Robotic Surgeon and ENT Pioneer Eric Moore Joins Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees

Eric Moore, M.D., has spent more than three decades operating on some of the most complex anatomy in the human body - the skull base, the larynx, the delicate structures of the ear, nose, and throat that connect so much of how people breathe, swallow, hear, and speak. His clinical record at Mayo Clinic in Rochester includes pioneering work in transoral robotic surgery, a minimally invasive technique that allows surgeons to reach tumors at the back of the throat through the mouth rather than through external incisions, improving outcomes and reducing recovery time for patients with certain head and neck cancers.

That combination of surgical innovation and institutional leadership has brought Moore to Mayo's governing body. He was elected to the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees at the organization's quarterly meeting on February 20, 2026.

A Career Built Across Surgery, Military Service, and Medical Leadership

Moore's path to the boardroom wound through several distinct phases. He completed medical school at Jefferson Medical College and a residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Mayo Clinic from 1992 to 1997, then pursued a fellowship in endoscopic skull base surgery in Graz, Austria, in 2001. Between his residency and that fellowship, he served as a major in the United States Air Force from 1997 to 2001.

After returning to Mayo Clinic, he built a practice focused on head and neck cancer surgery while serving simultaneously as a clinical educator. He has received the Mayo Fellows Teacher of the Year Award five times. As chair of the Department of Otolaryngology in Rochester, he holds joint appointments in oral and maxillofacial surgery, general surgery, neurosurgery, and pediatrics - a span of affiliations that reflects the range of complex cases his department coordinates across surgical specialties.

In April 2025, he was appointed medical director of Mayo Clinic International, the division responsible for extending Mayo's clinical programs to patients and partners outside the United States.

Board Composition and Other Changes

The Board of Trustees governs Mayo Clinic's patient care, medical education, and research activities across its Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota campuses, as well as the Mayo Clinic Health System network serving communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The board includes both public representatives and Mayo Clinic physicians and administrators.

At the same February meeting, two existing trustees were reelected. Matthew Callstrom, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of radiology who serves as medical director for Mayo's Strategy Department and Artificial Intelligence Program, continues on the board. Abimbola Famuyide, M.B.B.S., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology who chairs the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Personnel Committee and focuses on research in abnormal uterine bleeding and gynecologic surgery, was also reelected.

The board also recognized Eric Schmidt, former chief executive of Google and executive chairman of Alphabet, as an emeritus trustee. Schmidt had previously served as a regular trustee and is currently chief executive of Relativity Space.

Mayo Clinic's leadership changes are institutional governance news rather than research findings, and there are no clinical or scientific claims to evaluate in this announcement. The significance of Moore's election lies in what it signals about Mayo's priorities at the intersection of surgical innovation, international clinical engagement, and the governance structure that shapes how those priorities are resourced and sustained.