MIT HEALS Graduate Fellowships Call for Applications
2026-2027 MIT HEALS Graduate Fellows Announced
Introduction and Research Focus
Are you ready to take your research to the next level? The MIT Health and Life Sciences (HEALS) Graduate Fellowships are a highly selective fellowship program supporting exceptional graduate students for an entire academic year. Fellowships cover full tuition, provide a competitive stipend at the MIT standard rate, and include health insurance.
What truly distinguishes the HEALS Fellowship is the unique cohort experience. As a fellow, you will become part of an interdisciplinary community that thrives on scientific exchange, innovative career development, and personalized mentorship. This is your opportunity to join a vibrant network of scholars at the forefront of health and life sciences, where groundbreaking ideas and collaborative research redefine what’s possible.
MIT HEALS Graduate Fellows
BE – Anderson/Langer
BE – Langer/Jaklenec
BE – Belcher
BCS – Wang
BCS – Sur
BCS – Jazayeri
BCS- Harnett
Bio – Cheeseman
Bio – Prescott
Bio – Chen
Bio – Heiman
CEE – Des Marais
Chem – Nolan
Chem – Kiessling
Chem – Johnson
ChemE – Chakraborty
DMSE – Furst
DUSP – Arcaya
EAPS – Babbin
EECS – Berger
EECS – Katabi
EECS – Broderick
EECS – You
HASTS – Scheffler
HST – Coley
HST/IMES – Roche
IDSS – Uhler
MechE – Hosoi
MechE – Raman
Media Lab – Dagdeviren
Microbio – Lew
MIT-WHOI – Ralston
Physics – Mirny
Sloan – Bertsimas
CSBi – Keating
HEALS Graduate Fellowship proposals were reviewed by faculty from across MIT. The reviewers for this cohort were:
- Daniel Lew (Biology)
- Yukiko Yamashita (Biology)
- Canan Dagdeviren (Program in Media Arts and Sciences)
- Gloria Choi (BCS)
- Mehrdad Jazayeri (BCS)
- Fan Wang (BCS)
- Laura L Kiessling (Chemistry)
- Nikta Fakhri (Physics)
- Jacquin Niles (Biological Engineering)
- Ana Jaklenec (Koch Institute/BE)
- Hadley Sikes (Chemical Engineering)
- Ming Guo (Mechanical Engineering)
- Georgia Perakis (Sloan)
Additional Ad hoc Reviewers:
- Ankur Jain (Biology)
- Morgan Sheng (BCS)
- Sallie (Penny) Chisholm (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
- Joseph Doyle (Sloan)
MIT HEALS Reviewers:
- Iain Cheeseman (Biology/Whitehead)
- Angela Koehler (Biological Engineering/Koch Institute)
- Katharina Ribbeck (Biological Engineering)
Eligibility
We are looking for bold, cross-disciplinary thinkers tackling major challenges in health and life sciences. The fellowship is open to MIT graduate students from all departments and graduate programs whose work aligns with the HEALS mission.
Be currently enrolled as a PhD student at MIT
Have completed at least one year of graduate study by September 1
HEALS Graduate Fellowship Experience
Unlike traditional fellowships, HEALS graduate fellows will be part of an intellectually vibrant and interdisciplinary cohort, with structured opportunities to collaborate, exchange ideas, and refine their scientific vision.
- Faculty-led monthly cohort meetings: Fellows will present their research, receive peer feedback, and participate in discussions on emerging topics in health and life sciences.
- Career development and mentorship: Fellows will engage with faculty, industry leaders, and alumni to expand their professional networks.
- Institute-wide symposium: Fellows will showcase their work at an MIT-wide poster session, engaging with the broader research community and incoming fellows.
- Faculty engagement: The faculty advisors for HEALS graduate fellows will meet with each other regularly to foster collaboration and support fellows’ success.
Timeline
Sept 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026
Current Fellowship Period
January 20, 2026
Application Opens
February 10, 2026
Graduate Fellowship Info Session
April 1, 2026
Application Closes
April 17, 2026
Nominations Due to HEALS
Late May
Selected Fellows Notified
Sept 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027
Fellowship Period
Graduate Fellowships Information Session Archive
Recorded | February 10, 2026
FAQs
Application Components
- 1 page summary of prior work
- 1–2-page proposal of research planned during the course of the fellowship
- One paragraph summary describing why this proposed work fits within the overall goals and mission of HEALS
- CV
- Letter of support/recommendation from the primary graduate advisor, including a commitment by the advisor to participate in quarterly HEALS activities
- One additional letter of support/recommendation
Selection Criteria
The selection committee will evaluate applicants based on:
- Scientific or engineering excellence and innovation
- Potential to impact health and life sciences
- Commitment to collaboration and constructive engagement in the cohort
- Interdisciplinary scope and creativity
We particularly encourage applications from researchers whose work does not easily fit within traditional funding mechanisms but has the potential to make significant contributions to health and life sciences.
Fellowship Expectations
A commitment to meet monthly with the entire cohort. During these meetings, there will be scientific presentations from fellows (with each fellow presenting once during the year) as well as open discussions and career development opportunities.
A commitment from their faculty mentors/PIs to meet with each other during the year, attending at least 3 of the 4 quarterly meetings.
A commitment from both fellows and PIs to attend the annual HEALS symposium, which will include a poster session to highlight the fellows and their work.
Nomination Process
Students must be nominated by the department or graduate program through which they were admitted to MIT.
Each program may nominate a limited number of students. For questions about the internal nomination process, please contact your graduate program.
Review Process
Applications will be reviewed by a faculty selection committee, chaired by Iain Cheeseman (Whitehead Institute and Department of Biology), with representation from across Schools, the College, and departments.
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