June 7, 2024 — Alyssa Tipler wore a look of confusion when organizers couldn’t find the personalized white coat she earned by passing her qualifying exams as a doctoral student at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Suddenly, the room erupted into applause as her brother, U.S. Navy Petty Officer Third Class Tobisa Terrell Williams, who had been stationed at the Naval Air Station in Virginia, emerged to surprise her with a white coat and a red rose in hand.

Tipler and three dozen of her peers celebrated the milestone of passing their qualifying exams with a new tradition for the UF College of Medicine May 31 at the UF Health Professions, Nursing & Pharmacy Auditorium. Inspired by the symbolic white coat ceremonies held for medical and physician assistant students, the students — now doctoral candidates — marked this momentous occasion by receiving personalized white coats.

The qualifying exams, colloquially known as “quals,” test a candidate’s understanding of their chosen field and their capacity to conduct high-level research. The candidates’ new lab coats, which they will don while conducting experiments in the lab, represent the immense responsibility of scientists to uphold ethical standards and perform tasks with the benefit to society at the forefront of their minds.

Antonio Amelio, Ph.D. ’05, the vice chair for research in head and neck oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center and an associate professor at the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa, served as the event’s keynote speaker.

Amelio, who trained in the lab of David C. Bloom, Ph.D., interim dean for graduate education at UF, shared insights with the doctoral candidates from his 20 years of experience conducting biomedical sciences research in the private and public sectors.

“The discoveries we will make will lead to new knowledge that no one else in the world knows or is aware of,” he said. “In fact, the Greek philosopher Socrates once said, ‘The only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing.’ This sentiment really encapsulates that despite all you’ve learned, there is still so much yet to discover. And it’s in acknowledging these limitations, coupled with an unwavering conviction to push the boundaries and knowledge further, that can propel you forward on this journey of personal intellectual exploration.”

Amelio admitted that the pursuit of scientific knowledge will be marked with many failed experiments before progress is made.

“Professional and personal detours will arise,” he said. “There will always be something we can glean from an experiment, so don’t let any mistake or failure go to waste. Learn from them so you can help yourself and others.”

During the ceremony, Amelio was honored with his own personalized UF-branded white coat.

Maddy Carelock, a doctoral candidate and president of UF’s medical graduate student organization, shepherded a group of students who championed the idea of bringing a white coat ceremony to graduate students at the College of Medicine. For nearly a year, the students worked with college administrators and staff to organize the event, which is likely to become a new tradition for UF graduate students to come.

“This ceremony serves not only as a celebration of achievement, but also as a reminder of the responsibilities that come with it,” Carelock said in her closing remarks at the ceremony. “As our students transition to Ph.D. candidacy, they assume a solemn duty to uphold the highest standards of research ethics and integrity. They are entrusted with the power to shape the future of medicine, and with that power comes a profound responsibility to do so with humility, compassion, and a commitment to the greater good.

“So let us rejoice in this moment of triumph but let us also reflect on the journey that lies ahead,” she continued. “Let us draw strength from the knowledge that we are not alone in our pursuit of knowledge, but part of a community that is bound together by passion for discovery and a shared commitment to excellence.”