Program Overview

Pre-Medical Program

Overview

The Pre-Medical Program prepares undergraduate students for application to the health professional schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and physician assistant programs. The program also prepares students for careers in optometry, podiatry, chiropractic medicine, pharmacy, and biomedical research.

Programs

• Pre-Medicine Certificate: A post-baccalaureate program designed for career-changers who need to take science courses as prerequisites for entrance requirements into medical school or another pre-health profession school.

Policies

• Application Policy: Incoming students contemplating a medical career should apply to the Pre-Medical Program immediately upon matriculation at the University.
• Admission Requirements: A minimum SAT score of 1240 or ACT score of 26 is required for high school students. Transfer students need a minimum GPA of 3.20 in their college courses.
• Minimum G.P.A. Requirement: Students must maintain a minimum 3.20 grade point average to remain in the program.

Faculty

• Committee Members:
  • Dr. Teresa Donze-Reiner, Biology and Program Director
  • Dr. Mahrukh Azam
  • Dr. Frank E. Fish
  • Dr. Jessica Sullivan-Brown, Biology
  • Dr. Felix E. Goodson
  • Dr. Zhongping Huang, Biomedical Engineering
  • Dr. Jennifer Maresh
  • Dr. Susan Johnston (P.A.), Anthropology and Sociology
  • Dr. Melissa Reed
  • Dr. Thomas Simpson
  • Dr. Joan Woolfrey
  • Dr. Michael Cirigliano, MD FACP, Honorary Member

Majors in Conjunction with the Pre-Medical Program

Students are welcome to major in any discipline of their choice while participating in the Pre-Medical Program at WCU. Pre-Medicine is not a major.

Professors

• Mahrukh Azam (2004)
  • Chairperson, Chemistry
  • B.S., Punjab University; M.S., Quaid-e-Azam University; M.S., Ph.D., Seton Hall University
• Teresa Donze-Reiner (2015)
  • Director, Pre-Medical Program
  • Graduate Coordinator, Pre-Medical Program
  • B.S., University of Nebraska; Ph.D., Molecular Biology and Microbiology University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Frank E. Fish (1980)
  • B.A., State University of New York at Oswego; M.S., Ph.D., Michigan State University
• Felix E. Goodson (1998)
  • A.B., Princeton University; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
• Zhongping Huang (2018)
  • Chairperson, Biomedical Engineering
  • B.S., M.S., Zhejiang University; Ph.D., University of Kentucky
• Susan L. Johnston (2001)
  • B.A., University of Pennsylvania; B.S., Hahnemann University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
• Melissa A. Reed (2011)
  • B.S., East Stroudsburg University; M.A., Ph.D., East Carolina University

Associate Professors

• Jennifer L. Maresh (2016)
  • Assistant Chairperson, Biology
  • B.S., West Chester University; M.S., Duke University; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz
• Thomas R. Simpson (2016)
  • Director, Pharmaceutical Product Development Program
  • B.S., Alleghany College; M.S., Ph.D., University of Rochester
• Jessica Sullivan-Brown (2014)
  • B.S., James Madison University; Ph.D., Princeton University