Pierre Noel, M.D., has been named medical director of Mayo Clinic’s newly formed Center for Military Medicine. This center will coordinate all military-related practice, education and research programs across Mayo Clinic, as well as collaborations and issues within Mayo Clinic. The center also will provide a central point of contact for the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies.

Dr. Noel is a physician in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine. He is a professor of medicine within Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

Dr. Noel brings a depth and breadth of military background and experience to this new role. He is a primary consultant in protective medicine for the White House Medical Unit and a senior visiting fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He has held leadership roles at the National Institutes of Health, including acting director of Security and Emergency Response, and at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, focusing on disaster recovery and pandemic response planning. Following 9/11, he worked with Military Special Mission Units and the Homeland Security Council.

In 2012, Dr. Noel developed a Special Operations Tactical Medicine Training Program at Mayo Clinic for military Special Mission Units. This program specializes in combat trauma, prolonged field care and critical care. Since then, the program has trained over 600 physicians, physician assistants, medics and troops. The program is recognized in the Special Operations community as one of the best tactical emergency and critical care programs.

 About the Mayo Clinic Center for Military Medicine

The newly formed Center for Military Medicine is an initiative across Mayo Clinic's Arizona, Florida and Minnesota campuses. Mayo provides medical care to active-duty service members and retirees, and delivers medical training to military service members in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. The center will address gaps, increase access, and better understand opportunities around military medicine, research and education.

The center will facilitate communication between Mayo researchers and the U.S. Department of Defense to understand the needs of the military and ensure the military understands how Mayo Clinic can contribute. Mayo already has a robust research program addressing the needs of the military, with several investigators funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. Mayo has made significant contributions in medical research relevant to the military, including work on aerospace medicine and vestibular research, assistive and restorative technology, chronic pain, tissue engineering, and biomaterials.

The center's world-class teachers, and cutting-edge modeling and simulation tools, will educate military service members. Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus already has trained Special Operations personnel through a benefactor-supported program.

The center will work closely with the U.S. Department of Defense to find additional opportunities for Mayo to provide care to active-duty and military retirees focusing on Mayo’s areas of strength, such as complex health care and transplantation.