UNLV and Cleveland Clinic explore expanded partnership

An expanded and more robust partnership might be on the horizon for UNLV and the Cleveland Clinic.

“We’re definitely in talks with them about what we can do, and how much more we would like to do,” said Barbara Atkinson, dean of UNLV’s new medical school. “It’s a great opportunity for both sides. There are some real synergies there.”

Atkinson said talks began about two weeks ago. As an example of an expanded partnership, Atkinson said she would like to see medical students rotate through the Cleveland Clinic’s neurology program.

Cleveland Clinic spokeswoman Janice Guhl said the two groups could discuss an alliance for teaching and research.

“We can help each other out in a bunch of different ways,” Atkinson said.

The talks will continue April 27, when several Cleveland Clinic representatives will be in town for a fundraising event for the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. UNLV is preparing to launch its new medical school in July.

“We’ll talk more specifically about what we can do together and what the plan is.” Atkinson said.

Last year, she and UNLV President Len Jessup visited Cleveland and toured its educational program. Since that time, they’ve worked together on ideas for the school’s new virtual anatomy curriculum.

“The Cleveland Clinic is a strong longtime partner and we’re excited to explore opportunities to extend our research and education collaboration with them in a variety of areas,” Jessup said in a statement. “For years, we’ve been working hard together with the Cleveland Clinic to solve complex challenges affecting human health — from grant-funded Alzheimer’s research to an innovative master’s in healthcare interior design — and we look forward to forging new connections with our School of Medicine that will make our community healthier.”

Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Follow @NatalieBruzda on Twitter.