, will receive $53,000 per year for up to three years for dissertation research. Peterson\u2019s advisor, William Ratcliff, will participate in activities that address challenges to diversity and inclusion at the graduate level.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cReceiving the HHMI Gilliam award will allow me to conduct innovative research while building leadership and mentorship skills\u2013all attributes that are necessary to become a better scientist,\u201d said Peterson. \u201cUltimately, this will help me prepare for a career in academia as a professor.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHHMI awards student-advisor pairs based on the student\u2019s potential for scientific leadership and the advisor\u2019s commitment to a culture of inclusion in academia. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThrough my academic journey at Virginia Tech, University of Kansas, and Georgia Tech, I have had wonderful mentors and colleagues, but I have had few Black faculty role models,\u201d said Peterson. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until I worked with Brian Atkinson, an African American professor at the University of Kansas, that I even considered becoming a professor. That research experience put me on a path that led directly to Tech and underscored my commitment to outreach broadening participation in science. I am looking forward to being a part of the HHMI community and fostering leadership and mentorship skills that will help me succeed in my career in academia so I can be a role model for future generations of students.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe program awards grants to dissertation advisors and encourages the grantee institution and the advisor to facilitate institutional changes to create environments that advance diversity and inclusion. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs an advisor, I\u2019m delighted to see Autumn\u2019s work and leadership recognized this way,\u201d said Ratcliff, an associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E and co-director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences at Georgia Tech. \u201cThis fellowship is also a huge opportunity for us to do cool science, become better scientists and mentors, and work to improve diversity and inclusion at Georgia Tech. I cannot wait to get to know the broader community of Gilliam Fellows and mentors.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the Gilliam Award, the advisor will also complete a year-long culturally responsive mentorship skills development course. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis fellowship provides key resources and professional opportunities that I think can make me a better advisor and can support our work on behalf of trainees from underrepresented groups at Georgia Tech more broadly,\u201d said Ratcliff. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFellows are required to participate in the Gilliam Annual Meeting, Gilliam Leadership Training course, and one HHMI Science Meeting per year in the second and third years of the fellowship award where there will be Gilliam-specific discussion sessions. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hhmi.org\/science-education\/programs\/gilliam-fellows-program\u0022\u003ELearn more about the HHMI Gilliam Fellows program here.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor the second consecutive year, a Georgia Tech student and their advisor have been awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For the second consecutive year, a Georgia Tech student and their advisor have been awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study."}],"uid":"36249","created_gmt":"2023-07-27 17:10:09","changed_gmt":"2024-02-08 16:29:16","author":"Sara Franc","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671265":{"id":"671265","type":"image","title":"Autumn Peterson and William Ratcliff","body":null,"created":"1690476792","gmt_created":"2023-07-27 16:53:12","changed":"1690476792","gmt_changed":"2023-07-27 16:53:12","alt":"Photo of Autumn Peterson and William Ratcliff","file":{"fid":"254291","name":"AutumnPeterson_WilliamRatcliff.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/07\/27\/AutumnPeterson_WilliamRatcliff.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/07\/27\/AutumnPeterson_WilliamRatcliff.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":135312,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/07\/27\/AutumnPeterson_WilliamRatcliff.jpg?itok=yk2XySY1"}}},"media_ids":["671265"],"groups":[{"id":"620089","name":"Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection (CMDI)"},{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"},{"id":"188231","name":"CMDI"},{"id":"192259","name":"cos-students"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"192250","name":"cos-microbial"},{"id":"191866","name":"C-PIES"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sara.franc@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESara Franc\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGraduate and Postdoctoral Education\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}