Ponce (Puerto Rico) Health Sciences University is investing $80 million to build a new, four-year medical school for minority and low-income students in north St. Louis, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The university plans to break ground on the medical school later this year. It is slated to open by 2022 with a class size of 150 students, according to the report. It already operates a branch in St. Louis for a one-year Master of Science degree.
Ponce Health Sciences President David Lenihan, PhD, plans to use an admissions formula he has perfected at Ponce and during his tenure as dean of New York City-based Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. The formula helps identify students with potential to become good physicians, but who may not have the grades or test scores traditionally required for medical school admission, according to the report.
"It's a massive opportunity for those individuals who can be great doctors but have been overlooked," Dr. Lenihan told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Read the full story here.
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