Amy Kerdok

Senior Engineering Manager for Clinical Development at Intuitive Surgical, the creators of the Da Vinci® surgical robotic systems, graduated in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute and obtained a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in Boston and a specialization in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University.

He has dedicated his professional life to understanding and teaching the relationship between medicine and technology, contributing with his work to defining the role of the clinical engineer, effectively a bridge between the development of robotic products and the clinical application of robotic surgery.

Over the past 10 years, he has traveled the world to understand the daily challenges of surgeons and provide technical solutions through cross-functional research to ensure safe and effective surgical innovation. He personally oversees the entire production chain of medical-surgical devices, from initial use to training to supervision of clinical studies, and has contributed to the design, development, and launch of tools for fluorescence imaging diagnostics, vision (from wand lenses to chip-on-tip technologies), and robotic surgery.

He is a co-inventor of nine patents and co-author of numerous publications in the field of education (ASME International Engineering Congress & Exposition), technology (Medical Image Analysis, Journal of Biomechanics), sports biomechanics (Journal of Applied Physiology) and medicine (Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Journal of Robotic Surgery). Promoter of initiatives in favor of female empowerment in the technological sector and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics), a movement promoted by the Rhode Island School of Design, has received numerous awards in this field.

Among the three women whose biographies are included in the book "Engineering: Cool Women Who Design" by Vicki May, she has received numerous accolades from the academic world, has been awarded the Trust, Agility, Focus, and Leadership prize, and included as one of the main speakers at the Microsoft Tech Talk.