Cornelia Weyand, M.D., Ph.D.

Cornelia Weyand, M.D., Ph.D. (RHEU ’91), is the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Mayo Clinic Investigator Award. Dr. Weyand is a rheumatologist and professor of immunology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and the research chair for the Division of Rheumatology. Over the last three decades, her research has focused on inflammation in the vascular system and on autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and giant cell arteritis. By investigating how immune cells trigger inflammation, and the underlying genetic, molecular and cellular factors that contribute to these hard-to-treat diseases, her work sets the stage for potential new treatments for patients.