December 15, 2025

By Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science staff

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Dr. Comfere has been appointed Executive Dean of Education and Dean of Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, succeeding Fredric Meyer, M.D.

Nneka I. Comfere, M.D., has been appointed the new Juanita Kious Waugh Executive Dean of Education and dean of the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine.

Dr. Comfere is a member of Mayo Clinic's Board of Governors and Board of Trustees and is a Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine alumna. She succeeds Fredric Meyer, M.D., who served with distinguished leadership in the position for nearly 10 years.

Dr. Comfere will partner with John Poe, chair, Education Administration, to work with students and other learners, physicians, scientists, and allied health staff to ensure the next generation of healthcare providers is prepared to deliver cures and hope to patients with the necessary interdisciplinary training, digital fluency, and professionalism.

"Mayo Clinic's Education shield stands at a pivotal moment as we prepare the next generation of professionals for a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D. "We look forward to Dr. Comfere's leadership through this critical period and are deeply grateful for Dr. Meyer's decade of impactful service, which has laid a strong foundation for the Education shield's continued advancement."

Dr. Comfere is a professor of Dermatology and of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, and she serves as a consultant with joint appointments in both disciplines. She also is the division chair of Dermatopathology and Cutaneous Immunopathology in the Department of Dermatology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Clinically, her work focuses on the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

She earned her M.D. from the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and completed her dermatology residency and dermatopathology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education. She also is a Kern Scholar alumna of the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery research program. As medical director of the Digital Health, Artificial Intelligence and Innovations (DHAI) program in the Department of Dermatology, Dr. Comfere is leading efforts to advance the application of AI within her field.

She will begin her new role in early January.