When Paul Wahlbeck, PhD, JD, looked out into the Lisner Auditorium audience at the George Washington University (GW) Columbian College School of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) Doctoral Hooding Ceremony, he saw amazing potential staring back at him, he said. Wahlbeck, the interim dean of CCAS, presided over the May 16 ceremony, which celebrated the candidates who successfully earned their Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Psychology degrees.
“You have accomplished something immensely difficult,” said Jeffrey Brand, PhD, JD, associate dean for graduate studies at CCAS, as he greeted the graduates. “You’ve earned the right to call yourself an expert in something … By earning a doctorate you have demonstrated the capability and dedication necessary to contribute to the fund of publicly available knowledge in your dissertation or area.”
Family and friends were invited to join the faculty in honoring the graduates as they were hooded by their mentors. The graduates — including students in the GW Institute of Biomedical Sciences (IBS), which brings together research opportunities at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), CCAS, and Children’s National Health System — completed rigorous programs and earned the distinction of being called both doctors and experts.
The PhD candidates in the IBS program completed their degrees in a number of research areas, including biochemistry and systems biology, microbiology and immunology, molecular medicine, and genomics and bioinformatics. The IBS core curriculum also includes professional skill courses in scientific writing, biomedical careers, and responsible conduct.
Many of the IBS graduates will take their newly minted expertise and move on to postdoctoral fellowships, while others will find opportunities in industry or government/nonprofit roles.
“Our journeys are made up of hundreds of special moments and today is one of them,” Wahlbeck said. “Wherever your journey takes you, value what you bring to the table and continue to hone and draw from the depths of your expertise as you reflect on your years here.”
Before closing the ceremony, he asked the newly hooded doctoral graduates to picture the face of someone who had helped them get to that point. “Those are the faces you will never forget,” he said. “For someone someday you will be the face they will never forget.”
2019 IBS Graduates
Matthew Bendall, PhD Genomics and Bioinformatics
Marine Bouyssi-Kobar, PhD Molecular Medicine
Rachel Burga, PhD Microbiology and Immunology
Sarah Deasy, PhD Molecular Medicine
Adam Horn, PhD Biochemistry and Systems Biology
Nader Jameel, PhD Biochemistry and Systems Biology
Erik Karmele, PhD Microbiology and Immunology
Jacqueline Moy, PhD Molecular Medicine
Stephanie Perkail, PhD Molecular Medicine
