Press Release

August 10, 2006
Contact: Patricia Hansen
(732) 235-6307 or
Kaylyn Dines at (973) 972-3000

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to Hold White Coat Ceremony
for Incoming Medical Students
Celebrity Physician to Give Keynote Address

NEW BRUNSWICK — UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School will host the 2006 White Coat ceremony on Friday, August 11 in the Arline and Henry Schwartzman Courtyard of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick.

The keynote speaker will be Jeffrey Levine, MD, MPH, associate professor of family medicine and a contestant on WNBC TV’s The Biggest Loser Season 2.

The White Coat ceremony is the first event celebrated by the new RWJMS class of 2010. Students begin the ceremony in street clothes and are then dressed with their white coats, symbolically transforming them into a uniform team. The team then takes its first step into the medical community together, by reading the Hippocratic Oath in unison. The class of 2010 is the largest class in the history of the school with 156 students.

Dr. Jeffrey Levine is an associate professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is the Director of Women's Health Programs in the Department of Family Medicine.

Dr. Levine has been very active in women's health research and education. He has participated in over forty clinical trials as both a principal and co-investigator studying the safety, efficacy, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of various products for women’s health.

Dr. Levine gives presentations on women's health issues to medical professionals and the lay community both regionally and nationally. He has co-authored numerous women’s health related articles, monographs, and book chapters. He also devotes much of his time to teaching students, residents and fellows. In 2005, Dr. Levine was selected as a UMDNJ Master Educator in recognition of his outstanding contributions to medical education.

Dr. Levine was the first appointed chair of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services’ Interagency Council on Osteoporosis. He is an elected board trustee of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians and also serves on the Medical Advisory Boards for the Alliance for Better Bone Health and the Women’s Health & Counseling Center.

In the Spring of 2005, Dr. Levine took a bold step to improve his health by becoming a participant in the second season television production of The Biggest Loser, a survivor-like weight loss reality series on NBC. By losing a total of 183 pounds through diet and exercise, Dr Levine has inspired his family members, patients, peers, and thousands of fans to make healthier lifestyle changes. He now works with local schools, community groups, and national organizations to help address the epidemic of obesity in this country.

Dr. Levine has partnered with the American Heart Association, National Dairy Council, and the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Americans in Motion initiative, to promote healthy families.

The White Coat Ceremony, an initiative of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine, was piloted at RWJMS in 1994. It has succeeded and evolved under the leadership of Susan Rosenthal, MMS ’75, MD, MS, clinical associate professor of pediatrics and assistant dean for student affairs.

For more information on the event, please call Patricia Hansen at (732) 235-6307 or Kaylyn Dines at (973) 972-3000.

UMDNJ is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.