Media Advisory: New England Journal of Medicine editor-in-chief to speak at Jacobs School commencement

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The MD commencement ceremony for the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo will feature Eric J. Rubin, MD, PhD, editor-in-chief of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, as keynote speaker.

The Jacobs School’s 177th annual medical school commencement ceremony will confer 175 graduates with MD degrees, including three receiving MD/PhDs, one MD/MPH recipient, three earning MD/MBAs and two recipients of MD/OMSs (MD/Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery).

The ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. April 28 at the UB Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

“We wanted to choose a dynamic speaker, an esteemed physician-scientist and respected leader who would inspire our student body. Dr. Rubin embodies all of these qualities,” said Allison Brashear, MD, UB vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School.

Rubin is an associate physician specializing in infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

He played an invaluable role during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to having conducted groundbreaking tuberculosis research, and helped countless patients in often neglected populations.

“Dr. Rubin’s expedient identification and publication of critical studies — as well as video presentations — informed us on all aspects of COVID,” Brashear said. “Furthermore, as a member of the FDA’s scientific advisory board, he was part of the process that enabled timely approval of desperately needed vaccines and treatments. He exemplifies determination, commitment and excellence.”