Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine: Training Physician Investigators for the Future
The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM) stands as a distinctive institution dedicated to shaping the future of medical care by training physician investigators. Through an innovative curriculum, emphasis on research, and commitment to interdisciplinary education, CCLCM prepares its students to excel in clinical care, advance research, and promote health within their communities.
A Unique Medical Education Program
Established in 2002 as a collaboration between Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), CCLCM offers a 5-year program that is one of three distinct medical school programs within the CWRU School of Medicine. Upon completion of the five-year curriculum, students graduate with an MD degree with Special Qualification in Biomedical Research. This specialized program emphasizes the training of physician investigators, equipping graduates with the skills to deliver exceptional clinical care, advance research, and promote health within their communities.
Curriculum and Educational Approach
The CCLCM curriculum distinguishes itself through several key features:
- Problem-Based Learning: The curriculum is structured around problem-based learning, encouraging students to actively engage with medical concepts and develop critical thinking skills.
- Competency-Based Assessment: Assessment is competency-based, utilizing a portfolio approach to evaluate students' mastery of essential skills and knowledge.
- No Lectures, Grades, or Class Ranking: CCLCM departs from traditional medical education by eliminating lectures, grades, and class rankings, fostering a collaborative and supportive learning environment.
- Emphasis on Medical Humanities: In addition to a solid medical and science curriculum, students benefit from an emphasis on medical humanities, designed to spark an appreciation for the ethical, historical and human aspects of medicine.
- Interdisciplinary Education: Students train at the Health Education Campus across from Cleveland Clinic’s main entrance alongside the CWRU nursing, dental, and PA students. There is an emphasis on interdisciplinary education.
Resources and Facilities
CCLCM students benefit from access to the extensive resources of both Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University. These include:
- Cleveland Clinic Resources: As a CCLCM student, you will have access to all the resources of Cleveland Clinic, one of the finest healthcare institutions in the world. Cleveland Clinic faculty are among the nation's leaders in academic medicine and are responsible for more than 3,500 scientific publications each year.
- Health Education Campus: Teaching in the first two years occurs at Cleveland Clinic, in the Health Education Campus. Students also have easy access to the resources of Cleveland Clinic including the Floyd Loop Alumni Library, shopping, healthy dining options, storage space, free wellness events, pharmacies, banking and more. The campus features 26 classrooms including two-story “Case Method” classrooms and “team-based learning” classrooms.
- Shared Learning Environment: As of summer 2019, students from both CCLCM and the CWRU School of Medicine University Program, along with CWRU nursing, dental medicine and physician assistant students, share the same learning environment. CCLCM students have access to all the resources available to other CWRU medical students. Shared social events start at orientation and include milestone events such as the White Coat Ceremony, Match Day and Commencement.
- State-of-the-Art Facilities: State-of-the-art research and education facilities provide an outstanding environment for faculty and trainee academic and research activities. Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University announce plans to build a state-of-the-art medical education building to house students from the medical school’s two programs: the College Program at CCLCM and the University Program at CWRU. CWRU students in nursing, dental medicine and physician assistant programs will also train in the facility, rounding out the true interdisciplinary team. CWRU and Cleveland Clinic began construction on the new dental clinic, part of the Health Education Campus. The new dental clinic opens.
Faculty and Leadership
CCLCM boasts a distinguished faculty comprised of leaders in academic medicine and research. Key figures include:
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- Stanton Gerson, MD: A renowned physician and cancer researcher, Stanton Gerson, MD, serves as dean for Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine and senior vice president for medical affairs. Along with his role as dean, he serves as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC), and Director of the National Center for Regenerative Medicine.
- Serpil Erzurum, MD: Dr. Serpil Erzurum, MD, Professor of Medicine, was appointed to the newly created role of Chief Research and Academic Officer in 2020, which represents an expansion of her prior role as Chair of the Lerner Research Institute at Cleveland Clinic, which she held since 2016.
- James B. Young, MD: A practicing cardiologist, James B. Young, MD, Professor of Medicine, serves as Executive Director of Academic Affairs, responsible for leading and expanding educational programs throughout Cleveland Clinic. From 2009 to 2018, Dr. Young served as Executive Dean of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.
- Christine Warren, MD, MS, FAAD: Among many other things, Dr. Christine Warren, MD, MS, FAAD, Associate Professor of Dermatology, is the Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, where she, as a member of the inaugural class, received her medical degree in 2009.
- Neil Mehta, MBBS, MS: Neil Mehta, MBBS, MS, Professor of Medicine, serves as the Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. In addition, Dr. Mehta serves as the Director of the Center for Technology-Enhanced Knowledge and Instruction (cTEKI) and as adjunct graduate faculty in the College of Graduate Studies at Cleveland State University.
- Gene H. Barnett, MD, MBA: Gene H. Barnett, MD, MBA, Professor of Neurological Surgery, serves as Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.
- Linda Graham, MD: Linda Graham, MD, Professor of Surgery, is the Assistant Dean for Research Education at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and a vascular surgeon, with particular interest in research education.
- Craig Nielsen, MD: Craig Nielsen, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, serves as Assistant Dean of Clinical Education at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.
- Christine Moravec, PhD: Christine Moravec, PhD, Professor of Molecular Medicine, serves as Assistant Dean for Basic Science Education for the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.
- Monica Yepes-Rios, MD: Monica Yepes-Rios, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. In her role as Assistant Dean, Student Engagement and Wellbeing, Dr.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
At Cleveland Clinic and CCLCM we are deeply committed to engagement in education, healthcare and our communities. In every aspect of our program, from admissions and student affairs to student life and curriculum, we will continue to celebrate every student and every life, recognize everyone’s lived experiences, and create opportunities for open dialogue and positive change. The entire CCLCM leadership team is here for our students, faculty and staff. We enthusiastically invite applicants to query our approach to community and engagement. Cleveland Clinic does not discriminate in admission, employment or administration of its programs or activities, on the basis of age, gender, race, national origin, religion, creed, color, marital status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ethnicity, ancestry, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, Cleveland Clinic administers all programs and services without regard to disability, and provides reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified disabled individuals, as long as it fits within our Technical Standards.
The CCLCM Community
Our students often remark that their class feels like a family, which is no wonder with a class size of just 32 students! Each student has a physician advisor and a research advisor. Each student gets a full-tuition scholarship.
Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is changing how medicine is practiced and how physicians are trained. At CCLCM, we didn’t ignore that dilemma. Rather, we started studying it, publishing on it and designing practical solutions that we could test and refine over time. Many of our projects are early-stage or conceptual, but they are already shaping how medical schools around the world think about GenAI and medical education.
Our faculty have shown that large language models can produce essay-style answers to complex medical assignments that are hard to distinguish from student work, raising real questions about academic integrity and assessment validity. Instead of simply banning AI, we are developing governance principles and practical guidance for students and faculty on how to use GenAI in ways that support learning rather than replace it.
We have moved beyond generic chatbots by creating custom GPTs: AI tools tuned for specific educational roles. Virtual standardized patients, where an AI plays the role of a pediatric patient with a specific complaint so students can practice history taking, hypothesis generation and communication strategies in younger patients, often accompanied by family members. Faculty development simulations, where a custom GPT acts as a struggling student, and faculty practice giving feedback using frameworks like the Johari Window and Crucial Conversations. These projects are at different stages. AI is already entering clinics in the form of AI scribes that draft progress notes from patient encounters. We are not training you to be replaced by AI.
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