Houston's Greatest Medical Strength Is Collaboration
A 70-Year Partnership Built for Medicine's Next Era
By Dr. Jakub Tolar and Dr. Debra Sukin
ÔÚÏߺÚÁÏÃÅ and Texas Children’s Hospital established an affiliation more than 70 years ago in the Texas Medical Center. Much has changed since then, with both institutions growing in scope and footprint, but the objective remains the same – to work together as partners to save lives.
Never before have we had greater tools to understand disease and bring lifesaving discoveries to patients faster. And never before have we faced greater challenges.
Meeting this moment will require more than technological innovation. It will require hospitals, medical schools and researchers working toward progress that no single institution can accomplish alone.
That is why this week, ÔÚÏߺÚÁÏÃÅ and Texas Children's renewed an affiliation that was first signed in 1953 and has deepened over the years. The agreement is more than an institutional milestone. It is a reaffirmation of a model that has helped make Houston one of the world's leading centers for pediatric and women’s healthcare, and one that will assume even more importance in the decades ahead.
The partnership began before Texas Children's even opened its doors. Baylor had just opened as the first building in the Texas Medical Center in 1947. When the hospital welcomed its first patients in 1954, Baylor physicians were there from the beginning, caring for children, educating future doctors and building research programs that would ultimately transform the treatment of childhood disease. Together, our institutions helped establish the Texas Medical Center into a global destination for patients with the rarest and most complex diseases.
Since then, both institutions have grown dramatically, but our shared mission remains consistent: combine world-class patient care, medical education and scientific discovery under one roof so that each strengthens the others.
Today, Texas Children's is consistently ranked among the nation's leading children's hospitals, and ÔÚÏߺÚÁÏÃÅ continues to be ranked as one of America's premier medical schools. Together, we have recruited physician-scientists from around the world, trained generations of physicians and surgeons, accelerated research and advanced breakthroughs that have changed the lives of patients not only in Houston, but across the globe.
Our joint work has helped redefine care for children with congenital heart disease, advanced fetal medicine and maternal care, accelerated discoveries in genetics and rare diseases, expanded access to leading-edge cancer treatments, and positioned Houston at the forefront of neuroscience and pediatric innovation.
Every day, our 2,000+ physicians and researchers work to advance medicine through more than 400 active clinical trials. Many of the treatments families now consider standard started as research questions investigated by Baylor faculty caring for patients at Texas Children's.
As new leaders of our respective institutions, we recognize this significant moment with deep respect for the generations who built this partnership and a shared responsibility to carry it forward. For more than seven decades, our predecessors chose collaboration over separation. In renewing this affiliation, we reaffirm our shared commitment to our patients and their families who depend on us, to the physicians and scientists devoted to advancing care, and to the city of Houston we are proud to call home.
Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D. is president, CEO and executive dean of ÔÚÏߺÚÁÏÃÅ and Debra Sukin, Ph.D. is president and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital.
President's Message
It is my honor and privilege to serve as the President and CEO of ÔÚÏߺÚÁÏÃÅ. To lead this institution entrusted with healing, discovery and the formation of future physicians and scientists is not an administrative charge, it is stewardship of an inheritance shaped by generations of Houstonians, Texans, and Americans.
Our true measure is not the labs, clinics and classrooms, but our people - the commitment of our faculty, the creativity of our students, the drive of our staff, and the trust of our patients, their families and communities.
Our four missions - education, research, clinical care and community - are not separate, but one: an inquiry enriches medicine, students sharpen the teachers, and the bedside remains the best clinical school to serve our community. My own life in medicine as a transplant physician, teacher, and scientist affirms that this union of missions is irreplaceable.
As dean of University of Minnesota Medical School and co-leader of the M Health Fairview health system, my team led major initiatives spanning clinical transformation, research growth, and the integration of the two. We improved the clinical learning environment for residents and students, made rapid and significant improvement in quality/safety metrics, market share, and productivity.
As an NIH funded physician scientist for over 25 years now, I learned that research requires resilience and adaptability, and that medicine best advances through partnerships.
Our obligations do not end at the Texas Medical Center. We will carry academic medicine outward, more broadly to communities across Texas, in clinical trials, education, and clinical service, and I trust that our experience in new models of rural healthcare will aid in that effort.
ÔÚÏߺÚÁÏÃÅ has a noble inheritance; its future is nobler still. This future demands our commitment, creativity and drive, and in the weeks and months ahead I look forward to meeting more of you in our Baylor family and our partners, to listening, learning and getting things done together.
Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., DSc (hon)
President, CEO and Executive Dean
John E. and Clara B. Whitmore Chair
Initiatives
The Office of the President is involved in numerous initiatives. Some of the initiatives include working to develop talent in health care management, community partnerships with a goal of upholding standards of excellence and expanding the College’s presence and presenting special lectures.
Annual Report 2025
Our annual report shows many achievements and accomplishments from major awards, discoveries and commercialization efforts to advanced initiatives, expanded diversity programs and faculty development offerings.
Office of Strategic and Institutional Planning
The Office of Strategic and Institutional Planning focuses on the coordination and preparation of the institutional strategic plan, planning processes, organizational performance improvement, integration, and alignment of planning functions throughout the College.