Dr. Mark Ott talks about how long it will take to open the new school, the ties that took him to Johns Hopkins and Harvard, why a University of Utah graduate is a fit for BYU and God’s role in his life.

Essentia Health already has high hopes for the former site of St. Mary’s Hospital. Along with support from the Duluth City Council, Essentia wants the land to be used by the University of Minnesota as a new medical school.

BYU University Communications shared a press release Thursday morning announcing Mark Ott as inaugural dean of BYU’s future medical school.

BYU announced that Dr. Mark Ott, a surgeon at Intermountain Health, will be the inaugural dean of its new medical school. Learn more about his career.

There are still a lot of unknowns about BYU’s plans to open a medical school. But no longer among those is who will lead it: Intermountain Health surgeon Mark Ott, who studied at the University of Utah and has worked at Harvard Medical School.

With approval from its Board of Trustees, Brigham Young University has appointed Dr. Mark Ott as the inaugural dean of BYU's medical school.