College of Medicine

Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare on Thursday celebrated the groundbreaking of a new academic health center that will bring together researchers and clinicians to transform health and health care in the region. 

FSU President Richard McCullough, Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Collins, TMH President and CEO Mark O’Bryant, and Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration Secretary Jason Weida spoke at the building site on the TMH campus in Tallahassee. 

“It’s wonderful to be here today as we mark a truly historic moment for our entire North Florida community,” McCullough said. “We’re here because of an unprecedented investment from the State of Florida to transform health care and research in this region. This facility is just the beginning as we build a legacy of health, hope and opportunity for North Florida and beyond.”

The 140,000-square foot building includes clinical research space, a family residency practice, laboratory facilities and other resources designed to bridge the gap between academic research and patient care. It will house about 30 principal investigators and is expected to attract $40 million in grant funding annually. 

The frontiers of medicine — such as the use of pluripotent stem cells that adapt a patient’s own cells for treatment, new and highly effective therapies for cancer, and other innovative treatments — make the present an amazing time in health care, McCullough said. 

“That’s why partnerships are so important,” he said. “It’s important for FSU because we will have the opportunity to attract some of the best doctors in the world who will develop leading therapies for patients. The opportunity to be part of that is really attractive for the ambitious physicians and researchers we hope to recruit to join us on this endeavor.” 

The shared vision for the facility began taking shape in 2022, when the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded FSU $125 million to build an academic health center. The building is scheduled to open in late 2026. 

The impact of this initiative extends far beyond the walls of the center. During its construction, the project will create about 1,200 jobs, and once it’s up and running, it will sustain over 350 high-paying, permanent jobs. The projected economic impact is significant — more than $251 million annually. 

“The planning that has gone into this building and this initiative is amazing,” Collins said. “This is probably the most transformative thing to happen for Florida State since we hired Bobby Bowden. It will take us to another level in terms of great universities in the country. If we want to be great, we need to have big goals. I really appreciate TMH and the effort that has gone in on the partnership.”

The facility is part of FSU Health, a transformational initiative to improve health and health care in North Florida. By combining TMH’s patient care with FSU’s medical and health education programs and cutting-edge research capabilities, FSU and TMH will further their longstanding goal of expanding health care in the region. 

Other projects are underway, including the construction of the FSU Health-Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Medical Campus in Panama City Beach that will bring together clinicians, researchers and students to meet the increasing need for medical care in the fast-growing Florida Panhandle. FSU has also increased opportunities for students through its College of Medicine, opened a physician assistant training program and recently welcomed its first class for a new doctoral program at the College of Nursing. 

“We are proud to collaborate with FSU to establish a new research, education and clinical institution on our campus — a collaboration we believe marks the beginning of many future partnerships,” O’Bryant said. “This building will not only bring together leading experts, foster groundbreaking innovation in medical research, and provide unparalleled medical education to the next generation of healthcare professionals. It will also transform the health of our region by improving access to health services. This monumental event will ultimately improve the quality of life for those we serve.” 

Partnerships with TMH and others across the region will help Florida State grow its biomedical research portfolio and attract some of the top medical and research talent from around the country to Tallahassee. 

“Florida is extremely lucky to have leaders like President McCullough, Chairman Collins, and Mark O’Bryant who care a lot about rural access to health care and North Florida,” Weida said. “In Florida, we have great, homegrown talent, and we also have talent coming from all over the country to do good things here and make health care better.”

Contact Bill Wellock at wwellock@fsu.edu

Photo caption: Florida State University College of Medicine Dean Alma Littles (second from left) is joined by, from the left, FSU Vice Presidents Kyle Clark and Stacey Patterson; FSU Board of Trustees Chair, Peter Collins; FSU President Richard McCullough and his wife Jai Vartikar, and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare CEO and President, Mark O'Bryant at the groundbreaking ceremony for the academic health center that will be central to FSU Health. (Photo by Bill Lax, FSU Photo Services)