Mayo Clinic has selected two leaders for its Discovery Oasis biotech innovation hub to be developed on 120 acres next to its hospital campus in north Phoenix.
Dr. Steven Lester, cardiologist and health care futurist with Mayo Clinic, will serve as medical director of Discovery Oasis, while Aric Bopp will serve as executive director.
Bopp was executive director of economic development and innovation zones for Arizona State University Knowledge Enterprise, the research and innovation engine at ASU.
A national search for the executive director position led Mayo Clinic right back to ASU, which has been a longtime partner.
"This opportunity to join the incredible team here at Mayo Clinic has been a dream come true," said Bopp, who has worked closely with top leaders on economic development issues in the Valley, including with the Arizona Commerce Authority, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Flinn Foundation, Arizona Bioindustry Association, Arizona Tech Council and the city of Phoenix.
"I pinch myself coming to work every day," Bopp said.
While Bopp will work on the administrative side of developing Discovery Oasis, Lester represents the physician side of the equation.
Mayo Clinic has long used a so-called dyad leadership model, pairing a physician with a nonphysician administrator for strategic and operational oversight, Lester said.
"So much of what we do is a team-based approach," Bopp said. "Dr. Lester and I get to help lead that team in those efforts."
Active discussions with developers, tenants
Earlier this year, Mayo Clinic submitted its zoning application with the city of Phoenix to develop the 3.3 million-square-foot Discovery Oasis on the south side of Loop 101 and 56th Street.
Bopp said he's in active discussions with developers and potential tenants to determine which project will be the first to be built.
"You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the prince or princess," Bopp said. "We're in the frog kissing business right now."
Lester said they are all dynamic, inspiring, innovative, creative companies, but the goal is to find organizations that deeply align with Mayo's values of advancing medicine and providing more opportunities for education and research.
The goal is to push the boundaries to advance medical knowledge, which ultimately would improve patient outcomes and the human condition, Lester said.
"Right now, we're in that process of trying to identify those partnerships," Lester said. "It's fair to say we have had some site visits and engagement with potential collaborative partners. We've just been at this about a month. We're just getting started."
Discovery Oasis is not just a project for Mayo Clinic, the city of Phoenix and Arizona, Lester said.
"This really is about building an ecosystem within not just the state but hopefully nationally and internationally," he said. "It's about attracting talent, it's about making a difference — stewardship."
