News
Physician Assistant BS/MS

RIT undergraduates Jewel Amrich and Courtney Casteen in the College of Health Sciences and Technology are on the frontline of a national clinical trial focused on preventing the risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and stroke through lifestyle management.

Nearly 60 students will graduate this May from the College of Health Sciences and Technology’s clinical programs—physician assistant BS/MS, diagnostic medical sonography BS, and the echocardiography (cardiac ultrasound) certificate program. These students spend the final year of their programs immersed in practical work experience at clinics and hospitals in the region.

RIT graduate programs are among the best in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report annual statistical survey of graduate programs.

RIT’s College of Health Sciences and Technology began the year under new leadership with Dean Yong “Tai” Wang. Wang joined RIT in January from the University of Texas at Tyler. His research focuses on rehabilitative biomechanics related to wheelchair locomotion and Tai Chi exercise.

RIT has again been recognized as one of the best national universities by U.S. News & World Report, which also cited the university as among the most innovative, with strong undergraduate research opportunities and a highly regarded cooperative learning program.

RIT physician assistant students from the Class of 2020 met in front of the Clinical Health Sciences Center one evening last month for a special tradition and rite of passage—the White Coat ceremony.

Friday’s celebration of the Class of 2020 certainly cannot replace the atmosphere of a traditional commencement, which RIT plans to host on campus when it’s deemed safe. But many of graduates say they won’t let the pandemic, or the circumstances surrounding the virtual celebration, define them or their feelings about their time at RIT. (Pictured: Bradley Speck, who will finish his classes online this summer, has a job waiting for him at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, where he completed four co-ops.)

Jessica Salamone ’99 (biotechnology), an adjunct professor in the College of Health Sciences and Technology and director of Genetic Counseling and Cancer Risk Assessment at Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in Rochester, is the recipient of this year's Outstanding Teaching Award for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty.

The coronavirus canceled Professor John Oliphant’s international travel plans and led to an unexpected opportunity to help a local health system manage the impact of COVID-19 on its hospital workforce.

RIT graduate programs are among the best in the nation, according to the U.S. News annual statistical survey of graduate programs. RIT master’s degree programs in engineering, business and fine arts feature in the U.S. News & World Report 2021 edition of Best Graduate Schools, released in March, including the first specialty ranking of the university’s business analytics master’s program.

Many RIT faculty, students, staff and alumni are among the collaborations here and across the nation, providing expertise to improve or create much-needed equipment and protective gear for medical personnel fighting the Coronavirus.

Rochester Business Journal features Chrysa Charno '03 (physician assistant), '09 (MBA), founder of AcuteKids Pediatric Urgent Care.