It’s one thing to talk about innovation. It’s another to realize, mid-surgery, that nothing in the room was designed for your patient.

In this episode of First in Human, I sit down with Dr. James Wall, pediatric surgeon, serial health tech founder, and VP of Product Management and Associate Medical Officer at Intuitive, to trace his journey. It's a career that's been shaped by building where the market is small and the stakes are high. From completing advanced training in minimally invasive surgery in France to launching multiple startups, to leading pediatric innovation at Stanford, and now - most recently - helping guide the future of surgical robotics, James has spent decades navigating the tension between impact and scale. 

The conversation spans pediatric devices, biodesign, venture economics, and the future of surgery. But at its core, it’s about learning how to build things that matter when scale isn’t guaranteed—and why the hardest markets can produce the clearest thinking about what patients truly need. 


Subscribe to First in Human: 
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/first-in-human/id1842644737 
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3C1xG5SxPei8m2lI63WSkd 


Connect with James: 
- James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameswallmd/