The Tribune

BRANDEIS University has announced that Bahamian student Lauryn Rolle will represent their high school and Ontario, Canada, at the Global Youth Summit on the Future of Medicine.

"The next generation of health care providers will practice in an environment hard to imagine just a few years ago. Leading-edge science is rapidly changing the daily practice of health care," said Steven Goldstein, chairman of the Global Youth Summit at Brandeis University and dean of the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago.

"We are in the midst of the most significant and fundamental change in health care delivery in our lifetime and young people who start now will be the future leaders in the field of medicine."

Aligned with Brandeis' elite admissions standards, only students with exceptional academic records and test scores as well as documented interest in a medical or health career were invited to apply, a press release noted. Out of the hundreds of outstanding applicants, Ms Rolle is one of only 230 delegates selected for the programme. According to Andrew Flagel, senior vice president for students and enrollment at Brandeis, "The delegation comes from across the country and around the world. I am very proud to be welcoming this incredibly talented, diverse, and passionate group of young leaders to Brandeis."

Delegates to the summit will gain unique, behind-the-scenes insight into the dynamic world of health care through experiential learning, guest lectures and networking opportunities with leaders and innovators in the global medical community in order to build upon their already significant abilities and chart their path to becoming leaders in medicine.

"Soon it will be routine to order the complete map of each patient's genome, and the staggering potential of truly personalised medical treatments for both chronic and acute illnesses will be in our hands, as will be the responsibility for handling this powerful information in an ethical manner," Mr Goldstein explained. "Brandeis is at the forefront of exploring these issues, and part of its distinctive mission is to produce leaders to repair the world."

Delegates will hear from prominent Brandeis faculty members including fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and medical researchers and innovators. The summit's keynote addresses will be delivered by Dr David Roberts, MD, dean of external education at Harvard Medical School.

Ms Rolle was selected as the Bahamas Primary School Student of the Year in 2013. She is the daughter of Pia and Herman Rolle.