Recent news in lab coats
Staying up-to-date in any industry is important if it’s YOUR industry. How often do you read trade journals, white papers and new research? In the world of labcoat-wearing professionals, the answer for most is “every day.” Students in these fields are particularly practiced at finding and reading the newest information available on their topics of study.
We aren’t science or medical professionals here at Dr. James, but we are into lab coats. We design lab coats for multiple environments and many fits. We think about women in science in our exclusive lab coats for women, for example, and we even have lab coats for kids.
In other words, we have our own reasons to keep up on labcoat-related news. Most importantly, it’s how we know what designs and features professionals in medical and lab environments need.
There’s a surprising number of news stories about the white lab coat on any given day, and we believe many of those stories will be of interest to you, too. Maybe you didn’t think that lab coats make it into the news that often. Think again. Here are some of our favorite news stories from just the last two weeks.
High school students earn white lab coats
In Coatesville, Pennsylvania, 50 high school students have been ceremoniously awarded their first white lab coats as a symbol of the healthcare fields they plan to explore in college. The white coat ceremony was held at the high school in late January, and the doctor coats were awarded by medical professionals from neighboring hospitals.
The ceremony in Coatesville was not just for the town and high schools’ name, either, a play on word though it would have been. Nor was the ceremony unique to this Coatesville high school. In fact, the white coat ceremony was part of a larger after-school program initiated by Chester County where the school is located. The full story on these students, the county program and the personalized white coats awarded can be read online.
Interestingly, in the same week, another 44 high school students were awarded white coats in Corbin, Kentucky thanks to another local initiative in that district. Corbin High School has an annual white coat ceremony to celebrate the accomplishments of the school’s biomedical students in the Project Lead the Way program the school has been highly praised for.
Programs like these have become integral to the advancement of science careers among young students preparing to enter college. What’s more, in recent years, it’s particularly supported more young women considering STEM fields by celebrating all students’ contributions and interest.
Cornell University shines the spotlight on women in lab coats
Cornell University in New York has been a bright beacon of scientific discovery for generations. Many of Cornell’s alumni have gone on to become prominent contributors to modern science, particularly a growing list of important female scientists who started at Cornell and later paved the way for future women entering medicine and science.
The following are among the women Cornell recently honored, all of whom are current professors at the university.
Professor Carla Gomes, Computer Science
Professor Gomes works in artificial intelligence, training machines to “think” like humans.
Professor Susan Daniel, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Professor Daniel studies biological mechanisms of cell membranes to uncover how viruses, bacteria and cancer can invade healthy cells.
Professor Eva Tardos, Computer Science
Professor Tardos focuses her research on resource usage in computer science.
Enclothed cognition
First of all, what on earth is “enclothed cognition?” This enlightening research paper built around this novel topic starts by explaining the term.
“We introduce the term ‘enclothed cognition’ to describe the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer’s psychological processes.”
In other words, and specifically in the context of the white lab coat, many previous studies had already explored the effect of a doctor jacket on patients. What, though, is the effect of the white lab coat on the wearer?
This study offers a unifying framework to capture the impact clothes have on the wearer, including their symbolic meaning and the physical experience of wearing them.
Findings from the study suggest that the performance of professionals wearing a white lab coat is measurably improved than it would be without the white coat, particularly with increased attention. Read the full study to see how the experiment was performed and to learn what other insights were uncovered.
U of T biomedical engineering lab celebrates student theses
At the University of Toronto, the surnames “Baker, McLean and Wang” aren’t considered household names just yet, but they do have a special place in the memories of those students and interns working in the laboratory of Molly Shoichet.
Why?
These names are all of former PhD student all-stars. And they’re recognized by current students because this program has the tradition of hanging lab coats embroidered with student names from the pillars in Professor Shoichet’s lab.
These weren’t just “any” PhD students, that much is true. Though, for more than 15 years, Shoichet and her students have used the tradition to celebrate all PhD candidates who successfully defend their theses. Spotless lab coats are embroidered with the students’ names and then the coats are hung, much in the same way a sports team “raise athletes’ names to the rafters.”
“It really is a special place here,” said Shoichet, professor in chemical engineering and applied chemistry. She stated that the practice has helped build an even more supportive community among students, too. “The students really do help each other succeed.”
After a white lab coat is put into its permanent position on a pillar in the laboratory, the graduating student is invited to share words of wisdom to the students still in the program.
These news stories are just a handful of many that hit local publications and the web every day. The news around labcoat-wearing professionals tends to be exciting and inspiring thanks to the work those professionals do. Some of these news stories also carry the weight of a degree of social commentary, such as the need to support young students interested in medicine and science so as to continue growing these field with generations of motivated and inspired professionals.
We keep our eyes on these news stories because it’s important for our lab coat styles to match the needs of the people who wear them. Bookmark our news page to come back for more, because we’ll be continuing to share lab coat news stories in the future.