News
09 October 2025
2025 Lab Coat Ceremony Welcomes Graduate Students To Their Thesis Labs
An annual tradition marks the start of scientific discovery for the 2024-2025 class of Stowers Graduate School students.
Read Article
News
2025 Lab Coat Ceremony Welcomes Graduate Students To Their Thesis Labs
An annual tradition marks the start of scientific discovery for the 2024-2025 class of Stowers Graduate School students.
The Graduate School of the Stowers Institute recently held its 2025 Lab Coat Ceremony, a milestone event welcoming the cohort of Ph.D. students to the Stowers Institute’s research community. The ceremony marked the beginning of their research journey in their thesis labs at the Institute. Each student delivered a brief presentation introducing their scientific interests and outlining the questions they will investigate during their Ph.D. studies.
Following the presentations, students were joined on stage by their Thesis Advisors, who presented them with their Stowers lab coats. The moment represented both a personal milestone and a welcome into the collaborative, mentorship-driven environment that defines the Institute.
As each Advisor introduced their new student, they offered words of encouragement and insight into the discoveries awaiting them. The event underscored the Graduate School’s commitment to curiosity, critical thinking, and scientific rigor—principles that guide students as they begin their research journeys at the Institute.
The 2024–2025 Stowers Graduate School Class
Alejandra Alonso Quintana, Sankari Lab
Zhengda An, Sauka-Spengler Lab
Sergio Barroso Bordon, Sankari Lab
Adam Cogan, Si Lab
Michael Epp, Özel Lab
Grace McKown, Kostova Lab
Shao-Fu Nien, Sánchez Alvarado and Kostova Lab
Dilan Sakinci, Zanders Lab
Shrutika Sansaria, Halfmann Lab
Ritvee Talele, Sankari Lab
Learn more about the class here.
Related News
Press Release
17 March 2025
Stowers scientists uncover principles underlying the toxicity of “selfish” genes
The findings may help scientists better understand infertility, neurodegeneration, and evolution.
Read Article
News
20 February 2025
Meet the Faculty: SaraH Zanders, Ph.D., explains why now is an exciting time to pursue a Ph.D. in Biology
The Stowers Institute’s inherent collaborative nature, combined with access to cutting-edge technologies and mentorship from Stowers Technology Center experts, allows students to approach biological questions from multiple angles.
Read Article
What if...?
30 June 2026
What if solving one of biology's oldest mysteries could help shape the future of medicine?
The third story in the Institute's 'What If?' series follows Assistant Investigator Arvind Pillai, Ph.D., explores one of biology's deepest unanswered questions: How does evolution create something entirely new? By reconstructing ancient proteins that disappeared hundreds of millions, even billions, of years ago, Pillai's lab is uncovering the principles that gave rise to life's molecular machinery. Those same principles could one day help scientists engineer entirely new proteins capable of delivering drugs and treating disease. Discover how a lifelong fascination with nature's complexity became a scientific pursuit that stretches from Earth's distant past to the future of medicine.
Read Article