Dr. Rafael Fonseca

Dr. Rafael Fonseca is a visiting fellow at the Goldwater Institute. He earned his MD at Universidad Anahuac, Mexico. 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. He is a clinical investigator for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fund.

Dr. Fonseca’s practice has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of plasma cell disorders and leading the multiple myeloma team in its effort to develop a better understanding of the disease and its impact on patients. In his laboratory, Dr. Fonseca has led his team of researchers in concentrating on the genetic nature of the clonal cells of plasma cell disorders. He is also interested in myeloma bone disease, prognostic markers and development of new therapies for the disease.

Throughout his training and career, Dr. Fonseca has received numerous awards and honors, including the Young Investigator Award in Hematology (Celgene – Achievement Awards for Clinical Research in Hematology), Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Clinical Investigator Award, and the International Waldenström Macroglobulinemia Research Award. Most notably he is a Mayo Clinic Distinguished Investigator, the highest academic distinction given to investigators at his institution. Dr. Fonseca has an adjunct academic appointment at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). His research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute (R01, P01, SPORE), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Multiple Myeloma Research Fund, and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fund. He has given many national and international presentations as a visiting professor, and has authored numerous articles (over 200), book chapters, editorials, abstracts, and letters.

He is also committed to the cause of freedom. He is a vocal advocate for patients from a free market and capitalist perspective, as the best pathway to enhance health for more and of better quality.