In Brief
WHITE COAT CEREMONY CELEBRATES INCOMING CLASS OF 2030 MD STUDENTS
UVA School of Medicine held its annual White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 14.
Generously endowed by the School of Medicine Class of 1965, the White Coat Ceremony is a cherished tradition that serves as a welcome and a rite of passage for those embarking on careers in medicine. In addition to receiving personalized white coats, the incoming students are presented with medical tool kits containing a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, tuning fork, and reflex hammer. They also recite a covenant to affirm their shared values with faculty members and classmates.
The 155 students of the incoming class were selected from a pool of 7,248 applicants. Their mean GPA is 3.91 and mean MCAT score 520 (97th percentile). They represent 27 states plus the District of Columbia and 66 undergraduate institutions. Students from the state of Virginia make up 54% of the entering class.
“White coat ceremonies are held annually at medical schools nationwide to welcome students embarking on their medical careers by giving them a white coat as a symbol of compassion and honor,” said Barry J. Collins, executive director of the UVA Medical Alumni Association during his welcome.
EARN WHILE YOU LEARN RN PROGRAM GRADUATES FIRST COHORT
UVA Health’s Earn While You Learn (EWYL) RN program, in partnership with Piedmont Virginia Community College and supported by the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation (CMCF), has recently graduated 18 participants who joined the first cohort.
CMCF is a private Virginia philanthropy established in 1987 by Claude Moore, MD, a successful physician, real estate investor, and 1916 graduate of UVA School of Medicine. The school’s Health Sciences Library and Medical and Nursing Education Buildings bear Claude Moore’s name in honor of his generous contributions.
“We’re incredibly proud of this group and all they have accomplished to become registered nurses,” said Beth Mehring, MSN, RN, director, UVA Health EWYL. “It’s deeply rewarding to help dedicated employees achieve their professional goals and create new opportunities for themselves and their families.”
The cohort members were earning a full salary, benefits, and tuition support while devoting 16 hours a week to nursing coursework, labs, and clinicals — and 24 hours per week to their current roles within UVA Health. After graduation, participants are required to work at University Medical Center, typically on a year-for-a-year basis, so the two-year RN program participants are committed to working for two years at University Medical Center.
UVA HEALTH'S FIRST ROBOTIC CARDIAC SURGERY MILESTONE
UVA Health reached a major milestone on July 31, 2026, with the successful completion of its first robotic cardiac surgery at University Medical Center, launching a dedicated robotic cardiac surgery program.
Led by Michael E. Ibrahim, MD, PhD, director of Robotic Cardiac Surgery, the program expands access to minimally invasive treatment options for patients across the region. UVA Health is the only health system in Virginia with a dedicated robotic cardiac surgery program.
For eligible patients, robotic cardiac surgery can offer smaller incisions, less pain, fewer complications, and faster recovery. Hospital stays can be as short as three days, compared with a week or more following conventional cardiac surgery.
Philanthropy helps make this progress possible by supporting advanced technology, specialized training, and the infrastructure needed to advance innovative care. This first procedure marks not only a milestone, but the beginning of a growing program with the potential to bring minimally invasive cardiac care to more patients across Virginia and beyond.
NANOTECHNOLOGY IDs NEW GENETIC TARGET FOR TREATING GLAUCOMA
A UVA scientist and colleagues have used cutting-edge nanotechnology to gain new insights into glaucoma and give researchers a powerful new tool in the search for a cure.
Nanotechnology expert Evan Scott, PhD, director of the UVA Institute for Nanoscale Scientific and Technological Advanced Research, and collaborators used tiny “nanocarriers” to study a vessel responsible for draining fluid from the eye. When this drainage system fails, pressure inside the eye can rise, contributing to vision loss.
“Primary open-angle glaucoma is an incurable, progressive disease that is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide,” says Scott, a UVA biomedical engineering professor. “Our nanocarriers allow us to selectively probe specific cells in the eye to better understand how eye pressure increases and identify new therapeutic targets for gene therapy that could one day cure glaucoma.”
Scott is a Thomas A. Saunders III Family Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished University Professor at UVA, and he also holds the David Goodman Family Bicentennial Professorship.