Newly named Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign expands its scope

The Stanford Byers Biodesign Center is currently Mussallem Biodesign Center, Stanford UniversityThe Center will be supported into the future thanks to a generous naming gift from philanthropists Linda and Mike Mussallem. A pioneer in the medical technology industry who served as Chairman and CEO of Edwards Lifesciences for more than 20 years, he and his wife Linda are providing resources to sustain the program in perpetuity and enable its expansion into the critical areas of policy, life sciences innovation and advancing health equity.

“Through world-class training, better innovation policies, and a clear commitment to more equitable and accessible health solutions, Stanford Biodesign’s next chapter will have a profound impact on patients, health care providers and communities across the nation and around the world,” Stanford’s president said. Jonathan Levin“We are incredibly grateful to the Mussallems for this gift, which will enable our center to deliver what Stanford does best – innovative solutions for the health and benefit of even more people than ever before.”

Stanford Biodesign has been an integral part of the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem for more than 20 years and is globally recognized for offering a premier training program for aspiring medical technology innovators, a key part of Stanford’s efforts to translate new knowledge into effective solutions that benefit people around the world.

“Stanford Medicine’s extensive interdisciplinary resources and first-rate clinical and research infrastructure provide a platform for building the next exciting phase of Stanford Biodesign,” said Dr. Lloyd Miner“The center has made great strides over the past 20 years in advancing medical technology innovation,” said Stanford University School of Medicine’s Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean and Vice Provost for Medical Affairs, who thanked Silicon Valley venture capitalist Brooke Byers (MBA ’70) and added, “I want to thank Brooke for her support over the years, and Linda and Mike for providing the resources to ensure the program’s growth and survival.”

“Stanford is unique in its ability to bring together diverse disciplines – engineering, medicine, business and the humanities – to build a cohesive ecosystem that drives innovation. There’s no other place like it,” the university said. Jennifer Widom“Biodesign is a great example of how Stanford’s innovation ecosystem, combined with our collaboration with industry, can bring important innovations to market quickly — quickly translating new ideas into real-world solutions where they are needed most,” said Frederick Emmons Terman, dean of Stanford’s School of Engineering.

Changing lives through innovation

The gift to support the new Stanford Mussallem Biodesign Center is the couple’s first gift to the university and reflects their belief in the center’s ability to empower communities around the world to innovate for the benefit of their citizens. During his tenure as Edwards Lifesciences chairman and CEO, Mike Mussallem established a corporate foundation that has donated millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations and made philanthropy a cornerstone of the company’s culture.

The couple founded a charity together. The Linda and Mike Mussallem FoundationThe foundation aims to support four main focus areas: innovating next-generation healthcare, treating pediatric heart defects, integrative/holistic health, and improving the quality of life for people born with Down Syndrome (Mussallem and her brother had Down Syndrome). The Mussallems also support numerous community and educational organizations.

“Working in the medical technology industry, I discovered a passion to help patients, and that became my guiding principle and priority. Stanford Biodesign has a great history, but I believe it can have an even greater impact,” said Mike Mussallem. “We believe in the center’s mission, leadership, students and fellows. With more resources and a broader reach and vision, their impact will multiply. There is so much more we can do for patients around the world.”

Based on a proven process

Stanford Biodesign’s innovation process is what makes it unique. Instead of searching for a need and starting with a solution, the Biodesign approach prioritizes first identifying and understanding an unmet need, then rigorously applying a practical, disciplined process to devise a solution and an action plan. The three simple steps — identify, invent, implement — can be used again and again in any setting and in any area of ​​patient care. This proven process, along with strong connections forged across Silicon Valley and in medical technology, make the center a shining example of what can be accomplished when academia and industry work together. More than 50 institutions around the world have created programs modeled after Stanford Biodesign.

As the new Stanford Mussallem Biodesign Center embarks on this exciting next phase, the program’s reach will expand with new initiatives in policy, life sciences innovation, and efforts to improve health equity.

• policy: The new policy program will advance timely, evidence-based, bipartisan research to address today’s most pressing health innovation-related policy issues. With physical and virtual locations in Silicon Valley and Washington, DC, the program will be a hub that brings together policymakers, researchers, funders, and other experts to educate them on how to leverage technology to improve patient outcomes, expand access, and reduce costs — faster than they ever imagined. Current areas of interest include artificial intelligence regulation, medical technology coding, reimbursement, and payment, cell and gene therapy regulatory issues, rare disease law, and health data interoperability.

• Life Sciences Innovation: With increased program funding, the Center will further expand its training offerings to more broadly support innovation across the life sciences sector. The program’s training curriculum will be enhanced to be more relevant and impactful in medical devices, digital health, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, diagnostics, services and other areas, enabling trainees to become more innovative and impactful in addressing a wider range of healthcare challenges.

• Health Equity: The center will forge new partnerships in the U.S. and globally as part of a broader effort to improve patient access and health outcomes for traditionally underserved populations. By building on efforts such as East Africa Biodesign, pursuing new partnership opportunities with historically Black colleges and medical schools in the U.S., and expanding innovation efforts focused on maternal and fetal health, Stanford Biodesign will put biodesign approaches in the hands of even more aspiring innovators and help foster the innovation systems needed to deliver important new health care solutions to patients and their caregivers.

Stanford Biodesign graduates have founded 57 medical technology companies based on projects they started during their training. Collectively, these companies have helped more than 13 million people around the world.

The center is run by its co-founders Josh MakowerThe new endowed position will be awarded to Brooke Byers, professor of medicine and bioengineering and now director of the Byers Family. This newly created position honors Brooke Byers, who served as a mentor and coach for the center from its inception and remains a strong supporter of the program. In welcoming the Mussallems to the Stanford Biodesign family, Byers said, “Mike is a legendary CEO in the life sciences industry. This gift will be further strengthened by the expertise he will share on innovation, regulation, reimbursement, policy and improving healthcare for patients.”

“Stanford Biodesign was founded with an ambitious vision to build a training and support network for students, researchers and faculty with the talent and ambition to become medical technology innovators at Stanford and around the world,” Makower said. “This new gift will allow us to grow the program with a relentless focus on our core values ​​of innovation, collaboration, empathy, diversity, integrity and leadership.”