Commencement Class of 2024

Laura B. Vater, M.D., M.P.H., is a writer, advocate for clinician health, TEDx speaker, and oncologist at the Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a member of the Pegasus Physician Writers at Stanford University and has published a number of narrative medicine essays. In 2022, her writing was featured in Pulitzer-Prize winning author Anna Quindlen’s book, Write for your Life. She also developed a tool to help patients and clinicians prioritize their health (The SMILE Scale^TM).

She earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Doctor of Medicine from Indiana University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Oncology at Indiana University. She was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2018 and is a member of the IU School of Medicine Honor Roll. She was also awarded the American Medical Women’s Association Charlotte Edwards Maguire, MD Outstanding Resident Mentor Award in 2022.