Cardiovascular Innovation Fellowship

The Edwards Lifesciences Cardiovascular Innovation Fellowship is a one-of-a-kind program for early-career cardiologists and cardiac surgeons (no more than 3 years after completion of training) looking to develop as leaders by way of invention and pre-clinical testing of new devices and technology serving the unmet needs of people living with structural heart disease.

Innovation Fellows both learn and apply a focused, needs-driven innovation process building on the fundamentals of the Stanford Biodesign approach to identify, invent, and implement, generating and developing future solutions alongside expert innovators.

Fellowship Details/Criteria:

• Non-clinical with emphasis on multidimensional training in needs-driven innovation to champion emerging cardiovascular technologies
• 12-month program, full-time employment from July – June based at Edwards Lifesciences global headquarters in Irvine, CA
• Innovation Fellows are part of the Advanced Technology group led by Farzad Azimpour, MD and Chief Scientific Officer, Todd Brinton, MD
• Competitive salary ($190K - $200K) plus benefits, relocation package, and included housing
• Offered in partnership with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF)

Hiring requirements:

• MD or equivalent medical doctorate degree
• Recent completion (within 3 years) of training in one of the following: clinical cardiovascular medicine or related advanced field, completion of residency or fellowship in cardiovascular and/or cardiothoracic surgery
• English language fluency / mastery in written and spoken forms
• Demonstration of unique qualities that position candidate for leadership
• Demonstration of creative pursuits

Building on Edwards’ 65+ year legacy of innovation, the Innovation Fellowship enables a “learn-by-doing” approach to support exploration of opportunities and the invention and testing of conceptual solutions for people living with structural heart disease. Innovation Fellows also gain a deeper understanding of the stakeholders and key elements which determine clinical adoption and change clinical practice.

Ideal candidates are early-career cardiologists (general, EP, interventional, structural, imaging, HF) or cardiac surgeons, no more than three years after completion of training, who are interested in working with technology innovators. Candidates are passionate about playing an active role in advancing patient-focused structural heart innovation through a creative and productive clinician-industry partnership.

The Innovation Fellowship offers the opportunity to work on a multidisciplinary creative team alongside leaders in design and engineering, regulatory affairs, quality, strategy and market research, health economics and reimbursement, policy, intellectual property and clinical trials.

Innovation Fellows will become active contributors to the team as they characterize unmet clinical needs and develop novel solutions with the potential to move forward to clinical use. As part of this pre-clinical research experience, Innovation Fellows will co-design computational and bench-top simulation models for novel physiologic targets, invent and prototype new technologies, and implant and evaluate proposed solutions in bench-top, live large animal, and human cadaveric systems. They will receive training through experience, advancing personal development as key opinion leaders.