Texas Biodesign is a collaboration of the Texas Innovation Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Venture Labs that uses biological processes as inspiration to develop impactful products and systems. It brings together scientists, engineers, business-minded participants and clinicians to form interdisciplinary teams to learn and implement how to use needs-driven innovation to solve medical and business problems.

This workshop is designed to help faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, MBA/MSTC students and clinicians utilize the biodesign process to assess and innovate commercial opportunities. Inspired by Stanford Biodesign’s process of front-end innovation development, the program is a nine-week intensive practicum of biodesign concepts, followed by commercialization support for teams that want to move their project to the marketplace.

Participants work in cross-functional teams of four, including a seasoned MD Anderson clinician, and are mentored by Texas Biodesign coaches with significant entrepreneurial experience. Teams completing the Texas Biodesign program will be eligible to apply for the Texas Biodesign Seed Grant ($5,000) to explore the commercialization of their project further.

Texas Biodesign Workshop Details

Instructor: Dr. Rush Bartlett
Global Innovation Leader | Executive-in-Residence
Assistant Director of Corporate Innovation & Education at Stanford Breyer Center for Biodesign

Needs-Driven Innovation Workshop Sessions
The workshop will provide you with didactic instruction on the biodesign innovation process. Although this process started as a medical technology development tool, it is extremely useful in all business areas and has been used in consumer-packaged goods, software development and many other areas to achieve success.

Goal
Each participant will complete an assessment of multiple needs, select a lead concept, and present a value proposition of the combined need and concept to help decide whether or not to take the project to the next stage. This process training will equip participants with skills to help them identify the difference between a good and a great opportunity.

Biodesign Coaches
Each team is paired with a biodesign coach using the Stanford Biodesign methodology. The coaches will provide individual mentoring and will help you think carefully about what’s required to make progress in the evaluation of your need-and-lead concept. We encourage you to meet with your business coach at least 2-3 times during the workshop series.

Weekly Schedule

  • Week 1 – Introduction to biodesign, form teams and develop need statement
  • Week 2 – Need scoping and validation
  • Week 3 – Needs filtering by value
  • Week 4 – Understanding stakeholders and need specific criteria
  • Week 5 – Define, distill, and validate each team’s top need criteria through stakeholder interviews
  • Week 6 – Refine need statements, a primer on concept filtering
  • Week 7 – Refine need statements, a primer on intellectual property and a primer on business models
  • Week 8 – Final presentations prep
  • Week 9 – Team final presentations

For more information, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Past Cohorts

Texas Biodesign Mentors – Cohort #4 (Spring 2024)

Dr. Saniya Ali
Founder & Chief Technology Officer Watershed Medical
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Dr. Vrad Levering
Head of Device Research and Development
Spiral Therapeutics

Dr. John Paderi
Chief Scientific Officer
IHP Therapeutics

Dr. David Hindin
Associate Chair for Innovation Stanford Surgery
Medical

Dr. Ashley Waring
Technical Program Manager Verily Life Sciences
Healthcare

Dr. David Miller
Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Co-founder Boomerang Medical
Medical Devices

Texas Biodesign Cohort #4 (Spring 2024)

TEAM 1

Jessica Suarez Colen, MD, MPH
Breast Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Natalie Tindall, Ph.D.
Professor, Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
University of Texas at Austin

Savannah Morreale
Bioengineering, Surgery Innovation
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Yash Kulkarni, Ph.D. Student
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 2

Alex Whitman, Ph.D. Student
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin

David Matthew Aldeman, MD, Ph.D.
Professor, Plastic Surgery
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Isabela Ramirez Velez, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin

Kyle Lilly
Texas Innovation Center
University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 3

Bharat Mathur, Ph.D. Student
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Medical and Surgical Robotics
University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Alicia Kowalski, MD
Professor, Anesthesiology & Peri-Operative Medicine
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Aditya Roy, Ph.D. Student
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin

Marko Vasic, Ph.D.
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 4

Allan John Barcena, MD, Ph.D.
Department of Interventional Radiology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Marites Melancon, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Interventional Radiology
Division of Diagnostic Imaging
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Ronald Vogler, Ph.D. Student
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin

Steven Huang, MD
Department of Interventional Radiology
Division of Diagnostic Imaging
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Texas Biodesign Mentors – Cohort #3 (Spring 2023)

Dr. Emma Essock-Burns
Engineering Coach
Stanford University Byers Center for Biodesign

Dr. Vrad Levering
Head of Device Research and Development
Spiral Therapeutics

Dr. John Paderi
Chief Scientific Officer
IHP Therapeutics

Dr. Shaili Sharma
Director of Business Development – Neurosurgery
Stryker

Dr. Alfred Song
Clinical Innovation Fellow and Resident
Stanford University School of Medicine

