Highlights

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: Medical Students Elected to Top Posts of National Otolaryngology Newsletter 

Two medical students at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences have been elected to top positions of a national student-run otolaryngology newsletter created by and for medical students. Fourth-year student Alexandra Corbin has been named editor-in-chief, and third year-student Katelin Keenehan has been named managing editor of The Auricle. Learn More

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Kid Chefs Create and Eat Healthy Food from a Rooftop Garden

More than a dozen local children experience how food moves from farm to table and worked on building healthy habits through unique cooking and nutrition classes at Stony Brook Medicine. The annual Healthy Cooking and Baking Classes encourage children to gain kitchen experience and learn healthier cooking habits at an early age. Learn More

Medical Education

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons: Class of 2029 Begins Medical School with White Coat Ceremony

On Aug. 8, the faculty of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons welcomed 140 students into the medical profession with the annual White Coat Ceremony. The White Coat Ceremony was founded at Columbia’s medical school 32 years ago by the late Arnold P. Gold, MD, professor of neurology and pediatrics, to reinforce the humanistic goals of medical practice as students begin their training to become physicians and educators. Learn More

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: First-Year M.D. Students Receive Their White Coats

On August 13, 148 first-year M.D. students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine gathered in Robbins Auditorium for the annual On Becoming A Physician ceremony, where they received monogrammed white coats, stethoscopes, and Arnold P. Gold Foundation pins signifying support for humanism in healthcare. Faculty leaders in the four houses of the Einstein Learning Communities Program announced each student as they proceeded to the stage and donned their new white coats with the assistance of Einstein and Montefiore leaders. Learn More

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: White Coat Ceremony Welcomes Medical Students to the Profession

In a celebratory day filled with hope and excitement, the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry (SMD) held its 20th annual Dr. Robert L. & Lillian H. Brent White Coat Ceremony—officially marking the start of medical training for the school’s class of 2029. This year, 104 students from across the U.S. and beyond, are part of the 100th class, as the school celebrates its centennial in September. Learn More

Weill Cornell Medicine: First-Year Medical Students Celebrate Their New White Coats

Jennifer Weiss’s path to medicine began as a young child, when an ambulance responded to her New Jersey home to care for her dad, who has heart disease. During the scary episode, one of Weiss’s earliest memories, the emergency medical technicians and paramedics offered empathy and compassion and put everyone at ease.  Inspired to help others, Weiss trained as an EMT at age 16 and joined her local first aid squad. But she quickly realized that she wanted more. Learn More

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine: Aspiring D.O.s Receive White Coats

The College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) welcomed incoming students at its annual White Coat Ceremonies in Jonesboro, Ark., and Long Island, N.Y., where a total of more than 400 aspiring osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) received white coats. Widely viewed as the official start of medical school, the annual celebrations signify the beginning of students’ medical education journey. Learn More

New York Medical College: Pre-Matriculation Program Continues to Evolve

With an entirely new academic rigor, a new campus to navigate, and over 200 classmates to meet, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed before medical school classes even begin. The New York Medical College School of Medicine Pre-Matriculation Program (PMP), now in its fifth year, aims to ease that transition by providing early exposure to key concepts, mentorship opportunities, and a supportive community that helps students hit the ground running. Learn More

New York Medical College: Accelerated IBMS Program Paves the Way to Medicine

For many aspiring physicians, gaining admission to medical school is one of the most challenging and defining steps in their journey. Enhancing one’s application has become a common and often necessary practice, such as improving one’s GPA. The highly competitive Accelerated Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (Accelerated iBMS) master’s program at New York Medical College offers a rigorous curriculum designed to strengthen applicants’ academic profiles and readiness for medical school. Since its inception in 2007, 90 percent of students who completed the didactic portion of the program have matriculated into medical school. Learn More

Student & Alumni News

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: MD/PhD Student First Author on Major Paper on Kidney Cancer

The first cancer patient Nick Salgia saw during his gap year working at an oncology research center had a rare and hyper-aggressive subtype of kidney cancer. Fortunately, a novel immunotherapy had just been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and the patient was among the first to get it. That experience sparked in Salgia a passion to learn about and study kidney cancer, an interest that has only strengthened since he entered the MD/PhD program in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 2020. Learn More

