The Next Dean of the Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin

Claudia F. Lucchinetti has been named senior vice president for medical affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and dean of the Dell Medical School, effective December 1. She will hold the Frank and Charmaine Denius Distinguished Dean’s Chair in Medical Leadership.

“It’s an honor and an incredible opportunity to join the team at Dell Med and UT Austin,” said Dr. Lucchinetti. “With this mission-focused team, in collaboration with partners, and considering the unique relationship the medical school has with the Austin and Travis County communities, there are unparalleled opportunities to build an integrated academic health system that innovates and transforms health and health care for the benefit of all.”

Dr. Lucchinette currently serves as dean of clinical and translational science and chair of the department of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She holds the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Professorship in Neuroscience and is director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science. She also serves on the Mayo Clinic board of governors and board of trustees. She joined the faculty at the Mayo Clinic in 1996.

Dr. Lucchinette’s research focuses on immunopathology and pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. She has contributed novel insights underlying the mechanisms of tissue injury in patients with early stages of MS and other central nervous system disorders.

Dr. Lucchinetti received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She earned a medical doctorate from Rush Medical College in Chicago.