The inaugural UVA Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (BIMS) Lab Coat Ceremony was held on February 8, 2019 in the Sandridge Auditorium at McKim Hall. The event was attended by 32 first-year students transitioning to full-time bench research and the next phase of their graduate career. Seven MSTP students who just completed their Step 1 exams and will be transitioning to the lab were also honored but unable to attend.

Speakers included Associate Dean of Graduate and Medical Scientist Programs Amy H. Bouton, PhD; Executive Director of the UVA Medical Alumni Association Barry J. Collins; Senior Associate Dean for Education Randolph J. Canterbury, MD; and Associate Professor, Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology David Kashatus, PhD. 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 BIMS program, faculty mentors coated their students and later joined students, along with their family and other guests, at the reception following the ceremony.

See photos from the event here.