Keynote Speaker:
Paul Citron, PhD

Paul Citron, PhD (hon.), adjunct faculty at the University of California San Diego, is an inventor of 10 medical technology patents. Most notable is the “tined” cardiac pacing lead. It dramatically reduced serious complications of the then-existing state-of-the-art procedure, spontaneous lead dislodgement, which occurred in 8% to 20+% of patients and rendered cardiac pacing ineffective. The tined lead reduced dislodgement to less than 1% and become the pacing lead of choice among physicians and was broadly licensed. Millions of patients benefited from this innovation. Citron’s career at Medtronic was followed by academic positions at Georgia Tech and UC San Diego, where he shared his experience in corporate entrepreneurship and the important role of intellectual property in a vigorous innovation ecosystem. He has served on external advisory boards at University of California San Diego (engineering and Health divisions), University of Washington (Kidney Dialysis), Drexel University, Georgia Tech, and others. Citron, elected Founding Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering, and a member of the National Academy of Inventors. Citron holds a BS and Honorary Ph.D. from Drexel University and a MSEE from the University of Minnesota.

Elisabeth Papazoglou Inspired Leadership Award:

The Elisabeth Papazoglou Inspired Leadership Award is given in annual memory of her. The award is given in recognition of an individual who demonstrates exceptional abilities to lead, serve, collaborate, and inspire with broad impact and special distinction. This year's award goes to the founding member of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems in celebration of the school's 25th anniversary.

Our founding members:

• Banu Onaral, PhD
• Margaret Wheatley, PhD
• Peter Lewin, PhD
• Dov Jaron, PhD
• William Freedman, PhD
• Rami Seliktar, PhD
• Don McEachron, PhD.