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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesV.I. Students Participate in Temple University's Physician's Science Training Program

V.I. Students Participate in Temple University's Physician's Science Training Program

Three V.I. students will begin training for their futures as physicians or scientists this summer as a result of their acceptance to participate in the 2005 Physicians Science Training Program at Temple University in Philadelphia. Ninth grader Carter Heller from AZ Academy on St. Croix, 7th grader Camilla Daniel, and 8th grader Jada Turbe, both of St. Thomas' Moriavian School began the 8 and 6-week programs at Temple on June 11 and 25, respectively.
PSTP was created in 1985 as a science pipeline to increase the number of minorities in biomedical research careers. The original program offered a one-summer research internship to 12th grade students who had shown an exceptional academic promise in the area of science. The program, now in its 20th year, has evolved into the largest and most diverse biomedical research training for students from the 7th grade through medical and graduate school.
"The primary purpose of this long-term training program," said Charlene Matthew, a contracted resident advisor with the program, "is to prepare minority students for brilliant biomedical research careers in academia and/or the pharmaceutical industry with the goal of producing minority physicians with the M.D. and Ph.D. combined degrees. The training occurs through summer internships beginning with students in the 7th grade and follows each student through high school and into their college careers."
This year's participants will join 2004 summer internship trainees Victor Brown of the St. Croix Educational Complex, Lauren Lewis (the 2005 St. Croix spelling bee champion), and Patsy Guthrie and Amaris Vargas, from the Good Hope School, who are each in their second year of the internship program.
Matthew said, "When I heard about the program three years ago, my number one priority was to share information so that VI students could take advantage of this opportunity. There are many similar programs, but none that provides this long-term commitment to the students' educational development."
Applications for the PSTP are available in October of each school year. Seventh and 8th grade students with "A" averages, a strong background in science and outstanding standardized test scores are eligible to apply. Following the submission of applications, a team of interviewers from the Distance Learning Center, which is housed at Temple, travel to the territory to interview students. The PSTP and Minority Research Forum are components of the Distance Learning Center.
For more information about the program interested students may log on to temple.edu/pstp.

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