In Which an Old Dog Learns New Tricks: The Right Way to Use LLMs in Medical Device Development, with Spencer Jones

Everything you Need to Know about SBIR Reauthorization, with Jerry Hollister, BBCetc

From October 2025 through April 2026, the SBIR program went dark. Now that it's back, what is different? In this episode, Jerry Hollister, Co-Owner of BBCetc, joins Dan Mazzucco to pull back the curtain on the SBIR reauthorization fight, including the political dynamics that delayed it for months, the new foreign influence provisions now written into law, and the strategic breakthrough authority that allows awards up to $30 million without SBA approval. They also cover which of the 11 SBIR agencies is right for which stage of company, why NSF and NIH have fundamentally different expectations, the practical difference between SBIR and STTR for academics who are not ready to leave their university, and why the "solution in search of a problem" mentality is still the fastest path to rejection. This conversation is for life science founders and academic researchers who run toward federal funding and want to understand the system well enough to actually win. Jerry Hollister is Co-Owner of BBCetc, a 30-year-old SBIR support organization that grew out of the University of Michigan Medical School and now helps companies navigate the full SBIR program across all 11 federal agencies. Jerry began his career as a U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer, serving as a warranted contracting officer, and went on to lead the NIA Wave team to more than 45 SBIR awards. He joined BBCetc in 2017 and became co-owner in 2023. Both NIA Wave and BBCetc have received the Tibbets Award, the highest national recognition for SBIR awardees. Jerry serves as a reviewer for four different SBIR agencies, has been a trusted advisor to federal agencies and congressional staff, and was boots on the ground throughout the 2025 reauthorization fight, meeting directly with staffers and organizing the advocacy community that helped get the program relaunched. Theme Music: Prelude, composed and performed by Benjamin Mazzucco, © 2026. Used with permission.

Payers Don't Care what FDA Considers Safe and Effective, with Erik Harris

Getting FDA clearance is not a business goal. It is a milestone on the way to one. The goal is revenue in year one, year two, year three — and if a startup's pitch deck doesn't show how reimbursement dynamics support that revenue, sophisticated investors will notice before founders do. In this episode, Erik Harris, founder of Market Access Solved, joins Dan Mazzucco to demystify the market access and reimbursement landscape for early-stage medtech companies. They discuss the three pillars of reimbursement — coding, coverage, and payment — and when a product can legitimately fly under the radar of payer scrutiny, why payers don't care what the FDA considers safe and effective and what they actually care about instead, how coverage policies are really non-coverage policies in disguise, why label language drafted without a market access expert can be used against a company by payers, and how to design clinical trials that serve both FDA requirements and payer evidence standards without losing focus. This conversation is for medtech founders, executives, and investors who know reimbursement matters but haven't yet figured out when to start — and how much it affects everything else they're building. Erik Harris is the founder of Market Access Solved, a strategic and tactical market access and reimbursement consultancy specializing in U.S. and international medical device markets. With over 30 years of experience spanning device manufacturers including Zimmer, Wright Medical Technology, BioMimetic Therapeutics, and Moximed, as well as provider and payer organizations, Erik brings a rare 360-degree perspective to reimbursement strategy. He provides due diligence support to venture capital and private equity firms on M&A and investment activities, advises startups on pricing strategy within reimbursement, and conducts commercial payer coverage landscape assessments. He is a presenter and CEO mentor at ZeroTo510 Medical Device Accelerator, the 8400 Health Network's U.S. Market Access Symposium, and Peak Spirit Academy in the DACH region. Theme Music: Prelude, composed andperformed by Benjamin Mazzucco, © 2026. Used with permission.

An Afternoon with a Medtech Guru - Andrew DiMeo Sr., Ph.D. on Design Paradigms, Jars of Marbles, and SBIRs

