07. 15. 2024
Nicole Quintus

HHMI awards Gilliam Fellowships to 50 graduate students in science – and their advisers – following the largest competition in the program’s history.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute congratulates 50 graduate students in science and their advisers who were named to the 2024 cohort of the Gilliam Fellows Program on July 9. These student-adviser pairs are recognized for their outstanding research as well as their commitments to advancing equity and inclusion in science. Among them are Nicole T. Quintus, UMN Ph.D. student in the Department of Neuroscience, and her advisor Dr. Patrick Rothwell.

Administered by HHMI’s Center for the Advancement of Science Leadership and Culture (CASLC), the Gilliam Fellows Program will provide each student-adviser pair with $53,000 in support each year for up to three years of the student’s dissertation research. This year’s cohort includes scientists working in a wide range of biomedical and life science areas including brain development and wiring, CRISPR-based epigenetic editors, and the molecular etiology of mood disorders. 

Nicole's primary research interest is investigating the molecular etiology of mood disorders and how they may arise from both social and environmental stress. She aims to identify novel, druggable targets and utilize them as therapeutic interventions for those living with mood disorders.