21-Year-Old Graduates From University Of Chicago Medical School

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 4, 2012 9:00PM

Congratulations are in order for Sho Yano, who at the tender age of 21 became the youngest student ever to earn a medical degree from the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine.

Born in Portland, Ore., Sho Yano was reading by his tender twos, writing in his terrible threes and composing classical music at the age of five. He started attending Chicago's Loyola University at nine and graduated summa cum laude in three years. After that he entered the Pritzker School's Medical Scientist Training Program, designed for students looking to earn both a PhD. and an M.D. He earned the former at 18.

Attending college at that young an age opened Yano to wisecracks from classmates and criticism of faculty and his parents that he was being robbed of a normal childhood. Yano points to his skills as a pianist and his black belt in tae kwon do as proof that those fears weren't realized. (Although part of us suspects the latter may be to shut up mouthy froshes.)

So even for a prodigy, Yano is an overachiever. So is his sister Sayuri, who graduated from Roosevelt University at 13 two years ago, currently majors in violin performance at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and aspires to be a professional violinist. Yano says he doesn't know his IQ score although one can be certain it isn't in the double or low three digits. He plans on beginning his residency in pediatric neurology.

Here's video of Yano speaking with WLS-TV in Chicago about earning his M.D.

And here's video of Yano with sister Sayuri from 2010 from WMAQ-TV.

View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.