On Friday, May 13, 64 graduates from MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences were honored in a commencement ceremony with UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics and McGovern Medical School at Minute Maid Park.

The commencement speaker Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston and a visiting professor in management at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. Brené is the author of six #1 New York Times best sellers, the host of two award-winning podcasts, and the speaker in one of the most-viewed TED talks in the world.

Other GSBS highlights from the ceremony include:

• Dean Michael R. Blackburn, PhD, being recognized as dean emeritus. Blackburn will be retiring from the GSBS and university at the end of June.
• GSBS faculty members Jian Hu, PhD, and Jichao Chen, PhD, were honored as recipients of the John P. McGovern Award for Outstanding Teaching. Hu is the 2022 awardee, this is the second time Hu has received this distinction. In 2019, he was also selected by students to be the McGovern teaching winner. Chen is 2021 recipient.

Visit www.uth.edu/commencement to watch the full ceremony and see photos from the festivities.

In some cultures, the number 13 conjures up thoughts of bad luck, while others celebrate the prime as a lucky number associated with growth and vibrancy. For our grads, we here at the school hope they continue to grow and shine as successful scientist and biomedical professionals as they move onto diverse ventures at top institutions and companies.