After retiring from a 30+ year industry career in medical product development, Dr. Alan Hirschman started an encore career as Professor of Bioengineering with the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Hirschman  established the Professional MS degree program in Bioengineering (Medical Product Development) and Professional Certificate in Medical Product Innovation. He designed and still teaches several core courses in that program. Dr. Hirschman also serves as Executive Director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Medical Innovation, a multidisciplinary innovation program involving faculty and students in the School of Engineering, Schools of Health Sciences, Katz School of Business and the Innovation Institute. His goal as an educator is to utilize his industrial experience while at the University of Pittsburgh to catalyze, promote, and champion the translation of technology into clinical applications and to educate the next generation of medical product innovators.

As Director of Technology in the Corporate Development & Innovations group at Bayer Healthcare (formerly MEDRAD, Inc), Dr. Hirschman led and participated in successful efforts to develop, commercialize, and acquire medical diagnostic and therapeutic interventional products used primarily by radiologists, cardiologists, and vascular surgeons worldwide.

In his career at Bayer, Dr. Hirschman had critical roles of increasing responsibility as a senior biomedical engineer, Engineering Director, MEDRAD Fellow, and most recently as a Business Development executive within Corporate Development. In the latter role, he had responsibility for identification of and assessment of companies subsequently acquired by the Bayer organization. This included due-diligence assessment of technology, intellectual property, business model and strategy, operations, and general fit and attractiveness with Bayer/MEDRAD’s business interests.

Dr. Hirschman contributed to MEDRAD’s patent strategy and to the company’s patent portfolio as an inventor of core technologies, with over 70 issued and pending US patents in which he is a sole inventor or a co-inventor.  Dr. Hirschman has expertise in the processes and standards for identifying user requirements, FDA regulations, human factors, intellectual property, reimbursement, and product liability issues for medical devices.  In recognition of major contributions to MEDRAD’s growth and market leadership, he was designated as the first MEDRAD Fellow in 1999.

Dr. Hirschman’s product development experience included applications of physics and engineering to medical instrumentation, biophysical sensors, radiation sensors, MRI and RF engineering, digital image storage and display systems, ultrasound imaging systems, nuclear medicine delivery, cell therapy, embedded microprocessor control systems, motion control systems, and plastics used in medical disposable products.

Dr. Hirschman is a Life Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and a Fellow of the AIMBE (American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering).