A legacy in people: Stanford Biodesign celebrates Paul Yock’s global impact

Visionary. Mentor. Pioneer. Cheerleader. Role model. Advocate. Friend. Stanford Biodesign alumni held up large signs with these words to express what Paul Yock, MD, means to them. They had come to honor the man who transformed their lives through his efforts to build a training program that would give aspiring innovators the same kind of mentorship he had benefitted from early in his career.

On Monday, September 22, 2025, Yock, an emeritus professor at Stanford – formerly the Martha Meier Weiland Professor in the School of Medicine and a professor of cardiology and of bioengineering – was the featured guest for the event series “From the Innovator's Workbench." The Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign has hosted the series for more than two decades to enable the Stanford community and the public to learn from the greatest health technology innovators of our time. In a packed Berg Hall at the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge, Yock, who founded Stanford Biodesign in 2001 and served as director until 2021, was interviewed by his co-founder, Josh Makower, the Yock Family Professor, the Byers Family Director of Stanford Biodesign, and a professor of medicine and of bioengineering.

Developing as a physician inventor

The conversation traced Yock’s early years: from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, to Amherst College, where he majored in chemistry and also pursued independent study in philosophy. By his medical school years, he was already trying his hand at inventing new technology, drawn by a fascination with prenatal diagnosis. He did not make much headway with his early endeavors. However, the Doppler technology he experimented with, in a bid to do more precise blood sampling in utero, would prove useful for addressing a different unmet need later in his career.

As he progressed through his years of residency and fellowship, Paul Yock stayed alert to emerging developments in his chosen field, cardiology, and sought opportunities to learn from and collaborate with some of the biggest names in medical technology innovation, including John Simpson and Tom Fogarty. His willingness to take on whatever tasks were required to get a foot in the door, combined with his ability to notice and deeply consider the shortcomings of some of the breakthrough technologies of the time, led to several transformational inventions. Among them: the Rapid Exchange angioplasty and stenting system, intravascular ultrasound imaging, as well as the Smart Needle.

Yock heartily acknowledged the life-changing impact of his mentors, noting that his decision to return to Stanford, where he had undertaken his fellowship, was partly borne of the belief that Stanford would be a more sympathetic environment for mentoring students who were interested in industry. Together with other similarly inclined faculty, he formed the Medical Device Network, a precursor to Biodesign that organized ad hoc classes and invention challenges.

Biodesign

When the conversation turned to Biodesign, Makower highlighted Yock’s “kind, understanding patience and ability to deal with different kinds of people in an exceptionally positive way,” as one of the primary factors behind Biodesign’s endurance and success.

Yock and Makower welcomed the first cohort of Biodesign Innovation Fellows to Stanford in September 2001 based on the strong belief that innovation is a disciplined process that can be taught and practiced. By instructing the fellows in the need-driven Biodesign methodology and, crucially, immersing them in an ecosystem of support and mentorship, Biodesign would help them realize their ambitions to advance health access and outcomes through innovation.

Now in its 25th year, with a broader slate of programs for additional trainees including Stanford faculty and students, faculty from other institutions in the United States and abroad, as well as corporate executives and healthcare policymakers, the center’s impact radiates globally. To date, technologies invented by trainees during their time at Stanford Biodesign have helped more than 18 million people around the world. Makower emphasized Yock’s prescience in recognizing the global applicability of the biodesign innovation process and championing international collaborations that have helped to spread the methodology far and wide.

Yock, on his part, shared some of the early challenges of building Stanford Biodesign. In particular, deep skepticism towards entrepreneurship by faculty necessitated a continual emphasis on their commitment to patient care. The center adopted more rigorous boundaries than the university, with faculty avoiding any economic involvement in the projects developed. Reflecting on his tenure as director, he noted health equity as an area that would have benefitted from more focus: “It is the elephant in the room that we’re not delivering equitable healthcare in this country or anywhere. And it is something that we can play a role in.”

Legacy

Towards the end of the evening, Makower asked Yock to share some advice with the audience. “There’s no better thing to do with your career,” he responded. “When you get to be my age and you look back … it is so satisfying to think about the people that you’ve helped … It’s just a huge privilege. I’m grateful for having been in this area, and I’ll continue that to the end.” Asked by one of the faculty what he is most proud of, Yock answered immediately, “[That’s] an easy question. I’m most proud of you and all of the fellows that we’ve trained. If you look at our alumni and what they’re doing in the world, it is spectacular.”