Paul Yock: Tales of a Medical Gizmologist

Stanford Emeriti/ae Council Autobiographical Reflections

On Feb. 15, 2023, Paul Yock, the Weiland Professor of Bioengineering and Medicine, Emeritus, treated an audience of emeriti/ae community members to a wonderful lecture, entitled “Tales of a Medical Gizmologist,” about his life and career. After a middle-class upbringing in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, he attended Amherst College and Oxford University, studying both science and philosophy, then attended Harvard Medical School and pursued a career as an interventional cardiologist first at UCSF followed by Stanford. He provided a fascinating “insider’s” perspective on the major role that Stanford has played in creating the large Bay Area medical technology ecosystem. Tracing the story from the 1980s when several faculty members who became health technology pioneers left Stanford due to a perceived lack of support for their innovation activities, he discussed the present environment where the university, and particularly the School of Medicine, is placing heavy emphasis on “translational” research bringing discoveries forward into patient care. This evolution was reflected in the inclusion of an early Medical Device Network as part of the “Bio-X” concept, the creation of innovation fellowships in 2001, the launch of many start-up companies from Stanford Biodesign, and the creation of the Bioengineering Department, uniquely housed in two schools. He discussed in some detail how the biodesign process is being taught and improved, for example by ensuring that consumers of health care are involved in the research phase. A beneficial fusion of entrepreneurship and scholarship was evident throughout this talk, in which Yock acknowledged his mentors and predecessors.