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons: Graduate Student Named HHMI Gilliam Fellow

Alicia Chime is the first graduate student at Columbia University to be accepted into the Gilliam Fellows Program at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a program designed to launch promising PhD students into impactful scientific research careers while fostering inclusive training environments. For Chime, applying for the prestigious fellowship was part of a continual process of “making yourself comfortable with being uncomfortable” as she pursues a career in science. Learn More

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Einstein Graduate Student Awarded Quad Fellowship

Bill Zhu, a second-year Ph.D. student at Einstein, was selected as one of 37 Quad Fellowship recipients in 2025 by the Institute of International Education. Mr. Zhu, who studies Alzheimer’s disease, is co-mentored by Stephanie Rudolph, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience of neuroscience and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and Derek Huffman, Ph.D., professor of molecular pharmacology and of  medicine, and the Lotti and Bernard Benson Faculty Scholar in Alzheimer’s Disease. Learn More

Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai: How a Passion for Pharmacology and Addressing Substance Use Disorders Brought an Aspiring Researcher to Mount Sinai

Ally Parpounas, MS, is a second-year student in the MD program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She previously completed the Master of Science in Biomedical Science (MSBS) at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. It was her decision to attend the MSBS program at Mount Sinai, along with her eventual participation in a number of different programs sparked by her desire to help people in need, that would lead to medical school, which in turn has opened a number of different career pathways. Learn More

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry Postdoctoral Spotlight: Luca Franchini, PhD

Luca Franchini, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Orlandi Lab at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Franchini received his degree in Pharmacy from the University of Bologna, in Italy, and completed his PhD in Pharmacological, Experimental and Clinical Sciences at the University of Milan, where he studied molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity associated with NMDA receptors in the hippocampus. Learn More

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell: Pioneers of the Class of 2015 Then and Now

They were hailed as pioneers in medicine on their first day of medical school. In July 2011, a cohort of 40 confident self-starters helped shape a new approach to medical education when they embarked on a groundbreaking journey as the inaugural class of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell [then known as Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine], the first allopathic medical school to open in New York State in over 40 years. Today, the Class of 2015 is celebrating 10 years since their graduation. Learn More

Awards, Grants & Recognition

Albany Medical College: Dr. Megan Gerber Selected for Prestigious Executive Leadership Fellowship

Albany Medical College Assistant Dean of Health Humanities Megan Gerber, MD, has been selected for the 2025-2026 class of fellows of the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM)  program at Drexel University College of Medicine. Now in its 30^th year, the intensive one-year fellowship program includes leadership training with extensive coaching, networking, and mentoring opportunities. The goal is to help faculty develop the professional and personal skills required to lead and manage in today’s complex health care environment. Learn More

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Prateek Prasanna Wins NSF CAREER Award to Advance AI-Driven Medical Image Analysis

Assistant Professor Prateek Prasanna from the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Stony Brook University has received the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for his project, “CAREER: Towards Gaze-guided Medical Image Analysis.” The project aims to harness eye gaze data — capturing how radiologists and pathologists visually interpret medical images — as a key resource for guiding model learning. By integrating this human expertise, the project will enhance the interpretability and diagnostic performance of machine learning systems in both radiology and digital pathology. Learn More

Faculty News

Albany Medical College: Mental Health Professionals from U.S., Poland Share Experiences, Best Practices

Albany Medical College’s Department of Psychiatry recently hosted nine mental health professionals from Poland as part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Comprised of psychotherapists, and specialists in women’s health, child protection, and crisis intervention, the Polish delegation was in the U.S. to learn about community-based models for addressing mental health challenges, with a special focus on those suffering from trauma. Learn More

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell: Dr. Robert O. Roswell Appointed New Chair of ABIM Board

Robert O. Roswell, MD, FACC, FACP, has been appointed the new chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). Dr. Roswell is the associate dean for Engagement and Excellence and professor of Cardiology and Science Education at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He also serves as the co-director of the Cardiac ICU at Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health. Learn More