LSU considers research-focused medical school for B.R.

LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center is seeking to open a four-year medical school in Baton Rouge focused on research, The Times-Picayune reports, and the idea has drawn tentative support from the LSU System Board of Supervisors. The LSU medical education expansion, still in proposal stages, would be a branch of LSU Health New Orleans. Each of the four years of study would enroll about 25 students, said Pennington Executive Director Steve Heymsfield. There would be a total of 100 students. Initially, the school would add students a year at time. Steve Nelson, dean of LSU Health New Orleans, says the medical school already has regional programs, but expanding to Pennington is one way to offer students more opportunities. He says the possibility of expanding the branch at UL Lafayette, which is directed toward primary care, is another option. There is nothing concrete as yet, says Nelson. “It is all dependent upon securing additional funding.” It will probably be a year and a half before any new medical school program could open, Heymsfield estimates. The final plan must have the approval of the LSU Board of Supervisors, which has indicated its initial support. Read the full story here. Read a Business Report cover story from April 2012 on the growth potential of the research center here.