UC Irvine School of Medicine

09/03/2026

For undergraduate students considering medical school, what’s better than spending a summer in Southern California, conducting biomedical research and gaining clinical exposure? ☀️🔬🩺

That’s how 25 undergraduate students from Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina, Alabama and Washington, D.C., spent eight weeks as participants of two programs offered through the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.

Twenty students participated in the HBCU Summer Research and Clinical Experience Program, while five joined the Translational Research in Vision Summer (TRAVIS) Program.

Sarah Adjei-Fremah, PhD, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Winston-Salem State University, said the summer experience “uplifts students, connects them with mentors and opportunities, and inspires them to pursue their goals in medicine and biomedical research.”

Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, PhD, who launched TRAVIS in 2022, similarly loves “seeing how students grow through the experience.”

Interested in gaining hands-on research and clinical experience? Learn more about these two programs, just two of the many offerings from UC Irvine’s Medical Education Programming for Pre-Med Students.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4r1yJhW

09/02/2026

September 4 is World Sexual Health Day, and this year’s theme, “Every Body,” centers around one question: “Whose bodies are sexual health systems built for — and whose are left out?”

“That question is exactly what led to my career, where I specialize in the treatment of female sexual dysfunction,” says Jessica Yih, MD, assistant professor of urology at the University of California, Irvine.

Yih first recognized disparities in sexual health in 2008, during her first year of medical school. Ever since, she has been working to better understand sexual health and expand access to care. She now serves as director of the Women’s Sexual Health and Male Infertility program at UCI Health.

“UC Irvine has given me the opportunity to build something that barely exists anywhere — a program where women’s sexual health is treated with the same rigor, resources and legitimacy as any other area of medicine,” Yih says.

Read more about Yih’s work and her message that “sexual health is health”: https://bit.ly/4zTwBwB

Jessica Yih, MD, has a message leading up to World Sexual Health Day as she responds to this year’s central question: “Whose bodies are sexual health systems built for — and whose are left out?”

08/18/2026

Welcome, Class of 2030! 💙🥼💛

On Aug. 7, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 125 future physicians celebrated with family and friends for the 2026 White Coat Ceremony! Selected from 7,000 applicants, these students represent 114 California residents, 68 graduates of the University of California, and the future of medicine.

“For our incoming students, this ceremony represents much more than receiving a white coat,” said Michael J. Stamos, MD, interim vice chancellor of Health Affairs and dean of the UC Irvine School of Medicine. “It is the moment when years of hard work, sacrifice and determination begin to transform into a lifelong commitment to medicine and service.”

Learn more about the Class of 2030 and view photos from the ceremony here: https://bit.ly/4bZk7sZ




Image Descriptions:
1. Students reciting the Hippocratic Oath at the 2026 White Coat Ceremony.
2. Group of medical students in their white coats outside the Irvine Barclay Theatre before the ceremony.
3. Six medical students in their white coats outside the venue before the ceremony.
4. Two medical students take a selfie before the White Coat Ceremony.
5. Student receives his white coat from Dr. Michael J. Stamos, dean of the School of Medicine.
6. Student receives her white coat from Dr. Stamos.
7. Student receives a pin on her white coat.
8. Student smiles during the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath.
9. Two students give the “Zot” sign.
10. Three students with their flower bouquets after the ceremony.

08/18/2026

Welcome, Class of 2030! 💙🥼💛

Here are some moments from our annual White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 7, 2026, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.



Video Description: A montage of the UC Irvine School of Medicine’s 2026 White Coat Ceremony, including the moment students walked into the theater where they were surrounded by family and friends. Dr. Michael J. Stamos, dean of the School of Medicine, posed with incoming students during the presentation of the white coats, which was then followed by the administration of the Hippocratic Oath. Before and after the ceremony, students took photos outside the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

08/06/2026

It all started at a public pool in Japan.

Lara Taniguchi, a young teen born and raised in Osaka — a major city on the Japanese island of Honshu — spotted a flyer recruiting volunteers to help children with disabilities learn how to swim. It set in motion a journey that would lead Taniguchi on a mission to better understand how the brain works.

Now a PhD candidate at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Taniguchi is on the verge of defending a dissertation centered on the question of why males and females respond differently to early-life stress.

“Early-life stress is a major risk factor for developing mental illness later in life, but mental health disorders look very different depending on sex,” says Taniguchi, whose research explores how the brain drives that difference.

