Pitt innovators curious about innovation and entrepreneurship have an exciting opportunity to network with like-minded people from diverse disciplines and from all stages of the innovation lifecycle.
The Community of Innovators meets weekly during the semester. Each session presents a different topic, exploring the challenges and opportunities of innovation and entrepreneurship, the resources available to Pitt innovators, and sharing stories from fellow Pitt innovators on how they have navigated their innovation journeys and the lessons they learned along the way.
The spring 2026 semester series kicks off Wednesday, January 14, with a presentation by Carl Snyderman, professor of otolaryngology and neurological surgery and director of the UPMC Center for Cranial Base Surgery, titled “Creativity and Innovation for Entrepreneurs.”
Snyderman is co-founder of Pitt startup company Respair Medical Devices, which is working toward FDA approval for a new endotracheal tube designed to prevent aspiration of bacteria into the lungs.
He is part of a team, including two Pitt ophthalmology professors, that recently received an award from the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute to advance another discovery toward commercialization.
We did a brief Q&A with Dr. Snyderman to preview his presentation:
Surgeons like yourself are inherently problem solvers. How can this trait be adapted to being an entrepreneur?
Surgeons are always on the lookout for problems- identifying problems before they occur and taking action to prevent them. This same eye for problem-solving is important at all stages of entrepreneurship, especially as you are preparing your product for market. When things don’t go as planned, you have to quickly figure out why and make changes.
Surgeons also learn from other disciplines, adapting solutions from other surgical fields to solve problems. Entrepreneurs must also be active in networking to expand their awareness of other solutions.
You have had your innovation for improving tracheal tubes licensed for a startup company, Respair. How did creativity and innovation inspire your invention?
Our invention is an example of divergent thinking – looking for all possible solutions to a problem before settling on one.
Convergent thinking is a trap. It leads you to only listen to information that supports your idea. You have to find out what the real unmet needs are. You have to critically ask if you are solving the right problem. Our company (Respair) is a great example of that. We made a fairly significant pivot away from our original thesis on what problem needed solving. We initially focused on the problem of endotracheal tubes moving out of position too easily. We discovered that a more impactful problem was the aspiration of bacteria around the tube and into the lungs.
What do you see as some of the hurdles that face physician scientists as they consider innovation and entrepreneurship, and how can they overcome them?
It’s never too late to innovate- you can be successful at any stage of your career. But you also can’t do it alone. You need the right balance of expertise on your team.
Networking is also critical. That’s why outlets like the Community of Innovators are so valuable. You have to network with people from other disciplines to get ideas on how to improve your idea or product. You also need exposure to people with experiences at different stages of development to learn from their successes and mistakes.
Finally, I would say that every time you encounter a problem, write it down. You can revisit it later. Most of them you will never pursue, but the best way to arrive at a great idea is to have lots of ideas.
Learn more about the Community of Innovators and RSVP for an upcoming session.