The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS)’s Integrated Biomedical Sciences (IBS) PhD Program is celebrating its 30th year as a program.
Originally founded in 1996 as the “Institute for Biomedical Sciences” with an inaugural class of 13 students, the IBS program changed its name to the “Integrated Biomedical Sciences” in 2023, and today the program hosts 57 active doctoral students across five PhD programs: Cancer Biology, Genomics and Bioinformatics, Microbiology and Immunology, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology and Physiology.
Biomedical PhDs at GW SMHS trace their origins to 1898 when classes in biochemistry began at the National Medical College, which became part of GW in 1928. Subsequent biomedical science PhD program structure began with the founding of the Physiology and Pharmacology PhD program in 1910, the Genetics PhD program in 1969, the Neuroscience PhD program in 1990 and the Molecular and Cellular Oncology PhD program in 1993.
Over the course of 30 years, the program has awarded 342 PhDs and has seen IBS alumni go on to work in academia at institutions across the country, at federal institutions such as the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration and as scientists at biotechnology companies such as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Today’s IBS program boasts a common “umbrella” admissions style, rotations and core curriculum, courses specific for each program, a strong student organization and many students have been and are distinguished with predoctoral fellowships.
In honor of the 30-year milestone, the program hosted a “Coffee and Donuts” celebration on Feb. 10, 2026. Students, faculty, and staff gathered in Ross Hall and enjoyed Valentine’s Day-themed treats, crafts, and trivia.
“We are proud to celebrate three decades of the IBS program,” said IBS Director Norm Lee, PhD, professor of pharmacology and physiology. “Our students, their dedicated mentors and the impactful research that has followed have been truly remarkable. We look forward with excitement to the next thirty years of discovery, innovation and leadership.”
