Dr. Nestler touched on how the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the importance of public health and disease prevention and took the audience through the history of both concepts within the United States from 1798 to present. He noted that increased attention to health and well-being has had noticeable effects, such as the decrease in infant mortality in the United States from 40% in 1850 to under 1% in 2024 and how life expectancy was 40 years in 1850 and doubled to 80 years in 2020. Dr. Nestler encouraged the graduates by telling them that they are prepared for the challenges ahead and that he is sure they are going to improve health outcomes on both a local and global scale.
Dr. Nestler then introduced our honorary degree recipient Sandro Galea, MD, MPH, DrPH, The Robert A. Know Professor and Dean of Boston University School of Public Health. The degree was presented to Dr. Galea by Carol Horowitz, MD, MPH, Dean for Gender Equity at the Icahn School of Medicine. Dr. Horowitz spoke about Dr. Galea’s journey to becoming a Dean, his extensive research, including his time as a field physician in Somalia working with Doctors Without Borders, and how he is a trusted resource to key organizations such as the World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum. She emphasized the impact of his research and how he is a trusted voice in health care and epidemiology.
Dr. Galea began his remarks by telling the graduates to thank their friends and family who supported them through their academic journey. He told a story about an interview in 1996 with then U.S. President Bill Clinton, who commented on a news story about potential alien life on Mars from a meteorite that landed on Earth. The story was serious enough to get attention and further inspection from scientists found no evidence of aliens. Dr. Galea believes this is a good example of how we all want to build a better world and how science helps us get there. He expressed admiration for the flexibility of science to even consider wild ideas and how new information can change the world in an instant. Dr. Galea connected this to many global challenges today and how we all aspire to make the world healthier. He encouraged all the graduates to follow three pillars of epistemic humility, radical compassion, and reform through reason.
The next speaker was Marta Filizola, PhD, Dean for the Graduate School, who congratulated the Class of 2024. Dr. Filizola explained how students in each major will play a role in advancing science, health and medicine. She pointed out that the graduates will be called on to handle complex bioethical challenges and to counsel health care professionals and how graduates are prepared to handle this. Dr. Filizola noted how the diversity of our graduating class provides a variety of perspectives to improve science and the capabilities of medicine. She ended her remarks by reminding students that they will always be members of the Icahn Mount Sinai community.
Kiran Prakash Nagdeo, BDS, MPH was our student speaker this year. She discussed her journey to the Master of Public Health program at Icahn Mount Sinai, which began when Kiran met Dr. Emma Benn, the Founder of the Center for Scientific Diversity. Dr. Benn encouraged Kiran to integrate her oral health experience into a public health career. She reflected on how this graduating class shares a common goal to advance human health and contribute to the well-being of society. Kiran spoke of how Icahn Mount Sinai provided opportunities for mentorship, professional development, and practical experience that will make this a reality. Kiran reiterated Dr. Filizola’s statement about the benefit of the diversity and said that it enriched all their studies at Icahn Mount Sinai. Kiran expressed gratitude to the Public Health team and her mentors. She concluded by encouraging her peers to use their degree to make the world a better place.
The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences granted degrees to 176 students across nine programs. Students from several programs received awards for their achievements. The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences will be excited to see how these graduates use their degrees to improve health, science, and medicine. For more information about the ceremony, read the 2024 Commencement Ceremony program. Congrats to the Class of 2024!