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Stefanos Zenios

Stefanos   Zenios
Professor, Operations, Information & Technology
Contact Info
StefanosZenios
Investment Group of Santa Barbara Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Operations, Information, and Technology
Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

Bio

Stefanos Zenios is the Investment Group of Santa Barbara Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Operations, Information, and Technology. He is also the faculty director of Stanford GSB’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. An innovative teacher and researcher, Zenios is the main architect of Startup Garage, a popular GSB course that each year helps hundreds of Stanford GSB students and executives learn and apply the innovation processes that are at the center of the Silicon Valley ecosystem. He also oversees the Stanford GSB Venture Studio: a vibrant learning facility for Stanford graduate students across all disciplines who want to learn about designing and creating sustainable, high-impact ventures by testing what they are learning in the classroom.  He previously designed and co-taught Biodesign Innovation, a project-based course on designing and launching new medical devices, and is one of the senior authors of a textbook with the same name.
 
His research interests fall in two broad categories: innovation, and health care. He examines how innovation can be described as a process with discrete steps and specific outcomes, and how the process varies with the industry sector, customer segment, technology, and source of innovation (startup vs large organization). He also pioneered the application of data and advanced modeling to improve health care delivery and treatment decisions and is the recipient of numerous best paper awards in his field of Operations Research. In the intersection between health care and innovation, he examines what attributes of health care startups are associated with successful exits (either financial, generating returns for the investors, or clinical, securing FDA approval). He also currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief for Operations Research, the seminal academic journal in his field.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Operations Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996
  • MA, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, 1996
  • BA, University of Cambridge, 1992

Academic Appointments

  • At Stanford since 1996.

Awards and Honors

  • CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2000
  • George E. Nicholson Award for Best Student Paper, Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences, 1997
  • Dissertationa Fellowship, Health Care Financing Administration, 1996

Publications

Journal Articles

Joel Goh, Margaret Bjarnadottir, Mohsen Bayati, Stefanos Zenios. Forthcoming in Operations Research. 2015.
Chris P. Lee, Glenn M. Chertow, Stefanos Zenios. Value in Health. January 2009, Vol. 12, Issue 1, Pages 80-87.
Ananth V. Iyer, Leroy B. Schwarz, Stefanos Zenios. Management Science. 2005, Vol. 51, Issue 1, Pages 106-119.
Tunay I. Tunca, Stefanos Zenios. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. 2005, Vol. 8, Issue 1, Pages 43-67.
Xuanming Su, Stefanos Zenios, Glenn M. Chertow. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. June 2004, Vol. 15, Issue 6, Pages 1656-1663.
Xuanming Su, Stefanos Zenios. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. 2004, Vol. 6, Issue 4, Pages 280-301.
Lainie Friedman Ross, Stefanos Zenios. American Journal of Transplantation. 2004, Vol. 4, Issue 10, Pages 1553–1554.
Erica Plambeck, Stefanos Zenios. Operations Research. 2003, Vol. 51, Issue 3, Pages 3741-386.
Stefanos Zenios, Glenn M. Chertow, Lawrence M. Wein. Operations Research. 2000, Vol. 48, Issue 4, Pages 549-569.

Books

Stefanos Zenios, Josh Makower, Paul Yock, Todd J Brinton, Uday N. Kumar, Lyn Denend, Thomas M. Krummel Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Other Publications

Stefanos Zenios, Lyn Denend. California Healthcare Foundation. October 2010.

Working Papers

Active Postmarketing Drug Surveillance for Multiple Adverse Events | PDF
Joel Goh, Margret V. Bjarnadottir, Mohsen Bayati, Stefanos Zenios2015
Evidence-Based Organ Allocation | PDF
Lawrence M. Wein, Stefanos Zenios, Glenn Chertow1999

Courses Taught

Degree Courses

2014-15

Startup Garage is an intensive hands-on, project-based course, in which graduate students will apply the concepts of design thinking, engineering, finance, business and organizational skills to design and test new business concepts that address...

Teams that concluded at the end of the fall quarter that their preliminary product or service and business model suggest a path to viability, continue with the winter quarter course. In this course, the teams develop more elaborate versions of...

A condensed version of Startup Garage focused on exploring entrepreneurial opportunities in China. Stanford teams will work jointly with students at the Graduate School of Management at our partner, Peking University (PKU). The teams'€™ goals...

Investing in the healthcare sector is fraught with idiosyncratic challenges. First, the sector is very diverse and it spans biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, health care information technology, and health care services. Second,...

Venture Studio for Credit, offered by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, is a project-based course in which students apply the concepts of design thinking, engineering, finance, business and organizational skills to design and test new...

2013-14

Startup Garage is an intensive hands-on, project-based course, in which graduate students will apply the concepts of design thinking, engineering, finance, business and organizational skills to design and test new business concepts that address...

Teams that concluded at the end of the fall quarter that their preliminary product or service and business model suggest a path to viability, continue with the winter quarter course. In this course, the teams develop more elaborate versions of...

Investing in the healthcare sector is fraught with idiosyncratic challenges. First, the sector is very diverse and it spans biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, health care information technology, and health care services. Second,...

Stanford Case Studies

PATH and the Safe Water Project Empowering the Poor Through User-Centered Design | OIT107
Lyn Denend, Tim Elliott, Stefanos Zenios2013
PATH and the Safe Water Project: Making Safe Water Products More Affordable | OIT109
Lyn Denend, Tim Elliott, Stefanos Zenios2013
Electronic Medical Records System Implementation at Stanford Hospital and Clinics | OIT103
Lyn Denend, Haim Mendelson, Stefanos Zenios2010
Emphasys Medical: Navigating Complex Clinical and Regulatory Challenges on the Path to Market | OIT98
Lyn Denend, Marianna Samson, Cynthia Yock, Paul Yock, Stefanos Zenios2010
Innovating for the Safety Net: Practical Considerations | OIT100
Nathan Blair, Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios2010
Innovating for the Safety Net: Sources of Funding | OIT102
Will Boenig, Lyn Denend, Ruby Majumdar, Daniel Riskin, Stefanos Zenios2010
Stanford Hospital and Clinics (B): New Incentives for an Electronic Medical Records System | OIT101B
Lyn Denend, Anicham Kumarasamy, Stefanos Zenios2010
AthenaHealth: Innovating at the Point of Delivery | OIT93
Leon Chen, Erin Palm, Stefanos Zenios2009
Biodesign: Innovating for the Underserved | OIT97
Nathan Blair, Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios2009
Exubera and NICE | OIT80
Robert Chess, Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios2008
Negotiating Partnerships in the Healthcare Industry (A): The Pharmac and Respire Deal | OIT81A
Robert Chess, Lyn Denend, Sara Gaviser Leslie, Stefanos Zenios2008
Negotiating Partnerships in the Healthcare Industry (B): The Pharmac and Respire Deal | OIT81B
Robert Chess, Lyn Denend, Sara Gaviser Leslie, Stefanos Zenios2008
Challenges in Renal Care | OIT51
Elizabeth, Rodriguez, Stefanos Zenios2006
EndoNav | E214
Joshua Spitzer, Stefanos Zenios2006
Genomic Health: Launching a Paradigm Shift ... and an Innovative New Test | OIT49
Robert Chess, Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios2006
Abbott Laboratories And HUMIRA: Launching A Blockbuster Drug | OIT44
Robert Chess, Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios2005
Abbott Laboratories and HUMIRA: Launching A Blockbuster Drug | OIT44 Condensed
Robert Chess, Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios2005
Note on Employer-Provided Health Insurance | OIT43
Stefanos Zenios, Zoe Cohen2004
Process Improvement in Stanford Hospital's Operating Room | OIT41
Elena Pernas-Giz, Kate Surman, Stefanos Zenios2004

Stanford University Affiliations

Stanford GSB

  • Faculty Director, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

In the Media

The Huffington Post. Healthy Living, December 8, 2015
Business 2 Comminity, December 5, 2015
Fast Company, September 16, 2013
Students from across Stanford learn to build prototypes, listen to customers, and pitch new ideas.
Stanford School of Medicine Scope blog, May 26, 2012
In an address at the Stanford GSB, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park says he's never been more optimistic about the system's prospects.
Time Magazine, June 20, 2008
Financial Times, September 21, 2005
HealthDay, September 18, 2001
Council on Foreign Relations, April 9, 1999
On the Council on Foreign Relations' development blog, the Stanford GSB's Stefanos Zenios and Lyn Denend explore the challenges of bringing high-quality health care to developing economies.
American Journal of Medicine, December 2, 1997

Insights by Stanford Business

July 28, 2015
Stefanos Zenios describes an action plan for entrepreneurs.
February 23, 2015
Stanford scholars identify 10 work stressors that are destroying your health.
November 15, 2014
How a smart hospital used a simple approach to solve a big problem.
July 24, 2012
Stanford GSB students explore simple, low-cost modifications to existing processes that reduce costs while improving outcomes
April 24, 2012
In an online forum, Stefanos Zenios responds to reader questions on innovation in the field.
June 6, 2011
A new generation of medical “rock stars” are blending cutting-edge technology with reams of old-fashioned data to help drive innovation in health care.
April 9, 2010
Research looked to determine whether profit status is associated with differences in hospital days per patient, an outcome that may also be influenced by provider financial goals.
May 1, 2008
A study figures that $129,000 represents the minimum cost of giving a person an additional “quality-of-life adjusted” year of life.
September 1, 1997
A Stanford GSB scholar devises an advanced model that allows inexpensive, accurate testing by pooling blood samples.

School News

July 1, 2010
Three real-world products have been born as biodesign class projects since the business school joined the cross disciplinary program in 2004