Kevin J. Tracey, MD
ESTEEM students had the opportunity to hear from Kevin J. Tracey, President and CEO of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, a Professor of Neurosurgery and Molecular Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra-Northwell, and Executive Vice President at Northwell Health, in New York. Tracey is a leader in bioelectronic medicine, and spoke to ESTEEM students about his work in the field, the innovation cycles of science, and his role as President and CEO of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.
Tracey spoke about the impact that entrepreneurs have had and how it is important to have a “dragon” to fight in order to not give up the end goal or be discouraged by slow processes, especially in healthcare. Tracey’s definition of a dragon is an obstacle or circumstance that you are trying to defeat. For him, the death of an 11 month old baby, Janice, led him to study shock, her cause of death, for the next 30 years. Shock is his dragon, and this motivation has driven him to create innovations that have helped save the lives of thousands of individuals.
Tracey believes that what makes someone an entrepreneur is the drive to accomplish something bigger than themselves, and with this encourages students to always persist until they can defeat their dragon.