Commencement

Celebrating the 55th Commencement Ceremony

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai held its 55th Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 10, 2024, at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. Faculty, alumni, and students gathered to honor the Class of 2024’s academic accomplishments, its courage and dedication in the face of a public health crisis, and its commitment to advancing science and medicine.

Highlights of the MD, PhD, and Dual Degree Ceremony

In his opening address, Mount Sinai Health System’s new Chief Executive Officer, Brendan G. Carr, MD, MA, MS, expressed that our graduates are well prepared for careers in medicine and science. “Your education and training have put you in a place to succeed. Your hard work and the knowledge you possess are the building blocks to solving the hardest problems ahead of you,” said Dr. Carr.

Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Presiding Official of the Commencement Ceremony, praised the Class of 2024 for its academic excellence, strength of character, resiliency, and advocacy for social justice and health care equity.

“You graduate from Icahn Mount Sinai with a moral compass that has been strengthened by gaining a deep understanding of the social responsibility of the physician and scientist,” Dr. Charney said. “As you saw on your first day here, this is a responsibility we take very seriously at Mount Sinai. We have a moral commitment to deliver outstanding compassionate care to every patient. We pursue equity in health care because every human being is deserving of good health and quality care.”

Dr. Charney contrasted this commitment to historical ethical failures of the medical and scientific communities, including support for eugenics by leading U.S. physicians and The New England Journal of Medicine during the first half of the 20th century, and the widespread participation of German physicians and scientists in the systematic torture and murder of millions of Jewish and non-Jewish people during World War II, as recently documented in The Lancet.

Dr. Charney called upon the Class of 2024 graduates to be a force for good in the world. “I believe Mount Sinai—our medical school and health system—is a beacon for change,” said Dr. Charney. “Not only must we oppose bias and racism in all its forms, but we must also stand against the misuse of medicine and science.”

Kenneth L. Davis, MD, who recently retired as Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, gave the following address, and called on the Class of 2024 to help make the U.S. health care system more efficient, effective, and equitable.

“Yes, you will be responsible for healing patients. Those of you who pursue research will be responsible for generating innovative science that can help patients. But you are also responsible for reforming this broken health care system,” said Dr. Davis. “When you look at your diplomas, today and for years to come, let that document serve as a reminder that the knowledge you have acquired here should equip you to be a force for change, a force for good, a voice to improve health care in America.”

During the ceremony, Dr. Davis received an honorary degree from Icahn Mount Sinai. Other honorary degree recipients were Charles M. Rice, PhD, Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Diseases, The Rockefeller University; Alice Y. Ting, PhD, Professor of Genetics, Biology, and, by courtesy, of Chemistry, Stanford University; and Feng Zhang, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience, and Professor of Brain and Cognitive Science, and Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This year, Icahn Mount Sinai granted a total of 191 degrees to graduates of the following programs: 115 MD, 57 PhD, and 19 Dual Degree (eight MD-PhD, two MD-Master of Public Health, and nine MD-Master of Science in Clinical Research).

In addition to graduating with high distinction, the Class of 2024 has made scientific discoveries that help us better understand the causes of multiple types of cancer and the genetic basis of mental illness. They have also made major contributions to therapeutic innovation involving RNA- and DNA-based drugs, development of vaccines for cancer, and disease-modifying treatment for dementia. The Class has additionally worked to improve community health around the globe, as well as provided free health care to local patients through the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership.