Rafael Fonseca, MD, is the Getz Family Professor of Cancer, Professor of Medicine, Chief Innovation Officer, and a consultant in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He is a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors and Board of Trustees. He earned his MD at Universidad Anahuac, Mexico. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Miami, FL, and a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN. He was named a clinical investigator for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fund. He is a visiting healthcare fellow at the Goldwater Institute.

Dr Fonseca’s practice has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of plasma cell disorders and leading the multiple myeloma team in its efforts to develop a better understanding of the disease and its impact on patients. Dr Fonseca has led his team of researchers regarding the genetic nature of clonal cells of plasma cell disorders, myeloma bone disease, prognostic markers, and development of new therapies for the disease. He is an active participant and leader of myeloma clinical trials.

Dr Fonseca serves as reviewer and in editorial capacities for medical publications including among others Blood, Lancet, Nature Medicine, Cancer Cell, Leukemia, and the New England Journal of Medicine, among others. He has given many national and international presentations as a visiting professor, and has authored numerous articles (over 300), book chapters, editorials, abstracts, and letters.