Weill Cornell Medicine has established an Office of International Affairs, which will unify the institution’s portfolio of international activities and strategically plan future international collaborations.

Dr. Michael G. Stewart, a respected clinician and leader, has been appointed senior associate dean for international affairs and affiliations. Stewart will lead the Office of International Affairs and the Office of Affiliations, which manages the institution’s affiliations with academic medical centers and health care organizations nationwide.

The Office of International Affairs will serve as the organizational hub and entry point for all current global health and international collaborations. These exist through Weill Cornell Medicine’s academic departments, as well as the institution’s Center for Global Health, the Office of Global Health Education and the Salzburg Weill Cornell Seminars.

Stewart will work closely with each program’s director and with Cornell University senior leadership to further advance Weill Cornell Medicine as a premier global academic medical institution. The office will also closely engage with colleagues at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, as well as its affiliated hospitals Hamad Medical Corporation and Sidra Medicine.

“In our increasingly globalized society, medicine can no longer simply be a domestic affair,” said Dr. Augustine M.K. Choi, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University.

“It is vital that our preeminent physicians and scientists help safeguard the health of those around the world – a responsibility we at Weill Cornell Medicine have advanced for decades,” Choi said. “Our new Office of International Affairs, led by Dr. Michael Stewart, builds on that momentum and ensures that we can continue to make an impact across the globe.”

Stewart, also chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, said the goal of the new office is to “create a front door for people inquiring about our exceptionally strong portfolio of international activities,” as well as facilitate collaborations.

“The Office of International Affairs will unite all of these programs, overseen by their distinguished directors, and take Weill Cornell Medicine to the next level of excellence worldwide,” said Stewart, also otolaryngologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

In addition to these existing programs, the Office of International Affiliations will organize strategic planning around where and when Weill Cornell Medicine should next establish international activities, with a particular focus on future opportunities in Asia.

As senior associate dean for international affairs and affiliations, Stewart will also oversee Weill Cornell Medicine’s Office of Affiliations, working closely with Dr. Oliver Fein, associate dean for affiliations. The office is dedicated to coordinating the institution’s relationships with some of the nation’s leading academic medical centers and health care organizations. Weill Cornell Medicine currently has 10 academic affiliations with domestic hospitals, which include opportunities for Weill Cornell Medicine faculty appointments, research and clinical collaborations.

Visit the Weill Cornell Medicine website for a longer version of this story.

Alyssa Sunkin-Strube is newsroom manager for Weill Cornell Medicine.