PhD White Coat Ceremony Honors Student Advancement

By Dirk Hoffman

Those honored included 30 students from the Class of 2023-2024 in the PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences (PPBS), 16 students who directly admitted by their departments, and five students from the MD-PhD Program.

Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, UB’s vice president for health sicneces and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and John C. Panepinto, PhD, senior associate dean for biomedical education and professor of microbiology and immunology, offered opening remarks.

Brashear noted the white lab coat symbolizes the transition from learning in a classroom setting to becoming true scientists in the laboratory.

“It serves a functional purpose, but it’s also a symbol of trust, professionalism and education.”

Andrew M. Gulick, PhD, professor of structural biology and director of the PPBS program, announced the students’ names for the cloaking ceremony.

The students are listed below, with their department and mentor matches.

Ruth-Ann Saddler was cloaked by Gulick on behalf of the Office of Biomedical Education.

The PPBS provides an entry portal and a common first-year curriculum, mentoring, hands-on opportunities and financial support.

With its laboratory rotation system, students can explore a variety of disciplines before committing to their specific area of research.

The white coat ceremony was conducted May 23 in the Ronald I. Dozoretz, MD ’62 Auditorium in the Jacobs School building. A brief reception in the building’s atrium followed the ceremony. 

The ceremony was sponsored by UB’s Medical Alumni Association.