courses

BIODESIGN INNOVATION
(BIOE 374A/B: MED 272A/B, ME 368A/B, OIT 384/385)

TEACHING TEAM

Core Faculty

Description: Paul G. Yock, MDPaul G. Yock, MD
Director of Biodesign, Stanford University

Paul is the Martha Meier Weiland Professor of Medicine and Mechanical Engineering (by courtesy). He also holds a courtesy appointment on Operations, Information and Technology in the Stanford School of Business. He is an internationally-known inventor for medtech products such as the Rapid Exchange ™ balloon angioplasty system, which is now the primary system in use worldwide, and a Doppler-guided access system known as the Smart Needle™ and PD-Access™. In his academic career, Paul has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications, chapters, and editorials and holds more than 45 US patents.

Description: Todd Brinton, MDTodd Brinton, MD
Fellowship Director, Biodesign, Stanford University

Todd is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Lecturer in Bioengineering at Stanford University. He is also an attending interventional cardiologist at both Stanford University Medical Center and the Palo Alto VA Medical Center. His academic research focuses on the development of novel medical technologies and pre-clinical evaluation. His specific focus has been the evaluation of techniques for cardiac stem cell transplantation. He is also active in clinical trials of interventional-based therapies for chronic ischemia heart disease and heart failure. Todd is co-founder of BioParadox, Inc., a venture-backed medical device company and serves on the board of directors of Infogard laboratories, a security company focused on medical records and wireless medical devices.

Description: Jay Watkins, MBAJay Watkins, MBA
Managing Director, De Novo Ventures

Jay is an operating executive with extensive experience founding and funding healthcare companies. He is a Managing Director with De Novo Ventures and serves as a Lecturer in Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was founding CEO of Origin Medsystems, a venture funded medical technology start-up acquired by Eli Lilly & Company. After Lilly formed Guidant, he joined the Management Committee and served as president of multiple divisions. While President of the Cardiac and Vascular Surgery Group he initiated the development of a minimally invasive vein harvesting technology which has been used to treat almost two million patients worldwide. Jay also formed and led Compass, Guidant’s corporate business development and new ventures group where he was directly involved in the acquisition of two public companies.

Guest Speakers
More than 80 contributors from the medtech industry experts participated in last year’s Biodesign Innovation course. To hear remarks from a sampling of these subject matter experts, check out these video clips from ebiodesign.org, the companion website to the Biodesign textbook.

Ciel Medical: Innovating in a Crowded Solution Space

Gauss Surgical: Regulatory Landscape for the Triton System

Ocular Dynamics: Moving into R&D

What is Freedom to Operate?

[As a GSB student] I had never worked as closely and as practically with doctors and engineers before—it was truly a formative educational experience.  Layer into that context an exceptional group of professors, speakers, and mentors who commit significant time and energy to Biodesign and exude a commitment to its purpose and impact, and you have the recipe for a uniquely valuable educational experience.
--Colin Cahill, former Biodesign student