The Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University presented its 2019 Outstanding Alumni Award to Dr. Ashok Gowda, co-founder and president and CEO of Biotex, Inc., a Houston-based medical technology developer and manufacturer.
Gowda has served as principal investigator on more than 15 National Institutes of Health grants, authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts, and is an inventor on more than 20 issued patents. He is also an active investor, advisor and board member for a number of early-stage medical technology companies. Gowda received a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in bioengineering from Texas A&M.
"It all started by me stepping on this campus, getting an education here, meeting the people that I did and starting Biotex,” Gowda said. “I can’t say enough about how thankful I am to be here.”
Dr. Michael McShane, department head, presented the award and shared some stories about Gowda’s experience on campus in the ‘90s when McShane was also a student. Gowda worked with a group of faculty and students to establish Biotex, and their headquarters was located above the Subway restaurant in downtown Bryan.
Since then, the company has grown into a successful venture. The company specializes in the development, launch and manufacturing of medical and biotechnologies. To date, under Gowda’s direction, Biotex has raised tens of millions of dollars, successfully licensed numerous early-stage technologies and spun out three separate companies that have become independent.
“These accomplishments under his leadership show Ashok as a role model who is quite deserving of this award,” McShane said.
For Visualase, Inc., one of the spinoff companies Gowda founded, he was able to partner with clinicians to develop a minimally-invasive laser brain surgery to treat epilepsy.
“The human impact that this technology had is really what drives me today. The first time I saw the technology used on a human, go into a patient’s brain, that was a very addictive feeling,” Gowda said. “Once you see that happen, once you’ve had that kind of impact with technology that you started right here (at Texas A&M), trust me, you will want to do it again and again.”
When Biotex launched, there were not as many resources available to students who wanted to pursue entrepreneurship, and McShane said the team had to figure things out as they went.
“They exhibited grit, tenacity and determination,” McShane said. “They were able to succeed despite the lack of training and the support network for entrepreneurship at that time.”
Gowda recalled his first moments at Texas A&M when he visited for a tour. “As we walked around, everyone was saying “howdy,” and not aware of the tradition I just remember thinking to myself, ‘These guys are the nicest people, I’ve ever met in my life. I have to go to school here,’” Gowda said. “I’m really fortunate that I did choose Texas A&M. It really did transform my life, and better yet, it’s transformed a number of other lives for the better.”
McShane encourages current and future students to take advantage of the faculty and resources available on campus, as Gowda’s story does not need to be such a unique one. His enterprise should just be one of many important products from the department that are led by motivated students and the support offered by the department and university as a whole.