Browse Stanford University | Stanford Profiles

Farzad Azimpour

Casual - Non-Exempt, School of Medicine - MDRP'S - Biodesign Program

BioFarzad leads Edwards Lifesciences’ strategic innovation and future therapies incubator in the Advanced Technology unit as Senior Vice President. He’s a cardiologist by background, bringing academic, start-up, and industry experience applying needs-driven innovation discipline to define and solve high-impact challenges in cardiovascular disease.

Within his role, Farzad heads the Edwards Lifesciences Innovation Fellowship Program for cardiovascular physicians and surgeons, in partnership with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF). Academically, Farzad serves as Associate Director, Lead for Design at Stanford University’s Mussallem Center for Biodesign.

In January of 2025, Farzad was selected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation.

He previously served as Director of Health at the global design and innovation firm IDEO, and Chief Medical Officer of an American College of Cardiology Foundation and venture capital-backed health technology start-up focused on heart failure.

Farzad completed his training in medicine and cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Minnesota / Lillehei Heart Institute respectively, served as Chief Cardiology Fellow and NIH T32 Research Fellow designing and testing advanced cardiovascular technologies, and operated as the St. Jude Medical and Dean’s Innovation Fellow at Stanford Biodesign.

He holds patents and patents pending in the fields of interventional cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology, and robotic surgery.

Farzad earned both his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and his MD from the University of Texas at Austin, and his post-doc in Biodesign from Stanford University School of Medicine.

He is a recipient of Phi Beta Kappa distinction and the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Award.