The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) recently welcomed the Fall 2025 cohort of the Integrated Biomedical Sciences (IBS) PhD Program, marking the program’s 30th class of doctoral students.
The 10 students in this year’s class were selected from 238 domestic applications and bring with them the expertise to lead the next generation of biomedical research.
“We are delighted to welcome the newest class of IBS students,” Norm Lee, PhD, director of the IBS Program, said. “We are confident that they will make important contributions to the ongoing innovations in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and we are excited to support them in their doctoral journey.”
The IBS Program is an umbrella organization for biomedical science PhD programs at SMHS, with core admissions, curriculum and program expectations, and oversight. Students complete one of five available PhD programs: Cancer Biology, Genomics and Bioinformatics, Microbiology and Immunology, Neuroscience, or Pharmacology and Physiology.
Entering into the Cancer Biology program are Maxine Rubin and Alexa Tokofsky.
Rubin holds a BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a Postbaccalaureate Fellow at the National Cancer Institute, Rubin received an Outstanding Post-Graduate Fellow Travel Award and an Outstanding Poster Award.
Tokofsky holds a BA in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Most recently, Tokofsky conducted research on breast cancer and ovarian cancer in led by Utthara Nayar, PhD, at Johns Hopkins University.
Entering into the Genomics & Bioinformatics program are Nathaniel Barton, Keita Ichii, and Midrar Alhossiny.
Barton holds a BS in Genetics, Genomics, and Biotechnology and Bioinformatics from Brigham Young University. Prior to entering the IBS Program, Barton worked as a bioinformatician at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, and has a first-author paper currently in review from his work on Multiple Sclerosis with Rigel Chan, PhD.
Ichii holds a BS in Neuroscience from the University of California, Riverside. Ichii has a forthcoming first-author paper on the analysis and classification of tandem repeat proteins from his time in the lab of Adam Godzik, PhD, at UC Riverside.
Alhossiny holds a BS in Clinical Laboratory Science from King Saud University and a MS in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology-Bioinformatics from Georgetown University. The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh is sponsoring Alhossiny’s doctoral studies through the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission.
Entering into the Microbiology and Immunology program are Lauren Smith and Jean Acosta.
Smith holds a BS in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Smith comes to the IBS Program from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine where she worked for the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
Acosta holds a BS in Biological Science from the University of Connecticut. Acosta has academic and industry research experience, including time spent at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at 2seventy bio, a gene and cell therapy company based in Massachusetts.
Entering into the Neuroscience program are Siddhant Dharap and Intisar Diwani.
Dharap holds a BS in Neuroscience from the University of Washington. Dharap previously received a Jeremy Clarkson Fellowship from UW's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences to support his research experience working with Erik Carlson, MD, PhD.
Diwani holds a BS in Neuroscience from the George Washington University. Most recently, Diwani worked at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research where she played a key role in Traumatic Brain Injury research under Zachary Bailey, PhD, and Starlyn Okada-Rising, PhD.
Entering into the Pharmacology and Physiology program is Noah Williams.
Williams holds a BS in Nanomedicine from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. While there, Williams was a recipient of the Luther and Alice Hamlett Scholarship. After graduating from Virginia Tech, Williams worked as a research assistant at GW SMHS.
The students kicked off their orientation on Aug. 21, 2025, by receiving an overview of the program from IBS Director Lee and IBS Graduate Program directors. The afternoon featured a White Coat Ceremony for the incoming class, with SMHS Dean Barbara Lee Bass, MD, and Senior Associate Dean for Research Alison Hall, presenting the PhD students with white coats as a symbol of entry into their doctoral studies. The event also included a poster session, giving the new students an opportunity to learn about ongoing projects from SMHS faculty, research staff, and current IBS students.
Students also participated in several other orientation activities, including volunteering together at the Capital Area Food Bank, attending a Washington Nationals baseball game, and touring research facilities at Children’s National Hospital, gaining exposure to the broader scientific and local community they will be part of during their studies.
The cohort has now begun their first semester of classes and have entered into their first of three lab rotations with the objective of identifying a faculty research mentor to guide them throughout their doctoral journey at GW.