Texas Biodesign Cohort #3 (Spring 2023)

TEAM 1

Sierra M. Brooks, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Chemical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Bart Herpers, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Biomedical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Khang D. Nguyen, MD, FAAD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine
Ascension Seton Medical Center and Dell Seton Medical Center

Pranay Rai, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 2

Alexis Dimanche, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Biomedical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Celeste Marsan, Ph.D. Student
Department of Chemical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Nina Tamaresa, MD
Assistant Professor of Breast Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Jiaqi Xue, MS Candidate
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 3

Ahad Azimuddin, MD Candidate
Texas A&M University, Health Science Center School of Medicine
Student Researcher, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Alexander Mericli, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery, Division of Surgery
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Travis Sims, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, Division of Surgery
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Sanidhya D. Tripathi, Ph.D. Student
Department of Biomedical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 4

Dave Boruta, MD
Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Fernando Cordova, MS
Technology Commercialization, McCombs School of Business
University of Texas at Austin

Jamie Crow, MS, MBA, MHA, CCRP, CHFP
Manager, Clinical Protocol Administration
MD Anderson Cancer Center

John Tran, MS
Clinical Research Program Coordinator
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Texas Biodesign Mentors – Cohort #2 (Spring 2022)

Dr. Emma Essock-Burns
Engineering Coach
Stanford University Byers Center for Biodesign

Dr. Vrad Levering
Head of Device Research and Development
Spiral Therapeutics

Dr. John Paderi
Chief Scientific Officer
IHP Therapeutics

Dr. Shaili Sharma
Director of Business Development – Neurosurgery
Stryker

Dr. Alfred Song
Clinical Innovation Fellow and Resident
Stanford University School of Medicine

Texas Biodesign Cohort #2 (Spring 2022)

TEAM 1

Kjirsten Ayn Carlson, MD
Department of Breast Surgical Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Tom Fitzsimons, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

Daryl Rose Barth, Ph.D. Student
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
The University of Texas at Austin

John Tran, MSBME Candidate
Department of Breast Surgical Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Johns Hopkins University

TEAM 2

Vivian Chou, MSME Student
Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Bernice Liying Huang, MD
Department of Surgical Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Jen Plantz, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

Sangamithra Vardhan, Ph.D. Student
Department of Biomedical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 3

Jaime R Crow, MBA, MHA
Department of Breast Surgical Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Abbas Hassan, MD
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Pablo Ramos Ferrer, Ph.D. Student
Department of Chemical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Rachel Smith, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 4

Kasia J Dinkeloo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Molecular Biosciences
The University of Texas at Austin

Sanjay Mukhi, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

Anees Siddiqui, MD
Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology
Dell Medical School

Trey Putri Sutjita, Ph.D. Student
Department of Molecular Biosciences
The University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 5

Jared M Eller, Ph.D. Student
Department of Molecular Biosciences
The University of Texas at Austin

Nicole Fleming, MD
Associate Professor
Department of Gynecologic Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Brielle Hohne, Ph.D. Student
Department of Chemical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

David J Kim, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

TEAM 6

Alejandro Maurer, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

Subha P Mallick, Ph.D. Student
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Sandra Renae DiBrito, MD, Ph.D.
Department of Surgical Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Marija Vukicevic, MBA Candidate, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Houston Methodist University
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

Texas Biodesign Mentors – Cohort #1 (Spring 2021)

Dr. Vrad Levering
Head of Device Research and Development
Spiral Therapeutics

Dr. Shriram Raghunathan
President and CEO
Noctrix Health

Dr. Alfred Song
Clinical Innovation Fellow and Resident
Stanford University School of Medicine

Texas Biodesign Cohort #1 (Spring 2021)

Scott Alpard, MBA, MMSc
Administrator and Director, Innovation
Department of Breast Surgical Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Dave Boruta, MD
Professor of Gynecologic Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Cristina M. Checka, MD
Department of Breast Surgical Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

James Clarke, Ph.D. Student
Department of Physics
The University of Texas at Austin

Fernando Cordova, MSTC Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

Diana E. Gutierrez Lopez, Ph.D. Student
Department of Nutritional Science
The University of Texas at Austin

Brianna Flynn, Ph.D. Student
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
The University of Texas at Austin

Deanna Glassman, MD
Gynecologic Oncology Fellow, PGY5
Department of Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Tanya Hutter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Nick Kapecki, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

Miles Massidda, Ph.D. Student
Department of Biomedical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Andrew Repetski, Ph.D. Student
Department of Aerospace Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Nicholas Schneider, MBA Candidate
McCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin

Siva Saket Sripada, Ph.D. Student
Department of Biomedical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin