BIOE375 Course
Biodesign & Entrepreneurship for Societal Health
Addressing the complex health challenges of the 21st century requires a new approach to health innovation.
In the course "Biodesign & Entrepreneurship for Societal Health," we examine some of the fundamental systemic drivers of health challenges, including food security, mental health, the impact of climate change on health, and access to healthcare, through the lens of innovation and entrepreneurship.
In this class, cross-disciplinary teams of students from various Stanford schools—such as Medicine, the Graduate School of Business, Engineering, Sustainability, and others—will collaborate to learn about the factors affecting societal health. They will also explore the unique scientific, technological, and economic opportunities for innovation in these areas. Guest speakers, ranging from inspiring founders to impact investors, will share their journeys and discuss how their work addresses societal health challenges. Leaders from organizations like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), Kaiser, Google, Zipline, Papa, EMME Health, Simprints, StepOne Foods, Flourish Labs, and others will provide insights and share their stories.
Through a team-based approach, students will engage in an experiential societal health project. Each student will either be assigned to a team or may apply as part of a team to research and redefine a societal health problem using the Biodesign process, ultimately developing technological solutions to these issues. Students will interview various stakeholders and potential customers, generate insights about specific unmet needs, conduct brainstorming and ideation sessions, develop product mock-ups, and test concepts in pursuit of creating a product or service that people want and that society needs. We have established a network of experts in each project area to guide students throughout their projects. Additionally, we partner with community organizations to involve underserved communities in our research and design processes.
Topics covered throughout the quarter will include health equity, the impact of climate change on global health, mental health, misinformation, food security, housing, and other Social Determinants of Health. Students will also explore innovation opportunities, partnerships, business models, and funding sources to improve societal health at scale. Furthermore, they will learn how to lay the groundwork for building a purpose-driven startup and mission-aligned organization.
Teams interested in continuing their projects beyond the class period will have the opportunity to compete for extension funding through the Biodesign NEXT program. Selected teams will also be invited to present their ideas at the annual Emergence Summit in June, showcasing their work to a network of world-class industry collaborators and investors.
This course is made possible through a partnership between Stanford Emergence and Stanford Biodesign.
Enrollment will be capped at 30 students and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. While you can bring your project to the class, you don’t need to have a startup idea to join our class. We source problem vignettes from our partner organizations and faculty collaborators that are vetted to be big innovation opportunities in the field and you will have a chance to choose your area of interest. Join us in shaping the future of societal health. Apply now and take the first step toward building your impact-driven startup!
Biodesign & Entrepreneurship for Societal Health
Course #: BIOE375 / MED 236 / CHPR 275
Quarter: Winter
Schedule: Tuesday, 3-5:50pm
Units: 3
Eligible Students: Open to Graduate (recommended) and Undergraduate
Enrollment Info: Enrollment will be capped at 30 students and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early - applications close November 29th.
Example Student Team Projects
Pia
Anisha Carter, Kevina Wang, Dulce Rodriguez, and Alice Bouvier created Pia, an app designed to help individuals with anxiety disorders manage panic attacks. Pia provides detection of impending attacks, interventions to deter them, and long-term alleviation of panic disorders. Utilizing learning models, Pia connects users to personalized support for effective remediation of their symptoms.
PbFree
Kelly Brennan, Ayush Pandit, Lily Lyu, and Fanella Scutt designed PbFree with a vision to address the global lead crisis. PbFree identifies lead contamination in spices for families in low to middle income countries to lower children's blood lead levels. PbFree is a portable XRF, optimized to detect lead at a lowered cost. Rented XRFs are distributed to governments and spice traders.
Student Testimonials
“Definitely my favorite BioDesign Course and I honestly think the idea of societal entrepreneurship is something every Stanford student should learn before graduating. It was really fun, and I met a lot of amazing people in the industry.”
“I have never learned more or been more inspired from a class – I wish I could take it twice! I pretty much had no background in Bio and was intimidated at first, but it was extremely adaptable, and the professors and other students were incredible. 10/10!.”
“This is a great course to take if you are a beginner to start up and want a great learning experience on how to start a social impact business.”
“This course is nice if you care about the health of vulnerable populations and are interested in the potential of social entrepreneurship to solve important problems. You'll learn about the Biodesign method, which includes thinking about and researching needs related to problems in health and health care delivery that affects society. “
“100% recommend this course. It will change your life.”