Nominations Open for the Second Annual Thomas J. Fogarty Prize Honoring High-Impact Medtech Innovations

$100,000 Cash Award Made Possible by the Linda and Mike Mussallem Foundation

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nominations open April 2 for the 2026 Thomas J. Fogarty Innovation Prize (Fogarty Prize), a prestigious recognition honoring an innovator or team that has developed and brought to market a life-changing medical technology. The award includes an unrestricted $100,000 cash prize, a custom-cast bronze medal, and a black-tie celebratory dinner and award ceremony that brings together leaders from across the medtech industry.

This marks the second year of the award, which is named in honor of cardiovascular surgeon and serial medical technology innovator Thomas J. Fogarty, MD. His inventions transformed surgical practice, and his relentless pursuit of “a better way” continues to inspire generations of innovators. Fogarty passed away in December 2025.

The inaugural Fogarty Prize was awarded to Allan Zingeler, Raju Viswanathan, PhD, and Michael Mahoney of Boston Scientific for the FARAPULSE™ PFA Platform, an advanced treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia. The award was presented at a sold-out gala attended by more than 350 leaders from industry, venture, academia, healthcare, and local government.

The Fogarty Prize was established through a founding grant from the Linda and Mike Mussallem Foundation. “The Thomas J. Fogarty Innovation Prize celebrates the boldness, creativity, and perseverance that define great innovators—qualities that Tom embodied every day,” said Mike Mussallem, co-founder of the Linda and Mike Mussallem Foundation and former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Edwards Lifesciences. “Tom believed that, with the right innovation, medicine could always do better for patients, and he lived that conviction with integrity, generosity, and unwavering drive. This prize honors his remarkable legacy and his lifelong mission to empower others to challenge convention and solve healthcare’s toughest problems.”

The Prize highlights the journey from idea to impact, recognizing the collaboration, persistence, and multidisciplinary effort required to drive a new therapy to patients and achieve broad acceptance and use. It also brings the medtech community together to celebrate breakthrough ideas and the shared mission of improving patient care.

“The Prize and gala celebrate the innovators, mentors, and visionaries who make this industry extraordinary,” said Andrew Cleeland, CEO of Fogarty Innovation, the nonprofit educational medtech incubator founded by Fogarty that administers the Prize. “What we do matters. We improve, restore, and sometimes save the lives of millions around the world.”

Eligibility and Dates

The Fogarty Prize recognizes a singular, clinically impactful technology. Nominees should embody the core values that define Dr. Fogarty’s legacy—relentless curiosity, bold vision, technical excellence, and a deep commitment to improving human health. Recipients must be individuals (up to three per award).

Nominations open April 2, 2026, and close July 31, 2026. The nomination form is available on the Fogarty Innovation website.

The winner will be determined by an independent selection committee: Dorothy Abel; K. Angela Macfarlane; Mike Mussallem; Asha Nayak, MD, PhD; Philip Oettinger; Carla Pugh, MD, PhD; Allan Will; and Bill Starling.

Dr. Fogarty’s Impact on Medical Innovation

During his acclaimed career, Fogarty acquired 190 medical patents, including the Fogarty Balloon Embolectomy Catheter, the Hancock Tissue Heart Valve, and the AneuRx Endovascular Aortic Stent Graft. He founded or co-founded more than 45 medical technology companies and was honored by numerous organizations for his contributions to medical science, including induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and receipt of the Presidential Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Recognizing that developing new medical technologies and bringing them to patients was “damn hard,” Fogarty founded Fogarty Innovation in 2007 on the campus of El Camino Health to mentor the next generation of innovators and create an environment of camaraderie, education, and support. The organization has been led by Cleeland since 2017.

About Fogarty Innovation

Fogarty Innovation is a nonprofit educational medtech incubator dedicated to advancing human health worldwide. The organization’s seasoned team helps companies navigate the path to commercialization, delivers practical educational programming to stakeholders across the ecosystem, and forges alliances that accelerate the invention, development, and deployment of new medical technologies into clinical care. Founded by Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, a world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon, inventor, and entrepreneur, Fogarty Innovation is headquartered on the campus of El Camino Health in Mountain View, California. Learn more: www.fogartyinnovation.org.

About the Linda and Mike Mussallem Foundation

After decades of philanthropic commitments, Linda and Mike officially unveiled the Linda and Mike Mussallem Foundation in 2024. The Foundation aims to harness the power of innovation and integrative health solutions to address complex healthcare challenges and create meaningful, long-lasting change for overlooked populations in need. Learn more: www.mussallemfoundation.org.