New master’s program empowers students to innovate in health care
IMPACT combines engineering, medicine and entrepreneurship to transform health care innovation
Students in the inaugural cohort of the Innovation in Medical and Patient Care Technologies, or IMPACT, master’s degree program, launched in fall 2025, include (from left) Anusha Patibandla, Manny Moreno, Josh Hanson, Cole Fields, Jake Malobikcy, Tina Ton and Ava Claire Lariego. Photographer: Erika Gronek/ASU
Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic, with foundational support from the Flinn Foundation, are launching a new master’s degree program that reimagines the traditional model of health care innovation. The program, called Innovation in Medical and Patient Care Technologies, or IMPACT, trains students to start with real-world health care challenges and develop technologies that are not only effective, but scalable and human-centered.
The three-semester degree program blends clinical experience, engineering, entrepreneurship and business strategy. It was jointly developed by the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, and Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine in Arizona, under the leadership of co-directors, Drs. Heather Clark and Pankaj Jay Pasricha. IMPACT is supported by a generous grant from the Flinn Foundation as part of its long-standing commitment to advancing Arizona’s bioscience ecosystem. It is also a product of the Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University Alliance for Health Care.
The program reflects Arizona’s growing emphasis on interdisciplinary health care training.
“This program fills a crucial gap between innovative engineering and real clinical needs,” says Heather Clark, director of the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering and senior associate dean for engineering integration in the School of Medicine and Medical Engineering at ASU. “We’re preparing students to take ideas from concept to product — and ultimately, to patients.”
Driven by needs-first innovation
Drawing from the biodesign innovation process developed by the Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign, the program emphasizes needs-first innovation, beginning with the identification of clinical problems before developing potential solutions.
At ASU, this approach is embedded within the university’s robust innovation ecosystem, allowing students to design scalable technologies that will be developed in Arizona but are applicable worldwide.
Dr. Deborah Keller, a double board-certified colorectal surgeon and the program’s chair, is an alum of Stanford Biodesign’s Global Faculty Training, or GFIT, program.
“The framework was completely transformative for me,” Keller reflects. “As doctors, we often jump to solutions. Biodesign taught me that the most powerful innovation starts by identifying the unmet clinical need, not by chasing solutions.”
Building on what she learned through the GFIT program, Keller designed the IMPACT curriculum to develop not just products, but problem-solvers.
“Our mission is to produce people who can identify needs, build teams, navigate systems and ultimately improve patient lives,” Keller says. “IMPACT is about building those capabilities step-by-step.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the biomedical engineering workforce in Arizona is projected to grow by 7% between 2023 and 2033. IMPACT was created in response to this demand, not only to fill jobs, but to shape the future of the field.
From clinical immersion to commercialization
IMPACT program leaders (from left) Jitendran Muthuswamy, Deborah Keller and Aman Verma bring together expertise in engineering, clinical innovation and patient-centered care to guide the new master’s degree program jointly developed by ASU and Mayo Clinic. Photo courtesy of Deborah Keller
Students in the program will begin their first semester embedded at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, where they rotate through departments and shadow clinical teams.
Jitendran Muthuswamy, technical director of the IMPACT program and associate professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, says the decision to broaden the program beyond engineering was a strategic one, inspired by the Stanford Biodesign model.
“The idea really started to take shape last year, when Mayo Clinic expressed interest in a master’s program at ASU that incorporated clinical immersion,” Muthuswamy says. “The strong enthusiasm from leadership at both ASU and Mayo Clinic — combined with significant support from the Flinn Foundation — accelerated the creation and launch of the program.”
That strategic vision has translated into a program structure that puts people, especially patients, at the center of the innovation process. Students begin their journey in real-world care environments, observing clinical teams and listening deeply to patients to identify unmet needs.
“Innovation isn’t about gadgets,” says Dr. Aman Verma, the IMPACT program’s clinical director and a hospitalist at Mayo Clinic. “It’s about people. With IMPACT, we’re investing in people who will change the way medicine is practiced, one need at a time.”
Verma, who also leads the Mayo-ASU Synapse Program and co-directs Mayo Clinic’s GME Clinical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy, brings experience mentoring medical trainees in innovation, further supporting the program’s goal of developing well-rounded, system-savvy health innovators.
Building the future of health care innovation
In the second and third semesters, students move into design and development, supported by ASU faculty and industry mentors. Coursework includes prototyping, regulatory strategy, intellectual property development and competitive market analysis.
Students will also gain business acumen and develop commercialization plans, with each team expected to submit a provisional patent and create a strategy to bring their solution to market.
The program integrates ASU’s strengths in biomedical engineering and venture development with Mayo Clinic’s leadership in clinical excellence. It supports Arizona’s growing health innovation economy by producing graduates with industry-relevant skills and the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams.
In addition to technical skills, the program cultivates a mindset of empathy, adaptability and systems thinking — qualities essential for innovation in real-world health care environments.
Clark and Dr. Pasricha, chair of the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, provide leadership and oversight for the program alongside a cross-functional team of faculty, administrators and industry partners.
“By bridging the gap between engineering principles and clinical practice, we’re not just educating students — we’re empowering them to become the health care innovators of tomorrow,” Pasricha says. “This approach is crucial for addressing the complex challenges facing modern medicine.”
The first cohort began in fall 2025.
ASU is a Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign Program Development Associate, or PDA. Through the PDA initiative, Stanford Biodesign is supporting the development of IMPACT by providing teaching materials, regular coaching and other ongoing assistance.
About the Flinn Foundation
The Flinn Foundation is a Phoenix-based, privately endowed, philanthropic grantmaking organization established in 1965 by Dr. Robert S. and Irene P. Flinn that awards grants and operates programs in four areas: the biosciences, the Flinn Scholars, arts and culture, and the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership. The foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations.
