Andy Rink , MD

Fellow

Stanford Biodesign Program
Stanford, CA

2012-13 CTSA Fellow
Richard "Andy" Rink has maintained an interest in combining medical device innovation with improving patient care from his undergraduate days majoring in biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt through his current surgical residency at Northwestern University. His love of computers and web design led him to co-found a company with an MBA candidate while still in medical school where they developed, and validated, a web-based application to evaluate novel medical technology.

Realizing the importance of regulatory affairs in device innovation, he joined the medical device fellowship program at the FDA while in medical school, and participated in the Stanford-Northwestern 510(k) study, one of the largest of its kind to date. What has excited him most, however, is his work on medtech innovation. He co-invented and licensed a novel extraperitoneal hernia plug to Morris Innovative, Inc., now known as the PerQPlug. In his surgical internship, he continued this work and was awarded a SAGES grant to develop a novel device that simulates intra-abdominal fluoroscopic imaging, which is now beginning commercialization. He also completed the Stanford Biodesign fellowship from 2012-2014, and is currently co-founder of Caydian, a spinout from Stanford Biodesign. When not working, he likes to enjoy the Bay Area weather by running, swimming, and playing golf and tennis whenever he can.