Learn about Taniguchi’s work in the Baram Lab and her K-12 outreach for the UC Irvine Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and how her own mental health struggle shaped her journey.

Read more: https://medschool.uci.edu/news/phd-candidate-lara-taniguchi-envisions-new-era-mental-health-treatment




Image Descriptions:

1. Lara Taniguchi, PhD candidate in the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at UC Irvine School of Medicine.

2. Taniguchi and her parents pose in front of a statue of Peter the Anteater at UC Irvine’s 2026 Commencement Ceremony.

3. Taniguchi (center of front row) with Tallie Z. Baram, MD, PhD (second from left in front row) and other members of the Baram Lab at the UC Irvine campus.

4. Taniguchi running a half-marathon in San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge behind her.

08/05/2026

As we prepare for this year’s annual White Coat Ceremony on Friday, August 7, we asked Harneet, a second-year medical student, for her advice to incoming students.

Go to our link in bio to live stream this Friday’s ceremony at 7 p.m. PT.

Video Description: Harneet Arora answers this question: “What’s your advice for new medical students?”

08/03/2026

What happens when you’ve invested years into training to become a doctor but then don’t match into residency?

“No one event in your life defines you,” says Jeffry Nahmias, MD, a trauma surgeon and Chief of UC Irvine’s Division of Trauma, Burns & Surgical Critical Care and medical director of the surgical intensive care unit at UCI Health – Orange.

Learn how Dr. Nahmias used his setbacks, including his failure to match into residency, to fuel his success as a surgeon, educator and researcher. Dr. Nahmias has gone on to receive awards honoring his compassion and care in treating trauma victims and recognizing his excellence in teaching and mentorship.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4yXfidq



Image Descriptions:

1. Jeffry Nahmias, MD (second from left), with colleagues at the opening of the new UCI Health – Irvine hospital on Dec. 10, 2025.

2. During a county-wide simulation of a water rescue for a spinal cord injury, a patient is loaded into an ambulance.

3. Dr. Nahmias (far right) on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier as part of the UCI Health Military-Civilian Partnership collaborating with the training for the U.S. Navy.

07/30/2026

From youth violinist to aspiring oncologist, fourth-year medical student Frank Lee is integrating his love of music with his passion for medicine and healing, performing for UCI Health patients and starting the Music in Medicine group at UC Irvine.

Read the touching story of how his dad sparked his dual interests and impacted his journey. Also, learn how Lee’s experience has been shaped by his mentors and programs, including the Health Education to Advance Leaders in Integrative Medicine (HEAL-IM) and the Medical Humanities and Arts Program Medical Humanities and Arts Program (MHAP) at UCI.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3Tvvr9V



Image descriptions:

1. Frank Lee, in his scrubs and holding his violin at the UCI Health Douglas Hospital in Orange, Calif.

2. Frank Lee, when he was 13, with his parents after a musical performance.

3. Medical students Frank Lee (on violin) and Michael Liew (on keyboards) play in the lobby of the UCI Health Douglas Hospital in Orange, Calif.

4. Music in Medicine members (from left): Marisa Nwoke, Sceptre Ganasi, Frank Lee, Joseph Paavola, Michael Liew and Aaron Lin.

07/28/2026

Join the Mary & Steve Wen Cardiovascular Division at UC Irvine School of Medicine for the 18th Annual Orange County Symposium for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Enhancing Cardiometabolic Health Across the Lifespan.

📅 Oct. 23 & 24, 2026
📍UC Irvine Student Center, 311 W. Peltason Dr., Irvine, CA 92697

🟡 This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits.

This symposium is co-organized by the UC Irvine Center for Global Cardiometabolic Health & Nutrition.

Register today! 👉 https://bit.ly/4fkxZQE



Image Description: Details for the symposium with an image of a woman hiking up a staircase with a backpack.

07/22/2026

From testing laundry detergents at an elementary school science fair to completing her first year of medical school, Harneet Arora’s affinity for science has turned into a passion for healthcare.

As the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine prepares to welcome its incoming class at the 2026 White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 7, Arora reflects on her year of growth and offers advice.

“There’s no single timeline or ‘right’ way to go through medical school,” she says. “Everyone is discovering their interests, strengths, specialty and future goals at their own pace.”

Learn more about her journey.

After completing her first year of medical school, Harneet Arora reflects on her growth and shares some advice for the incoming class.