WiSys Technology Foundation and Marshfield Clinic announced plans last week for the two organizations to partner up in their medical research efforts.

Marking the first time WiSys has partnered with a group outside the University of Wisconsin System, the partnership also aims to strengthen the technology transfer throughout the state of Wisconsin.

The collaborative efforts will be led by Robert Carlson, Marshfield Clinic director of Applied Sciences, who said he is excited about the possibilities this partnership holds.

"I think this was a very big step forward," Carlson said. "This is the direction I think you're going to see research going — a partnership with practical applications."

And WiSys Managing Director Maliyakal John agreed, saying this partnership is just the start of an upcoming trend.

"We have hope that this is just the start of this type of partnership," John said. "It becomes critical for the benefit of the state."

WiSys is a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, a leading technology transfer organization.

Marshfield Clinic, meanwhile, is the largest private group medical practice in the state, and Carlson said with its $25 million budget, it's also one of the nation's largest. Its clinics are located in northern Wisconsin, including Eau Claire, Rice Lake, Minocqua and Wausau.

Carlson added that being in a rural setting helps make Marshfield an ideal candidate for this research initiative, as he said there are already a lot of resources in large metropolitan areas of the state.

"There's two components — the straightforward management, which comes from research and patient care," he said. "The other part of that — and really a critical part — is strengthening research."

Marshfield already has a strong research program, and teaming up UW only aids those efforts, Carlson said.

John said Marshfield's expertise and dedication to research is why WiSys is confident with the plan.

"Marshfield is one of the biggest in Wisconsin," John said. "They have some tremendous biogenetics research and new technologies."

And being able to spread these new technologies, John said, is one of the goals of the collaboration. Currently, he noted, research is "scattered" throughout the state, and the partnership brings some of the state's top researchers together.

"We are better off if we have several faculty working in the same area," John said. "The way I see this is the fact that we are bringing experts in human health care together."

UW System President Kevin Reilly said that the partnership will benefit the entire state.

"Just as the UW School of Medicine and Public Health has long offered research expertise to UW-Madison and the state, this enterprise brings together Marshfield Clinic's premier clinical research and the world-class UW System for the benefit of the common good," Reilly said in a statement.

Marshfield Clinic is composed of more than 40 clinics in Wisconsin and employs almost 750 physicians. Of these physicians, about 200 perform research on a regular basis.