Source: The Daily
CHICAGO -- He's a real life Doogie Howser -- but he's more than just a doctor.
Sho Yano, 21, will graduate Saturday from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, making him the youngest student ever awarded an MD at the prestigious institution.
Yano, by the way, already has a PhD from the university -- in molecular genetics and cell biology.
The new physician, who will begin a residency in pediatric neurology, was a child prodigy who could read by age two, write by age three and compose music by five. He enrolled at Loyola University at nine, and graduated in three years -- summa cum laude, no less.
At 12, he started the demanding programs at Pritzker, where students earn both a doctorate and medical degree.
Many medical schools refused to admit him because of his age. The average freshman medical student in the United States is 23, so administrators worried about his lack of maturity and robbing him of a normal adolescence.
"I never understood that," said Yano, who spent his early years in Southern California, but grew up in Hyde Park, Ill. "Why would being allowed to challenge yourself be considered more damaging than being totally bored?"
The University of Chicago took a gamble and admitted him in 2003.
Genius appears to run in the Yano family.
His sister, Sayuri, 15, earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Roosevelt University in 2010.
Read More: Child prodigy who licked college by 12 adds MD to his PhD
