Providing care for more than 3 million patients and educating more than 300,000 trainees. That’s the estimated lifetime ripple effect of the 182 graduates in the nine degree programs of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who received their diplomas Friday, May 8.
“Time stops for me when I consider the vastness of your current and future impact on this world,” said Donald Brady, MD, Executive Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Executive Vice President for Educational and Medical Staff Affairs, who had estimated the lives the graduates would touch.
Brady — a 1990 VUSM graduate — shared with the audience his first experience in seeing behind the curtain of the medical profession. When he was a high school junior, a friend’s neurosurgeon father took his son and Brady to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis to learn firsthand about the medical profession. They witnessed a cataract surgery.
“Naturally, I had assumed that the patient, their eyelids held back by retractors, was asleep, but no, this person who was having their eye sliced — or so it felt to me — began speaking to us,” Brady said. “In the vernacular of the ’80s, I was freaked out. I was wowed. … I had just witnessed something I had never considered possible.”
Though the experience helped him rule out ophthalmology as a potential profession, it did highlight for him the wonders of medicine and, in some small part, set him on a path to a career in internal medicine and academic leadership at Vanderbilt. He encouraged graduates to keep refining their skills and to remember that what feels routine to physicians can be extraordinary — restoring sight, hearing or life — for patients.
“Be open to experiencing awe, not only in monumental discoveries but also in the routine of daily life,” Brady told the graduates. “Yes, challenges await. Yes, disruption is coming. But you are ready … Be confident AND humble!! You, the Class of 2026, will have a vast impact on our world! We — your family, friends, faculty and colleagues — revel in that anticipation and stand in awe of your accomplishments and your potential.”
Graduate Nikol Nikolova, MGC, earned a Master of Genetic Counseling degree and is now preparing for the board exam in August. While at Vanderbilt, she conducted research on the impact of genetic counseling for patients at the medical student-run Shade Tree Clinic.
“As a genetic counseling student, being part of a large medical center with many specialty clinics meant I had the opportunity to explore subspecialties of genetic counseling and work with patients that come from all over the Southeast to be seen here,” she said. “I can’t thank my professors, clinical supervisors and mentors enough for their support throughout my training. I could tell they genuinely cared about my learning. They took the time to get to know me, understand my goals, and help me be successful.
“Finally, my classmates have become some of my closest friends over the last two years. Our cohort is such a positive community where we support each other through challenges and celebrate each other’s successes.”
Graduate Anish Sarma, MD, will join Boston Children’s Hospital for a pediatrics residency; he plans to participate in research, with a particular interest in pediatric immune system development.
“I knew from the start of medical school that I wanted to specialize in pediatrics,” Sarma said. “I am grateful to the many Vanderbilt pediatricians who went out of their way to encourage that early interest. Maya Neeley, Paul Moore, Amy Fleming and Michael Wolf were particularly generous with their time across many conversations, and there were many other residents, fellows and faculty who were genuinely excited to talk about and teach pediatrics.
“I’ve learned from incredibly compassionate and dedicated physicians by watching them work,” he added. “That’s the magic that you can’t learn by reading a book or studying for a test. There are many challenges ahead in residency and beyond, but I am reassured to know that I have a deep well of examples to draw from.”
Avery Bogart, MD, PhD, who participated in the Medical Scientist Training Program, was a member of the Laboratory for Science and Translation in Critical Illness (LSTCI) while at Vanderbilt. She will complete her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University.
Bogart credited her thesis adviser, Lorraine Ware, MD, who taught her “to think critically and conduct rigorous translational research, but also how to navigate challenges with resilience and perspective, collaborate effectively and pursue a career path driven by genuine curiosity and purpose.” She also thanked the other LSTCI faculty for their support — Julie Bastarache, MD, Ciara Shaver, MD, PhD, Eric Kerchberger, MD, MSCI.
“Vanderbilt has shaped not only the kind of physician-scientist I hope to become, but also the person and colleague I strive to be,” Bogart said. “My time here reinforced the importance of curiosity and humility, while also giving me the confidence to use my voice to advocate for my patients and the communities we care for. One principle that has especially stayed with me is something our MSTP Program Director, Dr. Chris Williams, often says: to ‘leave each place better than you found it.’ I hope to carry that mindset forward throughout my career in patient care, research, mentorship and service to my community.”
Graduate degrees earned by the Class of 2026 include:
- Doctor of Medicine – 97
- Doctor of Audiology – 9
- Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology – 27
- Master of Genetic Counseling – 8
- Master of Imaging Science – 2
- Master of Public Health – 26
- Master of Science in Applied Clinical Informatics – 6
- Master of Science in Clinical Investigation – 4
- Master of Science in Medical Physics – 3
While pursuing their VUSM degree conferred this year, 21 students earned an additional professional or graduate degree from Vanderbilt University, including two Master of Business Administration degrees from Owen Graduate School of Management, one Master of Education from Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and 18 Doctor of Philosophy degrees earned as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program.
During the ceremony, Brady recognized 18 emeriti faculty who “have served the university with distinction and deep abiding commitment to their fields.”
They are
- Gordon Bernard, MD, Professor Emeritus of Medicine;
- James Bodfish, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Hearing and Speech Sciences;
- Mark Boothby, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology;
- Richard Breyer, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Medicine;
- David Chestnut, MD, Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology;
- Brian Christman, MD, Professor Emeritus of Medicine;
- Alice Coogan, MD, Professor Emerita of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology;
- Nancy Cox, PhD, Professor Emerita of Medicine;
- Leslie Crofford, MD, Professor Emerita of Medicine;
- William Dupont, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics;
- Arthur Fleischer, MD, Professor Emeritus of Radiology and Radiologic Sciences;
- Catherine Fuchs, MD, Professor Emerita of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences;
- Gary Jacobson, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Hearing and Speech Sciences;
- Keith Meador, MD, ThM, MPH, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences;
- James Netterville, MD, Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery;
- John Schnelle, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Medicine;
- Anne Marie Tharpe, PhD, Professor Emerita of Hearing and Speech Sciences; and
- Georgia Wiesner, MD, Professor Emerita of Medicine.
