In this week's episode, we sit down with Dr. William “Billy” E. Cohn, Chief Medical Officer of BiVACOR Inc. and Executive Director of the Center for Device Innovation at the Texas Medical Center.
From his early fascination with the first artificial heart at age eight to working alongside icons like Dr. Michael DeBakey and Dr. Denton Cooley, Dr. Cohn shares an intimate look at how curiosity, risk-taking, and persistence have defined his life’s work.
The conversation moves from stories inside the Texas Heart Institute to reflections on creativity, collaboration, and how passion fuels innovation, whether in the operating room or at Burning Man. Dr. Cohn also dives into how artificial intelligence is transforming medicine, what it means for the next generation of physicians, and why the future will always need people driven by purpose.
🎧 This episode is a masterclass in the mindset behind medical invention. How creativity, courage, and genuine curiosity drive breakthroughs that change patient care.
03:40 The origins of the world’s first artificial heart and the rivalry between DeBakey and Cooley
08:47 The surgery that made history: how the Leota, Cooley heart was implanted into a human for the first time
10:42 A childhood moment that sparked a lifelong fascination with heart surgery
14:45 Family influences: his father’s creativity, his mother’s determination, and his brother’s brilliance in AI
17:36 Building massive kinetic sculptures at Burning Man and the parallels with medical innovation
23:12 What Burning Man taught him about leadership, passion, and team building
27:44 Lessons from DeBakey and Cooley on authenticity, vision, and inspiration
35:20 The rise of AI in medicine and why it will redefine, not replace, doctors
38:24 From the Industrial Revolution to quantum computing: how exponential change will reshape humanity
💡 Who Should Listen
Physicians, MedTech innovators, and anyone fascinated by how engineering, creativity, and medicine intersect to shape the future of healthcare.
About William E. Cohn, MD, PhD (H)
Dr. Cohn is the Chief Medical Officer of BiVACOR Inc. and the Executive Director of the Center of Device Innovation at the Texas Medical Center (TMC). He is also a tenured professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and an adjunct professor of Bioengineering at Rice University and the University of Houston.
Prior to joining BiVACOR Inc., he served as a Vice President at Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Executive Director for the Johnson & Johnson Center of Device Innovation at TMC, and Director of the renowned Cullen Cardiovascular Research Laboratory at the Texas Heart Institute.
Dr. Cohn has been deeply involved in developing the continuous-flow, totally implantable, artificial heart. In 2011, Dr. Cohn and Dr. O. H. Frazier successfully implanted the first pulseless total heart replacement device in a human patient. The device had been developed at The Texas Heart Institute.
Dr. Cohn has published extensively and has more than 220 US patents or patents pending for his medical device innovations that have been foundational for nine venture-backed startups.
Connect with Dr. Cohn, MD, PhD (H)
💼 LinkedIn: William Cohn
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