NIH-funded researchers are brilliant scientists, but most are complete beginners when it comes to reimbursement strategy, design history files, and what the FDA actually cares about. By the time they realize it, they're months from a clinical study with no quality management system and a consultant asking, "Where's your design history file?" In this episode, Andrew J. DiMeo Sr., Ph.D., business advisor for the NIH C3i Program, joins Dan Mazzucco to talk about the commercialization gap in translational research. They discuss the origin of the NIH C3i program and how it evolved from Wallace Coulter Foundation training, the differences among Stanford Biodesign, the Coulter model, and the GAITS framework, why design controls are a framework of relationships rather than a stage-gated process, and why SBIR grants should be thought of as a partnership with taxpayers rather than a funding source. This conversation is for early-stage medtech innovators and academic researchers who suspect the gap between their lab and the market is bigger than they've admitted to themselves. Andrew J. DiMeo Sr., Ph.D., is a biomedical engineer and health innovation leader with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of design, entrepreneurship, and translational research. He is a business advisor for the NIH C3i Program and served as a Team Lead for the NIH RADx Initiative, ITAP, and Blueprint MedTech programs. He co-founded EG-Gilero, a medical device design and manufacturing company, and founded the NC Medical Device Organization, which became an NC Biotech Center of Innovation. For 12 years he was a Professor of the Practice at UNC and NC State, where his students launched multiple startups including 410 Medical, Contour Surgical, and Augment Medical. He is also a contributor to the second edition of the Stanford Biodesign book and the founder of Authbition (authbition.com), a podcast and publication exploring authenticity and ambition. Theme Music: Prelude, by Ben Mazzucco, copyright 2026.

From Accidental Discovery to Infection-Fighting Implants: The Silicon Nitride Story, with Ryan Bock, Ph.D.

What happens when surgeons casually mention they're not seeing infections at expected rates, and a materials scientist realizes his ceramic spine implants might be doing something no one anticipated? In this episode, SINTX Technologies Chief Technology Officer Ryan Bock joins Dan Mazzucco to talk about the 17-year journey from research scientist to CTO. They discuss the serendipitous discovery of silicon nitride's antibacterial properties, strategic pivoting from hip to spine devices when FDA required expensive trials, navigating workforce reductions with transparency during company restructuring, developing novel silicon nitride/PEEK composites, and the future of additive manufacturing for patient-specific implants. This conversation is for medtech leaders who understand that sometimes the most valuable discoveries come from paying attention to what surgeons notice in the operating room, and who recognize that surviving as a company sometimes means making hard pivots with honesty and empathy. At the time of the interview, Ryan Bock, Ph.D., was the Chief Technology Officer at SINTX Technologies, a publicly traded advanced ceramics company and leading manufacturer of silicon nitride medical devices (he has since moved on). With over 15 patent families to his name and international academic background spanning the US and Japan, Dr. Bock has been with SINTX since 2008. He holds a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida and a PhD from UC Santa Barbara, where he studied under one of the world's foremost experts in silicon nitride. Dr. Bock specializes in surface science and bioceramics, leading development of next-generation medical devices designed to fight infection through advanced silicon nitride technology. He has published extensively on antibacterial properties of silicon nitride and has led SINTX's transition from a spine implant manufacturer to a platform technology company with applications across medical devices, wound care, and filtration.

Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution: Orthopedic Innovation at the Right Stage, with Mohit Prajapati, MBA

Most founders think they need money. What they really need is someone who can tell them where their assumptions are wrong before they scale the wrong solution. In this episode, Mohit Prajapati, Chief Innovation Officer at Rift Innovation Studio, joins Dan Mazzucco to discuss the realities of bringing orthopedic and spine technologies from concept to commercialization. They explore stage-fit matching between founders and investors (pre-revenue companies need de-risking capital, not scaling capital), why funding is the least important thing Mohit provided at Penn Medicine's innovation center (knowledge networks and rapid de-risking experiments matter more), the value of pilot launches across university hospitals, community hospitals, and rural trauma centers before scaling, stress-testing assumptions without making it personal (falling in love with the problem rather than the solution), when to show imperfect work versus waiting until it's polished, how universities are building innovation centers to bridge the SBIR funding gap, and why surgeons should stay in the OR while business people run the company (retention through innovation programs beats poaching). This conversation is for medtech founders who understand that the right investor at the wrong stage creates pressure in all the wrong places, and that objective acceptance criteria matter more than whose relationship brought the idea to the table. Mohit Prajapati is med-tech innovator and entrepreneur experienced in working with early-stage startups, large multinational companies, and world-renowned academic centers. He has created new innovation processes and ecosystems to facilitate speed to commercialization for novel solutions that address unmet patient needs. Mohit considers himself fortunate to be working with incredibly talented inventors to create strategic alignment at the intersection of new scientific discovery, product development, care delivery, and business model innovation.