Photo courtesy of UW-Eau Claire. From left: Dr. Andrew Limper, assoc. dean of practice transformation for Mayo Clinic Health System; Dr. Richard Helmers, regional vice president for Mayo Clinic Health System; Chancellor James Schmidt, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Mayo Clinic Health System and UW-Eau Claire on June 28th announced a new research agreement between the two institutions. The agreement will increase research collaboration between them, create new learning opportunities for UWEC students, and foster projects that will lead to improved health and wellness in the community.

Faculty-student collaborative research is a strong tradition at UW-Eau Claire, with it being the key hands-on undergraduate learning opportunity the university is known for, said Chancellor James Schmidt, noting that in 2017, UWEC was named the top master's level undergrad research institution in the country by the Council on Undergraduate Research. Schmidt also acknowledged Mayo Clinic's strong commitment to advancing research.

"Given our shared commitment to advancing research, it makes great sense that UW-Eau Claire and Mayo Clinic would look for new, strategic, and intentional ways we can work together to accomplish our goals," Schmidt said. "By creating a master collaborative research agreement, we can simplify the steps to working together. This will make it possible for even more of our faculty, staff, and students to work alongside esteemed Mayo Clinic physicians and scientists."

Learn more about the research agreement here.