Colin selected for prestigious new medical fellowship

A South Galway man has been selected to be part of an inaugural training fellowship modeled on a prestigious programme at Stanford University.
Colin Forde from Ballinderreen is one of eight participants chosen to work within the clinical area of cardiology, focusing on interventional and surgical procedures as part of the new BioInnovate Ireland programme launched this week.
The specialist training programme in medical device innovation, modeled on Stanford University’s prestigious Biodesign Programme, has been jointly developed and delivered by a consortium of five Higher Education Institutions which include NUI Galway, University of Limerick, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin City University and University College Cork.
The aim of the BioInnovate Ireland Fellowship Programme is to train graduates to support the creation of new, cost-effective medical devices that improve patient care through a collaborative approach that focuses on the needs of patients, physicians and the health care industry as a whole.
The impetus for the development of this programme emerged from the 2010 Innovation Taskforce Report.
The new programme aims to hot house, in the space of 10 months, talented individuals with multidisciplinary backgrounds to explore and develop in teams, opportunities for innovative medical devices.
Programme participants will experience an intensive clinical immersion in teaching hospitals to help identify potential medical device development opportunities. Throughout the 10-month period, they will avail of the expert advice, direction and guidance from dedicated industrial mentors and serial entrepreneurs, along with clinicians with an interest in enhancing patient care through medical device innovation.
Research students in the BioInnovate consortium will have access to modules as part of their structured PhD programmes to broaden their education and expose them to the process of bringing ideas from concept to commercialisation.
This initiative has received funding from Enterprise Ireland and also support from several medical device development and service companies including: Medtronic, Creganna-Tactx Medical, Lake Region Medical Ltd and Steripack, Ltd.
It is envisaged that the BioInnovate Ireland Fellowship Programme will act as a catalyst for enhancing innovation in medical device development within Ireland.
Speaking about the programme, the newly appointed fellowship director, NUI Galway’s Dr Mark Bruzzi, said, “Our mission is to educate the next generation of leaders in innovation and to support the future of the medical device technologies sector in Ireland. The academic partners driving the development of the BioInnovate Fellowship Programme are committed to support innovation and entrepreneurship and to evolve the academic component of the Irish Medical Technologies ecosystem to ensure that the needs of the industry are met.”
After an arduous application process, Colin was one of eight successful applicants in the programme’s inaugural year.
Commencing immediately, the participants will work within the clinical are of cardiology, focusing on interventional and surgical procedures. The group of eight candidates come with a wealth of experience across the disciplines of medicine, engineering, business, law, science and information technology.
Colin is a graduate of the University of Limerick with a Bachelor of Technology in Manufacturing Technology. His career to date has involved working closely in medical device product design, development, validation, CE marking and manufacture.
Colin has always been centred at the cutting edge of the R&D departments of successful medical device companies such as Medtronic, Clearstream technologies and for the last seven years in the Design Services department of Creganna Tactx.
At Creganna, Colin quickly progressed to the position of senior research and development engineer. Currently, he leads specialised teams to provide a range of customers, from clinicians to start-up companies, with specific product solutions to meet their needs.
“Professionally, the innovation space suits Colin very well. One of his many skills lies in liaising with healthcare professionals, interpreting their requirements and providing them with solutions. However, the BioInnovate programme appealed to Colin because it will allow him to work with other like-minded professionals from different disciplines to develop solutions for currently unmet clinical needs. On a personal level, the clinical area of cardiology also motivated him to apply for the programme,” said a spokesperson for NUI Galway.
Colin believes strongly that Ireland has the knowledge and resources to be the leader in medical device technologies worldwide. Many in South Galway will know Colin as a sports enthusiast who regularly plays hurling and soccer.
The search for elite candidates with a strong interest in becoming leaders in medical device innovation through participation in the 2012 cycle of the BioInnovate Ireland Fellowship Programme will commence in the autumn.