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Lab coat ceremony group shot

2026 Lab Coat Ceremony

Celebrate our newly matriculated PhD students as they take the next step in their academic journey.

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Lab coat ceremony group shot

PhD Lab Coat Ceremony

GRADUATE

On Thursday, September 10, 2026, students from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai gathered with faculty, family, and friends in Goldwurm Auditorium for the 2026 PhD Lab Coat Ceremony. The ceremony marks an important milestone for students beginning their doctoral training, with the lab coat symbolizing the start of their graduate studies and scientific careers. 

Marta Filizola, PhD, Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Chair of the Department of Graduate Education, served as Master of Ceremonies. Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine, welcomed students and their guests. 

Matthew J. O’Connell, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for PhD Programs, introduced keynote speaker and Mount Sinai alumna Amy Divaraniya, PhD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Oova, Inc. 

Dr. Divaraniya reflected on her own experience as a PhD student at Mount Sinai and how her scientific training ultimately led her down an unexpected path to entrepreneurship. Drawing from a personal experience navigating fertility challenges, she described how the questions she began asking about existing fertility technologies eventually inspired her to create Oova. Although she had never planned to become an entrepreneur or CEO, she emphasized that her PhD training gave her the skills to approach an unsolved problem by asking questions, testing ideas, learning from failure, and continuing to iterate.

She encouraged students to take full advantage of the mentorship, collaboration, and scientific community available to them at Mount Sinai and to remain curious about where their research may lead. As she reminded the students, “Your PhD is not the destination. It’s preparing you for whatever comes after it.”

Students participating in this year’s ceremony represented the Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience, MD-PhD, Clinical Research, and Health Sciences Engineering PhD programs, spanning research areas from artificial intelligence and cancer biology to immunology, genetics, and neuroscience. 

Following the coating, Paul Slesinger, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Student and Postdoctoral Affairs, led the Oath for Doctoral Students. Together, students pledged to uphold the highest levels of integrity, professionalism, scholarship, and honor throughout their research and professional endeavors. 

The Graduate School also recognized the Mount Sinai Alumni Association, Mount Sinai Office of Alumni and Development, and alumni supporters whose generosity provided lab coats to welcome the newest students to science and medicine. 

Congratulations to our 2026 PhD Lab Coat Ceremony participants as they begin this exciting chapter of their scientific and academic journeys at Mount Sinai!

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image of o Marta Filizola

Dean of the Graduate School, Dr. Marta Filizola, welcoming our students and guests to the 7th annual Lab Coat Ceremony