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SearchTrishul Kapoor MD, D.ABA
Hearing from Cleveland Clinic inventors can provide inspiration and insights into how caregivers find Cleveland Clinic to be a place where their ideas can and expertise can thrive. In this piece authored by Trishul Kapoor, MD, D.ABA, Dr. Kapoor discusses how Cleveland Clinic has helped him reach his full potential through the mentorship and opportunities he’s had. Through the emphasis on purpose, community, and delivery at the Cleveland Clinic, the enterprise has shaped his understanding of innovation and provided Dr. Kapoor with the support and resources necessary to bring his ideas to life. The environment of creativity and collaboration at Cleveland Clinic allows individuals such as Dr. Kapoor to thrive and make meaningful contributions to the medical and technological landscape.
“Ok, do it.” My uncle Ram said those three words to me every time that I went to him with an idea. Most young teenagers would do the exact opposite or completely ignore those words. However, I was the odd one who transformed my uncle's words into a mantra for my life. So far, that innovative spirit has served me well. I started my first company in high school with a few close friends and designed a smartphone application for anonymous error reporting at a large hospital. While in college, I patented a mechanism for pre-screening for cystic fibrosis using touchscreen technology and worked with several pharmaceutical companies for clinical trial development. Lastly, over the past decade, I have raised venture capital, partnered with Fortune 500 companies, and developed artificial intelligence (AI) based digital health platforms centered around health information technology (HIT) disruption. In my free time, I also work on building novel medical devices and serve as an executive advisor to upcoming start-up companies.
When I share this part of my life with others, the first few questions I always get asked are, "What did you study in college? How did you do all of this? Where do you have the time?" The answers to these questions are quite simple. My undergraduate major was in human physiology and psychology. I have no formal training in software development, biomedical engineering, business administration, or entrepreneurship. I simply searched the internet and emailed numerous individuals with questions on topics that piqued my curiosity. I have been fortunate to have had all of these opportunities for two simple reasons: I am not afraid of failure, and I am relentless in finding opportunities. I have failed more times than I can count and have been repeatedly denied opportunities because, at the time, I was “only a kid…student…medical student…resident…fellow.” My professional title, unfortunately, played a big role in the challenges I faced, but it disappeared as a hindrance when I found the right mentor. The right mentor is hard to find, and you’ll be lucky to find even a few in a lifetime. So, who is the right mentor? They are individuals who seek to meaningfully impact the world by helping others selflessly, loyally, and passionately. They inspire confidence in one’s life with their presence alone and their words serve as invaluable wisdom to navigate one’s ambitions.
Cleveland Clinic is not only a haven for finding the right mentors, but much more. In one year, I have worked on more ideas and inventions than I have worked on in a decade. I asked myself many times, “How is this possible? What is it about this place? Did I get bitten by a radioactive spider? I really want to be Spider-Man.” However, I came to a profound realization while at Cleveland Clinic - innovation is more than an invention. Innovation is about purpose, community, and delivery.
My closest mentors, Dr. Claude Deschamps and Dr. Augusto Bastidas always taught me that as healthcare providers, we have a responsibility to not only provide the best care to patients, but to also advance the practice of medicine to new heights. While completing my fellowship in pain management, I came across numerous patients with exceptionally challenging presentations. It was always the same story. They had exhausted all of their options and were told there was nothing left to do. When I saw these patients, I had a deep desire to help them and researched extensively to find novel applications of existing therapies or therapies under clinical trial investigation. To my surprise, my attendings were always willing to discuss my ideas and, despite my title and inexperience, collaborated with me to help these patients in any manner possible. From designing new procedural methodologies, to creating novel surgical tools, they taught me that true innovation is driven by purpose. At Cleveland Clinic, it is to take care of patients and be the best place for care anywhere.
The four physician founders of Cleveland Clinic (Dr. Frank Bunts, Dr. George Crile Sr., Dr. William Lower, Dr. John Phillips) humbly named the institution after a great city to establish a legacy to continually empower a community. At Cleveland Clinic, community is about caring for patients as family, treating fellow caregivers as family, serving the neighborhood, and being a home to all. It’s easy to have an idea, but it’s far more difficult to execute an idea. In the past, when I had ideas, I faced every challenge you can imagine. I was told it wasn’t a good idea, it was not patentable, it had no market value, it wasn’t a “game changer”, it wasn’t worth the investment of time and money, etc. This is not to say there are no bad ideas, because I have had plenty of those too. However, every idea has potential with proper support from a community. I found that community at Cleveland Clinic. Through Cleveland Clinic Innovations, I was provided with a dedicated Engagement Partner, Morgan Carter, PhD. Morgan spent countless hours meeting with me several times every month. She took every single one of my ideas seriously and researched it thoroughly. Morgan’s ultimate goal was always clear – to give life to my ideas by any means possible. She connected me with numerous individuals who had tremendous expertise and talent. Reflecting on her role, Morgan said, "It's a true privilege to work hand-and-hand with our caregivers committed to advancing the field of medicine. We do our best to identify ideas that have potential and give them life." Every single person that I interacted with saw my ideas as their own and helped me bring them to life. I learned a critical lesson through this experience: innovation thrives in a community and dies in a bureaucracy.
Cleveland Clinic is home to over 81,000 researchers, scientists, clinicians, and caregivers. Since 2000, Cleveland Clinic Innovations office has had over 2,760 patents issued, transacted over 850 technology licenses, and launched over 105 start-up companies. From developing the next generation of mRNA vaccinology to designing AI for early detection of sepsis, Cleveland Clinic is an innovator’s paradise. How do they do it? It’s simple, they are humble enough to listen, hungry enough to learn, and fearless enough to completely reinvent their infrastructure to support the evolving landscape of innovation.
In fact, Mark Lobosky, a research engineer, met with me every week to iterate on a prototype design. Since then, I have had similar experiences with numerous research engineers to work on various ideas of mine. In fact, my wife and lifelong business partner, Amy Falzone, has also had a remarkable experience pursuing innovation in critical care nursing and psychiatric mental health initiatives. This unique and powerful infrastructure is all made possible by generous donors who believe in the soul of Cleveland Clinic. Through this journey, I learned that innovation is not about inventing, it is about delivering the idea and the ideator together.
In conclusion, I truly believe this institution is very special and allowed me to realize my true potential. I hope you will provide Cleveland Clinic with the opportunity to do the same for you.
This is dedicated to God, my loving wife (Amy), uncles (Ram & Hari), grandparents (Saraswathi and Srinivas), family (Paul & Cheryl), and numerous mentors who have always believed in me. I will be eternally grateful to you for all for your support and always encouraging me to dream big.
