At this year’s commencement, for the first time in Johns Hopkins University history, six students graduated with an undergraduate minor in Computational Medicine – the inaugural class in a program crafted by the Institute for Computational Medicine.

The minor launched in June 2015 as the first educational program in CM, reflecting the university’s s leadership in the field. Seniors Michelle Chyn, Lucy Han, Han Huang, Inez Lam, Barbara Kim, and Edric Tam were among the first to express interest in the program.

Michelle Chyn, biomedical engineering major, said she realized that a minor in computational medicine was exactly what she needed to propel her professional future. “I want to be in a position to facilitate translation of engineering work to the clinic. Computational medicine is one of the best areas to have experience in and to learn about current medical and engineering advances,” said Chyn.

Students were required to take courses that familiarized them with a wide variety of statistical, deterministic and stochastic modeling methods, skills that are considered essential to the advancement of modern medicine, and are prized both in academic and industrial research.

“The minor showed me just how powerful the computational approach can be in biomedical research,” said Edric Tam, a biomedical engineering, applied mathematics and statistics, and neuroscience major. “It really opened my eyes to the cool research people in the field are currently working on.”

Inez Lam said she pursued the minor for two reasons: academic interests and community. She is looking forward to returning to ICM in the fall to begin her doctoral studies.

Like the ICM itself, the undergraduate minor is integrative and multidisciplinary, offering the students the chance to collaborate with one of the 19 core faculty members who serve as minor advisors. Each student was required to complete two core classes plus 18 elective credits from a preapproved list.

“Minoring in CM definitely made me more passionate about academic research and open to the idea of pursuing a Ph.D. and going into industry, as well,” added Chyn.

Dr. Raimond Winslow, Director of the Institute for Computational Medicine, believes the minor broadens the opportunities available to its graduates, particularly within industry. The institute is working to develop more academic programs aimed at preparing students for career opportunities within this emergent industry.

The six undergraduates crossed the stage on May 18th at 4:00pm at this year’s University-wide Commencement Ceremony held at the Royal Farms Arena.

Congratulations, graduates and well wishes from ICM!