Amid cheers and applause, first-year PhD students and third-year MD/PhD students received crisp white lab coats to mark the start of their journeys into academic research and training during a recent ceremony held by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The lab coats symbolize the professionalism and authority that trainees will develop and nurture during their time at Mount Sinai.
“Our PhD programs in biomedical sciences, neuroscience, and clinical research provide rigorous collaborative training that prepares our students to spearhead the next generation of scientific and medical breakthroughs,” said Marta Filizola, PhD, Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Sharon & Frederick A. Klingenstein-Nathan G. Kase, MD Professor as she welcomed the students, faculty, and guests.
Marta Filizola, PhD
Today’s biomedical and clinical research efforts, she said, must help “solve complex problems and find solutions grounded in data and their rigorous statistical analysis. We are branching out into new realms of research that leverage artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in medicine to improve patient health and quality of life. Our students are a crucial part of this growth.” Dr. Filizola is also Professor of Pharmacological Sciences, Neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence and Human Health.
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for Academic Affairs at Icahn Mount Sinai, and Chief Scientific Officer for the Mount Sinai Health System told the students: “We want you to aim high…Don’t settle on a project because it’s easy and doable. Instead, take a chance by studying something that in its own small way will change the world.”
Dr. Nestler said, “I’ve given a lot of thought over the years to what constitutes the essential ingredients for such an undertaking. First, is novelty. Dr. Albert Einstein once said, ‘If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.’” He also mentioned relevance of the work, technical innovation, creativity, collaboration, perseverance—and “having an available and generous principal investigator and other members of your lab who can also help with brainstorming, troubleshooting, and collaborative experiments [and who] should also support your goals of thinking big, having big expectations for yourself, and publishing your work as high-impact papers in respected, peer-reviewed journals.” Dr. Nestler is also Director of The Friedman Brain Institute and Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience at Icahn Mount Sinai.
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD
Genomic scientist Brynn Levy, M.Sc.(Med), PhD, FACMG, who received his PhD degree in clinical cytogenetics from Mount Sinai in 1999 and is world-renowned in the clinical utility of genomic technologies in reproductive medicine, gave an insightful speech about his own educational journey and experiences.
“The first piece of advice I have for you is: be an active participant in your profession, and get involved. As you begin to entrench yourself in your profession, try to be more than just a sideline observer,” he told the students. Also, “It’s important to enjoy what you do” and to “treat every day as a learning experience. Identify great mentors and embrace them, as great mentors teach you more than just medicine and science.”
Dr. Levy is Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), Medical Director of the Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Co-Director of the Laboratory of Personalized Genomic Medicine at CUIMC.
Dr. Levy said that he was fortunate to have “two amazing mentors”—the late Kurt Hirshhorn, MD, at Mount Sinai, and the late Dorothy Warburton, PhD, at Columbia, each a trailblazing researcher in the cytogenetics field.
Dr. Hirshhorn was a legendary pediatrician, medical geneticist, and cytogeneticist known for groundbreaking research during his 50-year career at Mount Sinai, which included establishing one of the first laboratories in the nation for clinical chromosome studies. Among his many honors, he was a member of the National Academy of Medicine. “Kurt led by example,” said Dr. Levy. “Over and above his phenomenal accomplishments and knowledge, he taught me how to have confidence in myself. He never micromanaged me, and instead, he gave me autonomy…He taught me the meaning of paying it forward, possessing the insight of the importance of investing in the next generation.”
Brynn Levy, M.Sc.(Med), PhD, FACMG
Dr. Levy concluded: “As you all embark on the exciting new pathway that you’ve chosen for yourselves, I hope you invest in yourselves. Get involved in your field and engage with your community and colleagues. Be curious and treat every day as a lesson in medicine, science, as well as life. Know your limitations, and see those around you as a resource to continuously improve who you are and what you do. In doing so, I trust that every day will be fulfilling, and you will no doubt make an indelible impact on many patients’ lives and on society as a whole.”
With great fanfare, each student was presented with a lab coat, an effort sponsored annually by the Mount Sinai Alumni Association. Standing together and wearing their lab coats, they recited the PhD Oath in unison. “With my Doctor of Philosophy, I willingly pledge to uphold the highest levels of integrity, professionalism, scholarship, and honor,” they said, as they read a set of guiding principles that would start them on their journeys to rewarding and enjoyable careers.
A slideshow of snapshots from the Lab Coat Ceremony
