{"id":84428,"date":"2020-05-14T15:42:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T19:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/busm\/?p=84428"},"modified":"2020-05-14T15:42:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T19:42:56","slug":"celebrating-accomplishments-congratulations-gms-class-of-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/2020\/05\/14\/celebrating-accomplishments-congratulations-gms-class-of-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Accomplishments: Congratulations GMS Class of 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3JhhPiH5Ffo\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Although commencement has been postponed, Thursday, May 14, still was a special day for the GMS Class of 2020. BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean Karen Antman, MD, opened the prerecorded All GMS Virtual Celebration. \u201cCOVID-19 has changed our plan for you and COVID-19 will change you. I suspect that more of you than usual will become experts in infectious diseases, immunology, maybe even biomedical science policy,\u201d she said. \u201cThe faculty are proud of your resilience, intellect, innovation and commitment and today congratulate you on your many accomplishments. We\u2019re confident that you will collectively and individually change the world. We\u2019re actually counting on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Deborah J. Stearns-Kurosawa, PhD, GMS Associate Provost\/Dean <em>ad interim<\/em>, and members of the GMS community shared their well wishes during the 23-minute broadcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPersistence, resilience, patience, stubbornness, curiosity, and intellectual nimbleness come to mind when I think of your class \u2026 These are words that describe the fundamental character of the best scientists and clinicians, said Dr. Stearns-Kurosawa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday we celebrate your academic journey here in GMS. I speak to all of you, whether master\u2019s or doctorate, on behalf of all the faculty and staff in GMS, when I say how proud we are that you have achieved so much even in the midst of discord,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/virtual-celebrations\/\">daylong celebration<\/a> continued with 12 master\u2019s programs each hosting a virtual gathering: Anatomy &amp; Neurobiology \u2013 Vesalius, Bioimaging, Biomedical Forensic Sciences, Forensic Anthropology, Genetic Counseling, Medical Anthropology &amp; Cross-Cultural Practice, Medical Sciences, Mental Health Counseling &amp; Behavioral Medicine, Nutrition &amp; Metabolism, Oral Health Sciences, Pathology Laboratory Sciences. Note that\u00a0Biomedical Research Technologies, Clinical Research, Health Professions Education and Healthcare Emergency Management did not hold virtual celebrations.<\/p>\n<p>At the close of the spring semester, 375 students had completed coursework for a master\u2019s degree, of those 344 for an MS degree and 31 for an MA degree. An additional six completed requirements for an MS\/MPH degree.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_Alty7VFaqQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>PhD candidates were invited to a virtual <strong>All Doctoral Celebration<\/strong> led off by Gregory Viglianti, PhD, GMS Assistant Dean for Operations. \u201cAs you prepare to move on in your careers you will also have to adapt this time to the new normal, but you are prepared. The analytical and critical thinking skills you developed in your PhD studies and your resilience place you in a position to make a difference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you will make a difference \u2013 no matter what direction your career takes you,\u201d he continued. \u201cWhether it be tackling diseases like COVID-19 in academia or biotech, working in science policy or some other endeavor where you can apply your unique skill set.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The doctoral class speaker, Alex Barron, who earned his PhD in microbiology\/immunology in January, shared, \u201cToday we celebrate our own passion and ingenuity and assume the mantle of scientific progress. Regardless of our scientific specialties, each of us has a prerogative and duty to ensure that life 100 years from now is better than it is today. I look forward to seeing how each of us will make it so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The celebration also included slides provided by the doctoral candidates that featured their photo, career plans and dissertation topic.<\/p>\n<p>Many faculty sent their congratulatory wishes to the class and the virtual celebration ended with a toast from GMS Assistant Dean Andrew Henderson, PhD.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I think of events like today, you need to acknowledge two things,\u201d he said. \u201cOne is what you\u2019ve accomplished over the past five or so years \u2013 your perseverance, hard work, and most importantly your successes; but just as relevant and even more special is your potential, what lies ahead \u2013 your future as scientists, teachers, mentors and as leaders. And when I look at this group of PhD students, I think our future looks very bright. Well done. Good luck. And cheers!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although commencement has been postponed, the GMS Class of 2020 made some virtual memories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":903,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[91,156],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84428"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84432,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84428\/revisions\/84432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}