Rafael Fonseca, MD

Rafael Fonseca, MD, is the Getz Family Professor of Cancer, a professor of medicine, chief innovation officer, and a consultant in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He is also a Mayo Clinic Distinguished Investigator—the highest academic distinction given to investigators at his institution—and a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors and Board of Trustees.

Dr Fonseca earned his MD at Universidad Anáhuac México. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Miami, FL, and a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN.

His practice has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of plasma cell disorders. He leads the multiple myeloma (MM) team in its efforts to develop a better understanding of the disease and its impact on patients. In his laboratory, Dr Fonseca has led his team of researchers to better understand the genetic nature of malignant plasma cells, MM bone disease, prognostic biomarkers, and the development of new therapies for the disease. He is an active participant and leader of MM clinical trials. He also has served as a consultant, scientific advisory board member, and board of directors member for multiple companies. He holds the patent for fluorescence in situ hybridization prognostication in MM.

Throughout his training and career, Dr Fonseca has received numerous awards and honors, including the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Clinical Investigator Award and the International Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia Research Award. Additionally, in 2024, he was inducted to the Giants of Cancer Care recognition program. He was awarded in 2023 the Cyril-Rozman Prize by the Sociedad Española de Hematología y Hemoterapia. He was awarded a doctor honoris causa by the University of Tucumán, Argentina. Finally, he was named a clinical investigator for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fund and is a visiting health care fellow at the Goldwater Institute.

Dr Fonseca holds memberships and has served in positions for organizations such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, and the International Myeloma Society. His research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute (R01, P01, SPORE, CPTAC U01), the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation, and others.

Dr Fonseca serves as reviewer and in editorial capacities for numerous medical publications, including Blood, The Lancet, Nature Medicine, Cancer Cell, Leukemia, and The New England Journal of Medicine, among others. He has given many national and international presentations as a visiting professor and has authored numerous articles. He has more than 400 publications with an associated h-index of 133 with 69,597 citations (Google Scholar September 2025).