First in Human

An innovator’s first step into the clinical environment - in this case, an ICU built for the world’s tiniest babies - can change everything. 

In this episode of First in Human, I sit down with Eric Chehab, a Stanford-trained biomechanical engineer and founder of Novonate. We explore how a deadly but unaddressed risk in premature newborns became the focus of his life’s work. Eric shares the moment he realized that fragile infants were being protected with tape, improvisation, and sheer nursing ingenuity, and how that small, almost ordinary detail revealed a problem no one had truly s...

Some problems in medicine see so many failed attempts that they start to feel untouchable. Teams learn to move on, investors grow wary, and the problem becomes its own warning label. Kate Garrett and Dr. Dan Azagury chose a different path. 

Kate and Dan, cofounders of Ciel (later acquired by Vyaire Medical), found themelves confronted with one of those notoriously unsolved, high-stakes problems - the kind that had stopped other companies cold. What happened next changed everything for them, their patients, and for medtech. 

In this episode, Kate and Dan share how confronting that kind of pr...

What happens when a serial medtech founder takes on one of the most overlooked problems in public health: the simple act of finding a clean, safe place to go to the bathroom? 

In this episode, I sit down with Fletcher Wilson, founder and CEO of Throne Labs. His company is reimagining public bathrooms with the same precision and empathy you would expect from a medical device team. Fletcher shares how a personal struggle with GI issues, a series of raw conversations with mobile workers and city leaders, and a belief in human dignity pushed him toward an unexpected f...

What if medical education felt less like memorization, and more like discovery?

In this episode of First in Human, we sit down with Shiv Gaglani, the founder of Osmosis, to unpack the story behind how a frustrated med student turned an idea into one of the most influential learning platforms in healthcare.

Shiv shares the spark that started it all—the moment he realized medicine was being taught the way it had been for a century: dense lectures, endless flashcards, and little room for real understanding. That frustration became fuel for building Osmosis, a platform designed to...

What happens when two innovators take on a condition no one talks about - but that quietly shapes how people connect? 

In this episode of First in Human, I sit down with Véronique Peiffer, PhD engineer, former McKinsey consultant, Stanford Biodesign fellowship alum, and co-founder of Palm. Together with her co-founder, she set out to solve excessive hand sweating, or hyperhidrosis - a condition that can make everyday moments of connection feel heavy with self-consciousness. 

Véronique shares how late-night brainstorms turned into a real prototype, how they built a glove-based therapy that worked, and what...

Ever wondered how to talk about your invention without your idea being stolen? In this episode of First in Human, we sit down with Jessica Hudak - mechanical engineer turned patent attorney and now VP of Corporate Counsel at Edwards Lifesciences = to unpack how innovators can safely move from idea to impact.

You’ll hear Jessica’s journey from Stanford Biodesign to the Federal Circuit, and learn practical, plain-English answers to the biggest questions in health tech and medical devices: when to file a provisional patent, how “first to file” really works, what counts as public disclosure, and what to...

What happens when you combine clinical credibility, a patient problem that’s flown under the radar, and a founder mindset? In this episode of First in Human, I sit down with Ben Thompson (Au.D.), founder of health-tech enabled telehealth startup Treble Health - and a YouTube creator whose tinnitus-focused videos have been viewed over 10 million times. 

Ben shares how he noticed an accessibility gap for tinnitus care, leveraged content creation and community building, and made the leap from 100 % clinical practice into startup mode without an MBA or device-manufacturing background. We go deep into how he uses technology, tel...

What happens when you bring Silicon Valley thinking into the operating room? In this episode of First in Human, host Dr. David Hindin sits down with Nick Damiano, co-founder and CEO of Andromeda Surgical, to explore how his team is building the world’s first autonomous surgical robot—a platform designed to make surgery safer, faster, and more precise.

Nick shares his journey from pre-med at Stanford to med-tech founder, how the Stanford Biodesign process shaped his path, and why he believes the next revolution in health tech will come from AI-powered surgical systems. Together, they dive into what...

#004 What does it take for a physician to cross the bridge from medicine into health tech innovation? In this episode of First in Human, I sit down with Dr. Farzad Azimpour - cardiologist, Stanford Biodesign alum, and global health innovator - whose career has spanned device development, design thinking at IDEO, and now Head of Innovation in Structural Heart at Edwards Lifesciences.

Farzad shares his journey from a young cardiology fellow scribbling ideas on index cards to working at the front lines of medical device innovation. We explore the lessons he’s learned about creativity, collaboration, and unlearning so...

What happens when a text from a stranger changes your career?In this episode of First in Human, I sit down with Dr. Austin Chiang, Chief Medical Officer at Medtronic and one of the most influential physician voices on social media. We unpack his remarkable journey—from practicing gastroenterologist to becoming the first CMO of Medtronic’s endoscopy business, a role created specifically for him.
Austin shares:- How he built credibility on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok long before most doctors embraced digital platforms.
- The rise of misinformation in healthcare and why physicians need to lead online.
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In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Maya Yiadom and Dr. Gabrielle Bunney to unpack how real AI gets built, tested, and safely deployed in health care. We go inside the emergency department to tackle one of the most time-critical problems in medicine: early heart attack (MI) detection and door-to-ECG performance. Drs. Yiadom and Bunney share the origin story of SmartCare AI, why small delays lead to higher mortality and heart failure, and how “upskilling” front-door staff with an augmenting intelligence can improve equity and outcomes. 

We cover:- When to stay in academia vs when to spin...

#001 Ever wonder how people actually break into health tech? Not the buzzwords or corporate decks - but the real stories. The moments of spark, uncertainty, and bold action. 

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to be a CEO or have an MBA to build something meaningful in health care. In this first episode, I’ll share why I started First in Human, what this show is really about, and how it’s designed to help people like you - doctors, designers, engineers, founders - get inspired, get smarter, and get started. 

You’ll hear my own story...