Engineering the Physicianeer: EnMed Program Blossoms Under Key Leadership

Q: The EnMed program is housed in the largest medical center in the world. How do you identify opportunities for collaboration and growth?

A: We’ve recently established three advisory councils comprised of internal and external stakeholders that are vital to the program’s development and sustainability. Each council serves distinct purposes, but they're all important to the strategy moving forward. The first advisory council contains Houston Methodist leaders, such as Jenny Chang, MB.ChirB., MD, MCHM, and Trevor Burt, EdD, MS, who help identify internal collaboration opportunities. The second advisory council includes 12 external entrepreneurial and community leaders, as well as bio-design and innovation experts from Stanford University and NASA who help identify new pathways for networking and fundraising. The third advisory council is senior affiliated faculty, who are often appointed at both Houston Methodist and Texas A&M. They provide insight into how the students are doing and help with career advising.

Q: Who are some of your latest faculty recruits and what do they bring to the table?

A: I’ve spent a lot of time finding researchers locally. I was able to recruit Texas A&M-affiliated biomedical engineer Tanmay Lele, PhD, who now holds a 50-percent appointment at EnMed as Senior Associate Dean of Research and Engineering Education. In this position, he ensures that the Master of Engineering degree that EnMed students earn alongside their medical doctorate continues to be top quality. Another local hire is Lance Black, MD, MBID, who serves as our Senior Associate Dean of Innovation and Strategic Projects. Lance has been involved in startup companies in the medical center for over a decade, so his expertise is critical in teaching innovation and entrepreneurship and connecting students with startups and other resources. These opportunities are key in helping students develop novel biomedical tools that address clinical needs and pursue patents for such products.

Q: How has your building expansion aided in EnMed’s growth? Any updates on the 5-acre Texas A&M Innovation Plaza?

A: The plaza continues to develop, with the most recent project being a 300,000-square-foot research laboratory space offering exciting opportunities for simulation centers, makerspaces and more. We’re also continuing to develop our six floors in the former Bank of America building. I’m thinking strategically about the remaining vacant floors and have been working with key leaders to establish an ‘incubator’ space for startup companies, which will house hand-selected startups that need space to develop their products. They will have access to everything our students do—including our makerspace with 3D printers, a machine shop, virtual reality simulation tools and a library. We can even connect these startups to clinicians to assist them in developing their products. In turn, these budding companies will hold office hours to mentor students and teach them about developing products and starting a business. Other possibilities for our developing space include another state-of-the-art makerspace devoted to teaching students applications of artificial intelligence. We’re also actively engaging with Google Health and are considering embedding their personnel into classrooms and offices to work directly with students and faculty.