Academics
Sophia Panaccione ’15, D.O., an internal medicine physician and medical educator specializing in infectious diseases at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School, will deliver the Summer Commencement keynote address on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at the William S. Scandlon Physical Education Center.
Panaccione will address a group of approximately 100 graduates, most of whom will receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the health sciences. The event also includes the first graduates of the College’s new accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The procession of graduates begins at 10 a.m. and will be livestreamed at https://www.kings.edu/commencement.
Panaccione attended King's College from 2011 through 2015 as a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship. She majored in neuroscience, with minors in biology and psychology. On campus, she was an engaged mentor, spending much of her time as an admission ambassador, student teacher, tutor, student learning coordinator, and resident assistant. Off campus, she volunteered at a local shelter for unhoused women.
She then attended medical school at the University of New England. Afterwards, she completed her internal medicine residency at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pa., where she treated critically ill patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually rising to chief medical resident from 2022 through 2023.
Panaccione completed her specialty medical training at Brown University in Providence, R.I., where she now serves as an assistant professor of medicine and clinician educator in the division of infectious diseases.
Her specialty is providing care for patients with complex infections, including individuals living with HIV. She is also an advocate for improving health care access for unhoused individuals and those with a history of criminal-legal involvement and incarceration in Rhode Island.
“My time at King's College was pivotal in my growth and development on my path in becoming a young female physician,” said Panaccione. “The experiences I had and mentors I met provided me with a humanistic foundation and helped propel my scientific and medical career. I am forever grateful for the impact these four years had on my life and am looking forward to return to such an influential place to share my experiences with, soon to be, fellow alumni.”
“Sophia’s work healing patients with serious diseases, especially individuals from our most vulnerable communities, is a powerful perspective to share with our next generation of health science graduates,” said King’s College president Rev. Thomas P. Looney, C.S.C., Ph.D. “Our mission—to forge graduates who champion the inherent dignity of every person and use their talents to serve the common good—comes to life with every student like Sophia, and we’re grateful she is able to return to King’s College and inspire others to follow that path.”
