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Wide angle photo of a large group of grads in black and red regalia and green crows fee waving and smiling at the camera.

Graduation

Congratulations to the HMS and HSDM 2026 graduates!

Graduation coverage includes profiles and videos of select graduating students, as well as graduation celebration stories and photos. See more below.

PhD Hooding Ceremony

As They Advance Critical Research, PhD Graduates Agree: ‘Science Is a Community Project’

Two women hug and smile in center of photo with other grads and faculty gathered in background.

Students in HMS-based programs receive doctoral degrees, celebrate mentorship and collaboration

Class Day Ceremony

For HMS and HSDM Class of 2026, Graduation Is Just the Beginning

MD and DMD graduates stand on the steps of Gordon Hall.

New physicians, dentists prepared to bridge the gap between “what is and what ought to be”

Morning Commencement Exercises at Harvard

HMS and HSDM medical, dental, master’s, and PhD students celebrate in Cambridge

At Harvard Commencement morning exercises, HMS graduates share their excitement about what’s next for them.
Master’s graduates share some of the challenges in health care and medical science they want to help solve.
Master’s graduates share some of the challenges in health care and medical science they want to help solve.
Master’s graduates share some of the challenges in health care and medical science they want to help solve.
Master’s graduates share some of the challenges in health care and medical science they want to help solve.
Master’s graduates share some of the challenges in health care and medical science they want to help solve.
Master’s graduates share some of the challenges in health care and medical science they want to help solve.
Master’s graduates share some of the challenges in health care and medical science they want to help solve.
MD and DMD graduates describe how they hope their future patients will see them.
MD and DMD graduates describe how they hope their future patients will see them.
MD and DMD graduates describe how they hope their future patients will see them.
MD and DMD graduates describe how they hope their future patients will see them.
MD and DMD graduates describe how they hope their future patients will see them.
MD and DMD graduates describe how they hope their future patients will see them.
MD and DMD graduates describe how they hope their future patients will see them.
MD and DMD graduates describe how they hope their future patients will see them.
PhD graduates are looking forward to illuminating biological mysteries and developing treatments and technologies in many fields.
PhD graduates are looking forward to illuminating biological mysteries and developing treatments and technologies in many fields.

Images: Steve Lipofsky for HMS

Master’s Graduation Ceremony

Master’s Graduates Tackle AI, Medical Innovation, and Global Health

Tight crop of a group of about a dozen grads clapping and smiling.

Convocation emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and humility to improve people’s health around the world

Congratulations to the Harvard-MIT HST Class of 2026

A special celebration was held for the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology MD graduates on Tuesday, May 26, at MIT.

A group of about 35 young people stand staggered in rows on a set of stairs, smiling and looking at the camera.

Military Commissioning Ceremony

HMS and HSDM Class of 2026 graduates entering U.S. military service are commissioned as officers

Military service members and veterans from the HMS and HSDM Class of 2026 were honored at a special ceremony on Class Day.
The graduates join a rich history of Harvard’s history of service to the military and to medicine, said Eric Goralnick, HMS associate professor of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts secretary of veterans services.
The newly appointed officers each take an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution.
Felita Zhang, HST MD graduate, is congratulated on her commissioning as a captain in the U.S. Army by George Dyer, HMS associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a Navy reservist.
Zhang’s mother and sister pin insignia on her epaulettes. The new officer is specializing in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Yale, where she will be the inaugural resident in the Yale-Army partnership.
Priscilla Opoku-Yeboah, DMD graduate, is commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army. She is specializing in general dentistry at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria in Grafenwöhr, Germany.
Opoku-Yeboah (in regalia), her mother, and three brothers share proud smiles, congratulations, and well-wishes.
Richard John (RJ) Russel III, Pathways MD graduate, is commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army. He is specializing in emergency medicine at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington.
Russel (center) has his rank insignia pinned to his epaulettes by (from left) his wife (in regalia), his sister, and his mother.
U.S. Army veteran and MD graduate Andrew Nguyen is specializing in orthopedic surgery at Carolinas Medical Center.
U.S. Army veteran and MD graduate Jeff Rasmussen is specializing in pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital, with plans to pursue fellowship training and research in neuropathology with VA Boston Healthcare.
Martha Vedrine, HSDM admissions and recruitment coordinator, sings the national anthem.
Tom Miller, HSDM administrative dean and chief operating officer and Coast Guard veteran, said the new officers join the many Harvard medical and dental alumni who have served in each branch of the military.

