Nov 22, 2013 03:41 PM EST By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Roseman University of Health Sciences in Nevada is working with the Nevada Cancer Institute Foundation to create a medical school in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal Capital Bureau reported.

The university and the cancer institute have recently merged and have decided to reopen the 184,000-square-foot cancer institute building in Las Vegas with plans to house a medical school there by 2017.

"It allows us to continue with the cancer research mission, and researchers can stay right where they are," Roseman President Renee Coffman said in an announcement Thursday. "It is also the most likely place to house a medical school."

Through the new joint venture, the Nevada Cancer Institute name will cease to exist and the cancer facility in Summerlin will be known as Roseman University. Financial problems forced the cancer facility to close in February.

"This is a win-win for the community, and the Nevada Cancer Institute Foundation's research infrastructure complements the University's health science offerings, which include a successful pharmacy school, dental school, nursing school, and other healthcare advanced degree programs," Coffman said in a statement.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal Capital Bureau, Coffman said the Roseman medical school would have no negative ramifications if the state also opens a second state medical school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"This is a natural step in the evolution of the relationship between our organizations," Michael Yackira, chairman of the Nevada Cancer Institute Foundation, said in a statement. 

Roseman has been renting space for cancer research at the Nevada Cancer Institute and hired some of the institute's staff. The decision on whether to go forward on the medical school will be made in December by Roseman's board of directors.

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