UNF MedNexus
UNF MedNexus will be the nation’s first comprehensive, university-based medical and healthcare nexus, further placing UNF at the center of the Northeast Florida healthcare enterprise by connecting healthcare providers with University students, faculty and researchers.
About UNF MedNexus
What Is UNF MedNexus?
UNF MedNexus is designed to meet the growing healthcare needs in Florida by linking resources across county lines and throughout the state in a collaborative effort to expand educational programs and enhance medical research. North Florida is a top destination for quality healthcare, including highly specialized services, and UNF is at the center of this medical ecosystem. The hub-and-spoke structure of UNF MedNexus allows the University of North Florida and its partners — healthcare providers, thought leaders, educational institutions and researchers — to address the state’s growing and evolving healthcare needs, while providing pathways for Florida students to find healthcare positions in the state and beyond.
What Does UNF MedNexus Do?
UNF MedNexus is about students. It’s about jobs. It’s about meeting the healthcare needs of our community, our state and our healthcare providers. UNF MedNexus will improve healthcare in the state by increasing the number of high-quality, well-trained medical professionals in Florida, while also advancing medical research and innovation.
Projections for
The initial phase of UNF MedNexus is underway with new multi-county partnerships to educate healthcare workers. UNF MedNexus is looking to the future by closely aligning course programming with innovations, industry changes and human resource needs of our region and state. Additional phases will include heightened medical research through partner collaborations with educational institutions and research hospitals throughout Florida.
For more information on UNF MedNexus, contact Melonie Handerson, Program Director, UNF MedNexus
For more information on partnerships, contact Karen Bowling, Director, UNF MedNexus Global and Academic Partnerships
For media inquiries, contact Ginny Walthour, Director of Media Relations
For information on MedNexus scholarships, contact Dr. Michelle Edmonds, Director, School of Nursing



“This is part of a differentiation strategy, bringing people together from different disciplines to satisfy the workforce needs of tomorrow.”
Dr. David M. Szymanski
CEO and Executive Director of UNF MedNexus
UNF: Florida's Healthcare Nexus



A significant statewide concern is how to create a talent pipeline to fill healthcare jobs. Yet, in addition to adding workers, the future of healthcare in Florida also depends on advancing medical research and innovation. In early 2020, the University of North Florida proposed a solution. With a program named UNF MedNexus, the University hopes to link resources across county lines in a collaborative effort to expand educational programs and enhance medical research. When the state’s 2020-21 budget was passed in June, UNF received just under $6 million to create the first phase of MedNexus, the nation’s first comprehensive, university-based medical and healthcare network. What does that mean? With its academic strengths, UNF is positioned to lead the way to expand education. In addition, the University is surrounded by nationally prominent healthcare providers in Jacksonville, who are willing to serve as partners. Because of this, UNF will serve as the hub in what planners envision as a hub-and-spoke structure that will pool resources, funding, facilities and talent in neighboring counties.