The Fogarty Prize
Recognizing an innovator or team who has developed and broadly commercialized a life-changing medical technology
Join us at the 2026 Fogarty Prize Gala
The Thomas J. Fogarty Innovation Prize
The Fogarty Prize was created in 2024 to celebrate the power of technology innovation to transform healthcare and improve the lives of patients everywhere. It also shines a light on the arduous journey from idea to patient care—an often unseen endeavor in which the ability to conceptualize and invent a solution to an important problem in healthcare is just the first step.
In publicly honoring innovators who have developed clinically impactful solutions, the Fogarty Prize represents the empowerment of physicians equipped with better tools, the gratitude of patients and families whose lives have been immeasurably improved, and inspiration for future innovators who will build on these solutions going forward. It is also a beacon of hope, representing the visible advancement of healthcare and the power of human ingenuity to solve some of the most pressing problems in medical care today.
The award is named in honor of Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, a cardiovascular surgeon and serial innovator and entrepreneur. Fogarty’s balloon embolectomy catheter revolutionized vascular surgery and launched an entire era of minimally invasive device innovation. In addition to inventing a legion of surgical tools and devices, Fogarty also gifted our industry with a pragmatic approach to innovation that is a defining element of this prize:
“An idea by itself has no importance whatsoever. It’s the implementation of that idea and its acceptance by others that brings true benefit to our patients.”
The annual winner(s) of the Fogarty Prize will receive a custom-cast bronze medallion and an unrestricted cash prize of $100,000. Fogarty Prize awardees are chosen by an independent selection committee.
Key Dates
April 2, 2026 – Nominations open
July 31, 2026 – Nominations close
September 2026 – Finalists announced
October 2, 2026 – Sponsorships confirmed
October 30, 2026 – Gala celebration and winner announcement in San Diego, CA.
Join us at the Gala!
To secure your sponsorship, or reserve individual tickets at $500 per guest, contact Allie Gregorian.
Platinum | $35,000
Sponsors receive two reserved tables of ten (20 guests), prominent event recognition, social media recognition, and
a full-page ad.
Gold | $25,000
Sponsors receive a reserved table of ten plus five additional premium seats (15 guests), event recognition, social media recognition, and a half-page ad.
Silver | $15,000
Sponsors receive one reserved table (10 guests), event recognition, social media recognition, and a
quarter-page ad.
Bronze | $7,500
Sponsors receive five reserved seats, event recognition, program listing, and shared social recognition.
Click the image below to download the sponsorship brochure.
The 2026 Thomas J. Fogarty Innovation Prize Gala will be held at Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California.
Innovation begins with belief. Your sponsorship brings vital support and visibility to the bold thinkers working to transform the future of healthcare. By celebrating their journey—from visionary ideas to real-world impact—you help accelerate life-saving technologies, expand the reach of medical technologies, and empower the next generation of innovators to dream bigger, move faster, and reach further.
Sponsorships must be confirmed by October 2, 2026 for full recognition benefits. Fogarty Innovation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Young Thomas Fogarty
Background
Born in Ohio in 1934, Tom Fogarty was a scrappy kid from a poor family. While he was never expected to go to college, he was a natural at building and fixing things, displaying an impressive ability to break down complex problems and visualize solutions. He was also tough and tenacious, and he planned to make his mark as a professional boxer. While working part time as a hospital scrub tech as a teen, he got to know prominent vascular surgeon, Jack Cranley, MD.
Cranley quickly became a mentor, encouraging Fogarty to go to college and then to medical school. “He had ten kids and I became the eleventh,” said Fogarty. While working at the hospital, Fogarty witnessed the extensive damage that followed the then-standard procedure for removing blood clots in the legs; an hours-long, invasive surgery under general anesthesia. More often than not, the patient returned for a second operation to reintervene, and then a third, to amputate.
Aware of his young protégé’s “fix it” skills, Cranley challenged Fogarty to develop a better approach. His solution was the Fogarty balloon embolectomy catheter.
Initially, Fogarty’s device was met with something between skepticism and outright derision. When Cranley presented the technique at Grand Rounds at the University of Cincinnati where Fogarty was a medical student, the response was, “Only one so inexperienced and uneducated as a medical student would think of this.”
Ultimately, the Fogarty balloon embolectomy catheter revolutionized vascular surgery and launched an era of minimally invasive device innovation that has improved and saved the lives of millions of people. Fogarty, a cardiovascular surgeon, went on to a career as a serial inventor and entrepreneur. His sweep of contributions includes surgical clamps, aortic stent grafts, tissue valves, and many other fundamental ideas that facilitated other minimally invasive procedures.
Changing Standards of Care
However, changing entrenched standards and procedures in medical care is hard. Nearly all of Fogarty’s inventions involved a long journey through what has been characterized as “hand-to-hand combat and a slog through things that couldn’t be done.”
The Fogarty Prize was established to honor the magnitude of Fogarty’s contributions by recognizing transformational medical devices and their impact on human health. At the same time, it illuminates and acknowledges the multistakeholder collaboration and grit required to drive a new therapy to patients and achieve broad acceptance and use.
Tom Fogarty passed away in December 2025.
“From Possibility to Actuality”
Why is there a bear on the medallion?
