Mayo plans expansion of Medical School to Arizona
Mayo Clinic and ASU partner, share ambitious vision for future
In September 2011, Mayo Clinic announced the planned expansion of Mayo Medical School to Arizona.
"This is one of the most important and exciting initiatives we can undertake," says John Noseworthy, M.D., Mayo Clinic president and CEO. "For Mayo Clinic, this new branch of Mayo Medical School is firmly aligned with Mayo's commitment to patient-centered academic excellence. Together with Arizona State University, we will create the health care workforce of the future." Mayo Medical School – Arizona Campus students will complete a specialized master's degree in the science of health care delivery granted by Arizona State University (ASU), concurrently with their medical degree from Mayo Medical School, making it the first medical school to offer such a program.
Redefining medical education
The expansion will provide Mayo with a unique platform to continue to redefine the field of medical education, training the medical professional workforce of tomorrow in team-based, high-quality and affordable care for patients.
"The continuing success of our partnership with ASU allows us the collective ability to redesign medical education in ways that align with the future of health care delivery," says Wyatt Decker, M.D., vice president, Mayo Clinic, and CEO for Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "We are very excited that the expansion of Mayo Medical School to Arizona will further enhance our leadership role in training the next generation of physicians."
Collaboration key to better patient care
Mayo and ASU have been working together on a series of strategic collaborations since 2003, including a joint nursing education program, collaborative research projects, joint faculty appointments and dual degree programs. Just last summer, ASU Department of Biomedical Informatics moved to the Mayo Clinic campus in Scottsdale, Ariz., providing important collaborative opportunities for students, faculty and staff. The move will help expand joint research and development, as well as technology transfer in an environment that combines research, academic and clinical settings.
Enhancing patient care, creating synergies
ASU chief research officer Sethuraman Panchanathan, Ph.D., says biomedical informatics research conducted by ASU and Mayo scientists has the potential to significantly impact future patient care and being physically located on the Mayo campus provides many benefits.
"There are tremendous synergies at work here," Panchanathan says. "In order to advance biomedical informatics education and research, we need to be embedded in a clinical environment. Mayo provides access to world-class physicians and researchers. It will provide extraordinary opportunities for ASU faculty and students to work in one of the top clinical facilities in the country and advance education, research and training in biomedical informatics."
The beginnings of a successful partnership
How did the Mayo-ASU partnership begin? It was a chance encounter at a scientific meeting. A leader in myeloma cancer research and care, Rafael Fonseca, M.D., from Mayo Clinic in Arizona and an astrobiologist and geologist from Arizona State University, Ariel Anbar, Ph.D., discovered that they had a common interest in calcium metabolism and bone formation. Dr. Fonseca wanted to help rebuild bone for patients with cancer, and Dr. Anbar needed to solve the problem of bone loss in astronauts.
Despite their completely different disciplines, Drs. Fonseca and Anbar realized their individual research approaches were surprisingly similar, so they started working together on a grant proposal. Their collaboration, as well as many other symbiotic relationships between Mayo Clinic and ASU, was inspired through the leadership of Victor Trastek, M.D., former CEO of Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and Michael Crow, President of ASU.
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