History

In the 1960s, Rhode Island was among only a few states that didn’t have its own medical school.  Residents often had to travel outside the state for specialized care. Without an academic partner, local hospitals could not attract the physicians needed to provide that care. And with no institution leading biomedical research, federal agencies awarded grant dollars to other states, resulting in lost opportunities to develop scientific breakthroughs and generate jobs.

Today, The Warren Alpert Medical School attracts world-class physicians who provide a range of specialty services. More than 60 percent of physicians in the state have some affiliation with Brown’s medical school. The Medical School and its affiliated teaching hospitals conduct research on the strength of $177 million in annual external funding. 

This interactive timeline traces the evolution of medicine at Brown over the past 50 years.