Yock Is Career Achievement Award Winner
Renowned cardiologist recognized for decades of service.
The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) honored Paul G. Yock, MD, with this year’s TCT Career Achievement Award. Yock is the Martha Meier Weiland Professor of Medicine and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
The award honors Yock’s achievements not only as a world-renowned inventor, but also as an outstanding educator and leader.
Renaissance man
“Paul Yock is a true renaissance man and model physician. Not only is Paul the inventor of several of the most important devices in interventional cardiology, he is also a superb clinician, a career educator who has guided the careers of hundreds of trainees and a consummate gentleman. I can think of no one in our subspecialty more deserving of the TCT Career Achievement Award than Paul Yock,” said CRF Chairman Gregg W. Stone, MD.
Yock is also the Co-chair of Stanford’s new Department of Bioengineering, Director of the Stanford Program in Biodesign, and Professor of Business. His acclaimed inventions include numerous devices universally used by cardiologists.
“This is a wonderful honor, and one that comes from a remarkable group of colleagues. Over the years the TCT community has demonstrated the strength of combining clinical excellence with outstanding industrial research and development. Since my research career has focused on technology innovation, this acknowledgement by the TCT community is very important to me,” said Yock.
Inventing interventionalist
Yock is known for his work in inventing, developing and testing new devices. He holds more than 44 patents on cardiovascular devices and conducted their initial clinical trials. Perhaps one of his most notable inventions is the Rapid Exchange balloon angioplasty/stenting system, which is used to treat narrowing in the coronary arteries. The system is currently the most common method of performing angioplasty and stenting worldwide.
His interest in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) led to the invention of three other mainstream devices, the Doppler-guided hypodermic needle system, the Smart Needle and P-D Access.
Further, he founded his own company, Cardiovascular Imaging Systems, which was later acquired by Boston Scientific.
Today, his research focuses mainly on catheter-based technologies. One project underway is a delivery approach for cellular myoplasty. Another is a new approach to ablation therapy for atrial fibrillation. Over the past several years, Yock’s primary focus has been to help develop the Program in Biodesign at Stanford.
Hands-on research
Throughout Yock’s career, he has participated as principal or co-principal investigator for many cardiovascular and IVUS core laboratory studies. His contributions to the literature are vast, including a textbook, more than 250 scholarly articles and chapters on interventional cardiology and various educational materials from videos to CD-ROMs.
CRF founder Martin B. Leon, MD, Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, commented that “Paul Yock has been a visionary thought leader for the past two decades. His contributions span a wide range of activities, including innovative angioplasty device invention, intravascular coronary imaging and founding a school of biomedical engineering to teach device development processes to the next generation of physicians and scientists.
“His immeasurable impact has touched all facets of interventional cardiovascular medicine, and he is a treasured colleague.”
Academic dedication
Yock’s involvement on Stanford’s campus is extensive. He is the Director of the Center for Research in Cardiovascular Interventions, a facility that develops and tests new technologies and advancements in cardiovascular medicine.
Eight years ago, he and several colleagues founded the Medical Device Network, which helps stimulate and facilitate the practice of biomedical technology innovation with the university.
The interdisciplinary program has since expanded and become a tool for research and education in engineering and biomedical sciences on the campus, promoting inventions and implementation of new health technologies. It is now known as the Biodesign Network.
Educational excellence
Yock’s education began at Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., where he graduated summa cum laude. He later earned his master’s degree in philosophy and physiology from Trinity College, Cambridge, England.
Afterward, he returned to the United States and earned his MD at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and later settled in California as a resident at the University of California at San Francisco.