Bears are known – as Dr. Fogarty was – to be courageous, intuitive, and fearless in the face of challenges. In some cultures, bears are seen as protectors, guarding family and communities, and as healers. There is also story from one of Fogarty’s fishing trips to Alaska, where he fell asleep on a river bank and woke to find a very large brown bear considering him for dinner!
Learn more about Thomas J. Fogarty, MD.
The 2025 Fogarty Prize Winners
Allan Zingeler; Raju Viswanathan, PhD; Michael Mahoney for FARAPULSE™ Pulsed Field Ablation
Watch: 2025 finalist videos
Selection Committee
Dorothy Abel
Partner, Abel & Wolf Consulting; former Senior Regulatory Review Scientist, FDA
Thomas Krummel, MD
Venture Partner, Santé; Emeritus Co-Director, Stanford Biodesign; Emile Holman Professor Emeritus, Stanford University School of Medicine
A dynamic leader and inspiring role model, Angela currently serves as EO of Voyant Biotherapeutics, managing member of Voyant Biotherapeutics, and is an active manager and mentor in the Ferolyn Fellowship program.
Despite her tremendous success in the medical technology arena, her path in the field hasn’t been a traditional one, as she kicked off her career as a judicial extern for the United States District Court. However, her interest in early-stage startups soon led her to the realization that medtech companies were the ones in the greatest need of a strong IP strategy, which led to her first job with VidaMed (Medtronic).
Angela later joined AneuRx, where she first met Dr. Fogarty who imparted his successful approach to innovation and minimally invasive surgery. This forged the notion and motto that “patients are waiting,” which sparked her interest in broadening her experience in medtech.
She continued working with Dr. Fogarty, serving as technology counsel where she participated in the formation and/or development of nine companies, and later rounded out her experience as chief technology counsel for The Foundry.
K. Angela Macfarlane
CEO, Perceive Biotherapeutics; Managing Member, ForSight Labs LLC
A dynamic leader and inspiring role model, Angela currently serves as EO of Voyant Biotherapeutics, managing member of Voyant Biotherapeutics, and is an active manager and mentor in the Ferolyn Fellowship program.
Despite her tremendous success in the medical technology arena, her path in the field hasn’t been a traditional one, as she kicked off her career as a judicial extern for the United States District Court. However, her interest in early-stage startups soon led her to the realization that medtech companies were the ones in the greatest need of a strong IP strategy, which led to her first job with VidaMed (Medtronic).
Angela later joined AneuRx, where she first met Dr. Fogarty who imparted his successful approach to innovation and minimally invasive surgery. This forged the notion and motto that “patients are waiting,” which sparked her interest in broadening her experience in medtech.
She continued working with Dr. Fogarty, serving as technology counsel where she participated in the formation and/or development of nine companies, and later rounded out her experience as chief technology counsel for The Foundry.
Asha Nayak, MD, PhD
Global Head of Consumer Health Investments, Johnson & Johnson Innovation; ER Physician; Board Member, Stanford Biodesign
Philip Oettinger
Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati
Carla Pugh, MD, PhD
Professor of Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, Director of the Technology Enabled Clinical Improvement Center
William Starling
CEO and Co-Founder, Synecor LLC
Bio coming soon!
Allan Will
Executive Chairman, EBR Systems Inc.; Board Chair, SetPoint Medical; Founder, The Foundry LLC
Allan Will is a seasoned executive with extensive experience at every stage of the medtech company life cycle. In his 30+ years in the industry, he has founded, led, built, sold, and funded numerous medical device companies, creating more than $2 billion in shareholder value. He currently serves as executive chairman of the board of EBR Systems and chair of the board of Setpoint Medical.
While his accomplishments and contributions to the healthcare field are vast, what gets him going each morning is people—he believes the ability to help patients and entrepreneurs be successful is a privilege and that few careers are more impactful on society and more rewarding to individuals than medtech.
With a remarkable record of building strong teams and leaders, Allan has spent the last 30+ years of his career as CEO of various Bay Area venture-backed startups. He also has founded or co-founded 11 companies including The Foundry, Evalve, Concentric Medical and Ardian. He added another element to his extensive experience in the field by joining St Paul Venture Capital and subsequently founding Split Rock Partners.
His entrepreneurial passion began as CEO of Devices for Vascular Intervention (DVI), a startup that he grew from 16 to more than 600 employees. This is where he first worked with Dr. Tom Fogarty, who sat on the DVI board; a partnership that continued as Allan spearheaded one of Dr Fogarty’s companies, AneurRx.
An inventor on more than 30 issued patents, Allan believes his work at Fogarty Innovation is critical as it allows him to seed the future of medtech with promising entrepreneurs, while honoring his friend and mentor, Dr. Fogarty. He subscribes to the philosophy of “Give a man a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach them to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime,” which he feels aligns well with the organization’s philosophy.
A University of Maryland Distinguished Alumnus and recipient of the ASTIA/Deloitte Excellence in Mentoring Women Executives Award, he has served on the MIT Entrepreneurship Center Shareholders’ Board and the University of Maryland President’s Committee on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Maryland and his master’s degree in management from MIT.
With Gratitude
The Fogarty Prize is made possible through a foundational grant from the Linda and Mike Mussallem Foundation. The Silicon Valley-based law firm, Wilson Sonsini, also contributed to the prize endowment.
