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Innovative Education
Engineering the Physicianeer: EnMed Program Flourishes Under Key Leadership
Engineering the Physicianeer: EnMed Program Flourishes Under Key Leadership
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Since graduating its first class in 2023, the Texas A&M School of Engineering Medicine (EnMed) has been on a rapid rise—matching students into top residencies, generating invention disclosures and filing early-stage patents.
At the helm is Timothy Boone, MD, PhD, Craig C. Brown and Suzanne H. Smith Centennial Chair in Medical Education and Interim Dean of EnMed.
A founding force behind the program, Boone helped launch a first-of-its-kind model that integrates engineering into medical education. EnMed’s “physicianeers” earn both an MD and a Master of Engineering in just four years, preparing them to deliver patient care while designing innovative solutions to complex medical challenges.
“We’re preparing a new kind of physician—someone who can care for patients and also invent the tools, technologies, and systems that improve care,” Boone said. “It’s inspiring to see what our students are already accomplishing.”
Now, building on that momentum, Boone and his team have developed EnMed’s 2025–2030 Strategic Plan—a roadmap he deems “fundamentally important” to sustaining and expanding the program’s success.
As EnMed looks to the future, Boone reflects on its rapid growth, the impact of its students, and what lies ahead.
Timothy B. Boone, MD, PhD
New Mission Statement:
To train and equip physicianeers—a distinct class of medical professionals with expertise in both medicine and engineering who are driven to design innovative, practical, and impactful solutions to revolutionize health care.
Q&A
Q: The EnMed program is housed in the largest medical center in the world. How do you identify opportunities for collaboration and growth?
A: The Texas Medical Center gives us access to an extraordinary concentration of clinical, research and innovation expertise and we’re intentional about tapping into these resources.
“We’ve recently established three advisory councils made up of internal and external stakeholders that are vital to the program’s development and sustainability. One advisory council is comprised of Houston Methodist leaders, including Jenny Chang, MB.ChirB., MD, MCHM, and Trevor Burt, EdD, MS, who help identify internal collaboration opportunities. Another is comprised of external entrepreneurial and community leaders, including experts from Stanford University’s Center for Biodesign and a former NASA astronaut, to help identify new pathways for innovative education, networking and fundraising. The third council is comprised of senior affiliated faculty, who are often appointed at both Houston Methodist and Texas A&M. They provide insight into the students' progress and help with career advising.
Q: Who are some of your recent faculty recruits and what are they bringing to the table?
A: One of the great joys of my role is recruiting talent that elevates what we do. Tanmay Lele, PhD, a biomedical engineer affiliated with Texas A&M, now holds a 50-percent appointment as our Senior Associate Dean of Research and Engineering Education. He helps ensure that the engineering curriculum our students complete—alongside their MD—is rigorous and relevant.
Lance Black, MD, MBID, is another key addition, who serves as our Senior Associate Dean of Innovation and Strategic Projects. Lance has been involved in startup companies at the medical center for over a decade, making his expertise critical in teaching innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as connecting students with startups and other resources.
Q: How has your building expansion aided in EnMed’s growth? Any updates on the 5-acre Texas A&M Innovation Plaza?
A: “Absolutely. The Innovation Plaza is central to our vision. The latest proposed addition—a 250,000-square-foot research laboratory space offers exciting opportunities for collaborative medical and translational research. It’s not just about space; it’s about what we do with it.
We’re in the planning stages of a startup incubator within the EnMed building. The idea is to invite select early-stage companies to co-locate with us, giving them access to our machine shop, 3D printing lab and simulation center. In return, they’ll provide mentorship and collaborative opportunities for our students.
Also, we’re exploring the creation of a dedicated makerspace focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning. We’ve had promising conversations with companies interested in embedding their own professionals into our classrooms—a truly immersive model of education.”
We're the first to converge engineering and medicine into a four-year program and coin the word “physicianeer.” We’re really proud of our students and the program’s accomplishments.
Timothy B. Boone, MD, PhD
Craig C. Brown and Suzanne H. Smith
Centennial Chair in Medical Education
Emeritus Professor of Urology
Interim Dean
Texas A&M School of Engineering Medicine
Q: These are promising possibilities for the future. We hear there’s even more big news to share regarding independent accreditation.
A: “That’s right. We have approval to seek independent accreditation to become Texas A&M’s second medical school, likely accepting our first class in 2028. Jeremy Gibson, MD, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Medical Education, will be leading the accreditation process. This independence is key in designing and maintaining our efficient four-year curriculum that incorporates 30 hours of engineering into a medical doctorate degree.”
“EnMed’s engineering mindset translated into patient care in a systematic way. When I triage and diagnose patients I’m always thinking strategically to maintain and improve efficiency,” said Ashmi Patel, MD, MEng, MS, a 2023 graduate of the EnMed program. As a third-year internal medicine resident at Houston Methodist, Patel uses her physicianeer training to improve health care quality and patient safety, noting her award-winning work on telemetry monitoring that cuts cost and improves patient data collection productivity. As an alumna, Patel described EnMed’s growth as a “fantastic opportunity” for current and future students.
Q: What about EnMed students stands out compared to traditional medical students?
A: “The level of curiosity is above average. EnMed students can evaluate medical problems through the lens of an engineer, a fundamentally different way of thinking than those trained in medicine alone. The students are extremely bright and competitive. Every year, the entering class seems to outdo the class before. So, we’re seeing this steady competitiveness to become an EnMed student and receiving more applicants from across the nation.
However, there's still no other program like ours. Other schools are starting to mimic us, but we're the first to converge engineering and medicine into a four-year program and coin the word “physicianeer.” We’re proud of our students and the program’s accomplishments.”
Learn more about the EnMed program.
Read Enter the Physicianeers—How They Will Transform Health Care by Roderic Ivan Pettigrew, PhD, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Engineering Health and Vice Chancellor of Health & Strategic Initiatives at Texas A&M University.
Callie Rainosek Wren, MS
August 2025
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