Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Announces First Lab Coat Ceremony for Incoming PhD Students in Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience, and the Medical Scientist Training Program
Noted virologist and Icahn alumnus Vincent Racaniello, PhD, to give keynote
Credit: Mount Sinai Health System
The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will hold its first Lab Coat ceremony for incoming students enrolled in PhD programs in Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience, and the Medical Scientist Training Program on September 17th. The Icahn School of Medicine, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, will be the first institution in New York City to welcome its PhD students with a Lab Coat ceremony. The ceremony serves as a counterpart to the school’s white coat ceremony for incoming medical students, marking their official entry into professional training.
“We value innovation and creativity behind transformative scientific discoveries at Mount Sinai but we also love the symbolism of the white lab coat, which embodies scientific rigor, objectivity, and professionalism. I’m thrilled to be starting this new, welcoming ritual for our incoming PhD students,” says Marta Filizola, PhD, Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The ceremony, which will take place at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s campus on Manhattan’s Upper East Side at 4 pm on Monday, September 17, will mark the culmination of orientation activities for the entering PhD classes. Each student will be identified with his/her program and multidisciplinary training area, and will be given a lab coat as a symbol of the start of graduate studies. In addition, the ceremony will recognize the graduate students who have officially joined a lab and confirmed PhD candidature by passing their thesis proposal exams.
The keynote speaker will be Vincent Racaniello, PhD, Higgins Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Racaniello earned his doctorate from Mount Sinai in 1980, and was the first PhD candidate mentored by Peter Palese, PhD, Chair of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Department of Microbiology and Professor of Microbiology and Medicine (Infectious Diseases).
Dr. Racaniello is a noted virologist who focuses on the molecular biology of picornavirus replication and pathogenesis, and is also a leader in science communication. He co-created BioCrowd, a social network for scientists, in addition to blogging and podcasting on topics related to virology.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
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