KI, Mayo Clinic to collaborate on education, research and innovation

Mayo Clinic and the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet will sign a long-term agreement to collaborate on education, research and innovation. The two institutions, recognized for leadership in medical research, training and patient care, will pursue joint investigations in regenerative medicine, individualized medicine, metabolism, neurosciences and aging research.

"We look forward to working with our colleagues in Sweden to advance health care for everyone," says Robert Rizza, M.D., Kinney Executive Dean for Research at Mayo Clinic. "Far beyond a simple academic agreement, this is an historic framework by which we will transform medicine, and for us at Mayo Clinic, extend our humanitarian mission to the world."

"Mayo Clinic has succeeded in combining world-leading research with world-leading care, and we have much to learn from them organizationally and administratively, how to adapt our activities to first-class health care while conducting point-of-care research," says Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson, M.D., Ph.D., president of Karolinska Institutet. "They can learn from us, too. We have a long tradition of clinical research here, and it is more common for doctors to carry out research and have research training here than it is in the United States."

Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's most renowned medical universities, recently ranked fifth in Europe for its high quality. Its research relationship with Mayo began over 15 years ago with joint studies in metabolism, diabetes and nutrition, pioneered by Sree Nair, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic endocrinologist. That has now been expanded to other research areas, health care innovation, and education programs and exchanges.

"Karolinska Institutet and Mayo Clinic will be working together to share and develop innovations in education and train the next generation of health care providers and scientists worldwide," says Terrence Cascino, M.D., Juanita Kious Waugh Executive Dean for Education at Mayo. "This agreement is an exciting and significant milestone."

The signing of the agreement, which will be Dec. 2, is part of a three-day conference in Stockholm, attended by 90 researchers, educators and administrators from both institutions.