The UVA Biomedical Sciences (BIMS) Graduate Program Lab Coat Ceremony was held on Feb. 14 in Pinn Hall Conference Center Auditorium. The event was attended by first-year students moving to full-time bench research and the next phase of their graduate career, and Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) students who completed their Step 1 exams and will be transitioning to the lab.
Speakers included Patrick Grant, PhD, Associate Dean for Graduate and Medical Scientist Programs and Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics; Barry Collins, Associate Dean for Medical Alumnni Affairs and Executive Director of the Medical Alumni Association and Medical School Foundation; David Wilkes, MD, Dean of the School of Medicine; and David Kashatus, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology. During the presentation of coats, each student received a personally embroidered lab coat as a gift from the UVA Medical Alumni Association.
To highlight the role of mentors in the programs, faculty mentors coated their students and later joined students, along with their family and other guests, at the reception following the ceremony.