Images: Steve Gilbert

Meet Some of the 2026 Graduates

Answering the call to improve health can take varied and deeply personal paths

A man in a white coat leans on a lab bench with arms crossed and smiling
Stopping Cervical Cancer Before It Starts

Graduating PhD student Alton Gayton does pioneer work using circular RNA and artificial intelligence to treat and prevent cervical cancer
A woman in a blue dress stands by column with the campus quad in the background.
From Patient to Neurosurgeon

Graduating MD student Nikki Pérez advances efforts to expand global access to neurosurgery
Headshot of a man in a suit wearing glasses
Finding Cancer’s Weakness

Graduating PhD student Alan Wong is developing new approaches to treat pediatric leukemia while reducing harm to the brain
A young man with dark hair and a mustache, wearing a blazer
Persistence Brought This First-Generation Student to a Career in Neuroscience

PhD graduate Dionnet Bhatti Mazo explores how the brain interprets the world
A woman in a white coat, exam gloves, and safety goggles pipettes a solution.
Changing the World, One Vaccine at a Time

From machine learning to clinical care, graduating MD-PhD student Anusha Nathan tackles infectious disease
A man in a button shirt and glasses leans over a microscope, smiling
Forging Paths to Healing, From Immunology to the Biomedical Pipeline

For graduating MD-PhD student Leonard Nettey, there are many ways to make a difference
A woman in a white coat stands holding an imaging headset
Master’s Student Journeyed From Kazakhstan to U.S. To Fulfill Her Purpose

Graduating master’s student Assel Talaspayeva is preserving sight — and hope — for people with diabetic retinopathy
A woman in a burgundy button down sweater with marble building in background
A Unique Multidisciplinary Perspective

Graduating MD student Alison Farrar is interested in digital mental health and psychiatry research
A man in a brown t-shirt with buildings in background
A Drive To Expand Health Care Access

Graduating MD student Sam Steuart believes advocacy is an essential part of being a physician

A man with blue shirt with glass windows in background
Leading by Example

Graduating MD student Zade Akras believes that community support empowers people to effect positive change

A woman with a brown top on a gray backdrop
Falling in Love With Music — Beyond Playing

Graduating PhD student Christine Liu’s curiosity led her to study how sound is processed in the brain
A woman in a tan blouse stands in front of marble columns
A Big Picture Approach to the Brain

Coming from a Hasidic Jewish community, PhD graduate Devorah Kranz brings creativity and holistic thought to research
A man in a white lab coat with shelves in a lab in background
First Rule as a Disease Fighter: Be Curious

PhD candidate Isaac Witte retraces ‘incremental advances’ that unlocked CRISPR technique
Person holding giant toothbrush over their head with marble building in background
From Research to Clinical Care

Dental graduates build connection while pursuing diverse paths

Meet More 2026 Graduates — on Instagram

These graduates share their medical school experiences and plans for their futures as dentists and scientists

Lighlty bearded man in blue oxford speaking with a smile
Yoseph Boku, MD

Blending clinical care and research to help patients with sickle cell disease
Man in a blue shirt in front of a van, both branded The Family Van
Jonathan Wang, MD

Reflecting on community connection through The Family Van
A woman smiles holding a sign that says I Matched!
Diviya Rajesh, MD

Sharing rush of excitement at Match Day
A man in a grey Harvard Medical School fleece jacket
R.J. Russel, MD

Comparing medical school to its dramatization on “The Pitt”
A woman smiling with a multicolored background behind her
Maya Talukdar, PhD

Studying sex-based genetic differences in rates of autism

A man with a stethoscope draped around his neck
Adam Berger, MD-PhD

Treating illness and supporting children’s long-term health
A woman in a double breasted suit jacket smiles
Sarah Lee, MD

Helping children and families live fully with skin conditions
A young woman in blue suit with marble building in background
Besmira Alija, MD

Aspiring To Be a Surgeon Who Leads With the Heart

2026 Ceremony Keynote Speakers

Eric Rubin Named Convocation Speaker

Head shot of a grey-haired man in blue striped oxford and blue suit jacket with glasses
Eric Rubin. Courtesy of Eric Rubin

Tuberculosis researcher Eric Rubin will give the keynote address at the Harvard Medical School Master’s Convocation on May 27.

Rubin and his lab team at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health devise bacterial genetic tools to study Mycobacterium tuberculosis — the causative agent of human tuberculosis and a leading cause of infectious disease death worldwide — as well as non-tubercular mycobacteria, which are responsible for a rising number of difficult-to-treat infections in vulnerable patients.

Rubin’s team seeks to better understand the fundamental biology of mycobacteria and use this knowledge to develop new strategies for treatment and prevention. Although TB can be cured with antibiotics, the rise of multidrug-resistant strains complicates diagnosis and care and poses a challenge to its management.

Rubin is HMS professor of medicine and associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he cares for patients with infectious diseases. He was formerly the Irene Heinz Given Professor and is now adjunct professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard Chan School.

Since 2019, he has been the editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. He is a fellow of the American Society for Microbiology and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Monica Bharel Named Class Day Speaker

Head and shoulder portrait of a woman with brown hair and brown eyes in a black top
Monica Bharel. Courtesy of Monica Bharel

Physician-executive, internist, and public health innovator Monica Bharel will deliver the keynote speech at the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine Class Day ceremony on May 28.

Bharel is dedicated to using data, technology, and policy to drive innovation, fairness, and justice in health and health care.

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