LOS ANGELES (June 20, 2025) — They will always be the first.
Newswise — The class of 2025 of Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University are the trailblazing biomedical students who made Cedars-Sinai history earlier this month when they became the university’s inaugural graduates.
At the 13th Commencement Ceremony, the university’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences awarded 24 degrees—four doctorates of philosophy in biomedical and translational sciences and 20 master’s degrees of science in health systems.
“You are the first graduating class of the new Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University, and we are confident that your class and subsequent classes will have a profound impact on the future of medicine and healthcare around the world,” said Peter L. Slavin, MD, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai and the David and Meredith Kaplan Presidential Chair.
“I encourage all of you to tackle big problems in the work that lies ahead of you and to use the skills that you have developed here, as well as your own ingenuity, to make progress pushing the frontiers of knowledge forward and improving healthcare and the wellbeing of humanity as a result,” Slavin said.
Looking ahead, Slavin continued, “This is the beginning of a new chapter in your career. Your tenacity, diligence and capabilities inspire us, and we’re very hopeful about the exciting professional careers you’ll be having in the years to come. Never stop pushing the envelope of what’s possible.”
In his address, Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president of Medicine and Health Sciences and dean of the Cedars-Sinai Faculty, began his remarks by quoting American astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan: “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
Melmed turned the audience’s attention to something incredible that occurred just weeks ago—the discovery of possible signs of life on a distant exoplanet dubbed K2-18b.
“Today we experience pandemics, inequity, misinformation and warped moral clarity,” Melmed said. “And yet, after training at Cedars-Sinai, we are confident that you are uniquely endowed to enrich our world. Your future foretells radiant promises of personalized medicine, gene editing, synthetic biology, neural engineering and overall enrichment of the human condition.”
Mark Ellie De Boton Alonzo, PhD, the Class of 2025 Speaker, talked about how he came to Southern California as a teenager from his native Philippines. His doctoral journey was an unlikely one, having hit academic rock bottom in his freshman year of college.
His sisters, both registered nurses, encouraged him to move forward. Alonzo rebooted his academic career, going on to earn a bachelor of science in microbiology and a master’s in biological sciences.
“And today, here I am giving a graduation speech, and I’ve just received my diploma that says PhD in biomedical and translational sciences,” said Alonzo.
Alonzo concluded, “As graduate students, failures and uncertainties have been our constant companions. Still, we moved forward. We adapted. We learned. We embraced these failures and hardships.” Adding, “So I stand before you not to offer words of wisdom, but to remind you that you already carry this wisdom through your lived experiences.”
The Class of 2025 of Master of Science in Health Systems Graduates includes Victoria Lucy Amran, Arlet Arratoonian, DDS, Melissa Chavez, Audrey Cho, Harpriya Chugh, Jeffry Glenning, Rajalakshmi Govalan, Ann Elizabeth Haker, Odette Chida Ibarra, Brett Johnson, Anxhela Kote, Mariel Aileen Buenavista Lansangan, Brent Di Meo, Jennifer Poole, DO, MS, Jaclyn Rangel, Landon Scott, Marina Sorace-Ferreyo, JD, Dominic Rachel Dawson Soto, Nirosha Herath Mudiyanselage Tilakaratna, MBBS, and Gao Xi.
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical and Translational Sciences Graduates includes Mark Ellie De Boton Alonzo, Michael Diaz, Nancy Morones and Peter Tuan Ngoc Nguyen.
Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.
