How A HOSA Spark Grew Into Surgical Innovation And A Startup

Curiosity is a spark, but community turns it into a flame. We sit down with Dr. Aamr Hasanjee—physician scientist, ENT surgeon, health tech co-founder, and proud HOSA alum—to trace how early leadership experiences evolved into a career that blends clinical precision, engineering creativity, and startup execution. From the first state conference that made ambition feel normal to global ambassador programs that broadened horizons, Aamr shows how formative environments and mentors can shape what you attempt and how you lead.

We dive into the operating room, where engineering thinking meets the anatomical maze of head and neck surgery. Aamr breaks down how spatial reasoning, systems design, and iterative problem solving translate directly to complex reconstructions and high-stakes decisions. He shares concrete ways surgeons identify opportunities for innovation at the field’s edge—where constraints, data, and creativity collide—and how that mindset fuels product ideas that actually fit clinical workflows.

The conversation also opens up about the real mechanics of balancing residency with building Technicus AI. Rather than glamorizing hustle, Aamr talks cadence, co-founder trust, and deliberate sprints, plus the importance of a personal support system when schedules go sideways. On AI, he offers a grounded framework: keep your independent thinking sharp, use models to expand options rather than replace judgment, and bring creativity from the arts into scientific problem solving. For students and professionals alike, he lays out a practical mentorship lattice—peers, near-peers, seasoned guides—that keeps you tied to mission while your career scales.

If you care about the future of healthcare innovation, surgical creativity, and how to use AI without losing your edge, this conversation delivers clear takeaways and next steps. Listen, share with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review to tell us the skill you’re building for a tech-enabled healthcare future. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome to the HOSA podcast on Idea Gen TV. Today we have with us Samir Hassanji, MD, physician scientist, health tech co-founder, and HOSA alumni representative. Dr. Hasanji, welcome.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Thanks for having me, Yoris.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

You know, so great to see you. And I know, I know uh you've been part of HOSA. Gosh, it's hard to believe for more than a decade, uh, including serving as both a state and national officer. Um, in terms of looking back, what specific HOSA experiences most directly shaped the physician and leader you are today?

Leadership Moments That Shaped A Career

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Yeah, it's uh that's a good question. I um I can distinctly remember um my first state leadership conference back in Oklahoma. It was like 15 years ago, I think. Um I still remember just being able to talk to people just from around my state, and I didn't realize people who had shared um interests and ambitions and who were kind of nerdy like me, um, but also passionate uh really existed. Um and I remember that kind of really ignited something in me. And I liked the people I was around when I was there, and I decided to pursue that kind of wholeheartedly. And from there, I would say the National Leadership Conference and then WLA and then the ILC, my trip to China as an ambassador, I think all those things kind of shaped me as a as a leader, just bits and pieces from each of those experiences.

Engineering Thinking In Head And Neck Surgery

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Yeah, your academic path spans Dr. Hasanji, electrical engineering and medicine. How did that engineering mindset influence the way you think about clinical problem solving in head and neck injury?

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Yeah, I think when it comes to head and neck surgery and ENT in general, it's a it is a surgical specialty. So I think it naturally lends itself to an engineering mind where you're trained to think um in three dimensions and in space, but also to be creative. Um, you know, the head and neck is anatomically a complicated space. And so when you're dealing with you know cancers or um reconstructive surgery or plastics or whatever you're doing, um being able to understand and be creative in that type of space when you have a lot online, I think is is important. And also there's a lot of room for innovation um in surgery. So I think when you put the challenge of you know operating plus the opportunity to create something, I think engineering is kind of a natural give.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Yeah, and as a practicing physician at OU Health and co-founder of a health tech company, because you're not doing enough, clearly. Technicus AI how do you what's clinical care with innovation?

SPEAKER_00 2:56

I'll be honest, it's especially at the beginning of residency, it was kind of tough. Um I will say I've got a pretty good support system. You know, my partner Kenna, she's pretty supportive of me having late hours and um and not being um super attentive when she's telling me about her day at the end of the day, which I apologize for a lot. But also I have a good support system with my co-founders, um Sal and Parker. Um, we just brought on Arjun also, and all these guys, they help me balance um when I can sprint on the technical product development and you know when we're looking for funding um uh in those spurts, but then there's times we have to back off and they take over. And I think we just balance each other really well. I think having a good support system is really, really important, and that's what's gotten me this far.

Skills For A Tech-Enabled Healthcare Future

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Incredible. And so we're hearing so much about AI today. AI and technology are indeed increasingly shaping the future of healthcare. So, from your perspective, what skills should HOSA members start developing today to be prepared for a tech-enabled healthcare future of tomorrow?

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Yeah, I think um this is a really good question. I I give this one kind of a lot of thought. One thing I think that's maybe potential for being lost is the ability to think um, I think independently of resources that are just giving you an answer. I think AI is very cool. Obviously, as someone who is working in that space to try and create something, I feel a little biased. Um uh just to be able to say that um we use it on a daily basis and and and it informs our decisions is great, but to actually think, um, be uh attentive to what it's giving you is important. The other thing I would say is being able to use it um to be creative. You know, there's there's ways that AI is being used for you know, image generation, um, storytelling in the arts. And I think if you combine that kind of creativity and apply it to the sciences, it's really hard to not be successful and not be creative um in a way that's productive to humankind.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

And so hard to believe. We're wrapping up our interview here, but for hostal alumni and current members, considering postgraduate training, fellowships, non-traditional paths, Dr. Hasanji, what advice would you give about how to stay connected to HOSA's mission while at the same time navigating the demands of advanced education and early career life?

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Yeah, I think um one thing that was impressive on me when I was, you know, in the depths of being a HOSA member was to establish connections um at different levels. So people who are your peers at your level, having peers at a couple years ahead of you, peers that are you know five to ten years ahead of you, and then people that are several decades ahead of you. Um and as you progress through your own career, um you can you know mentor people who are those steps behind you. And in that way, you're connected not only to the organization um in a future way, but also in a past way and a present way. What I mean by that is um as you progress in your career, you have to be able to say that, hey, like not only did I benefit from the host organization, not only did I benefit from the people that I know, but I can pass on my experiences to them so that maybe they can benefit from what I know and from what they can create as well. I think that's probably the most important thing that I would take away and can continue to give to people, um, especially host members.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Dr. Amir Hassanji, physician scientist, health tech co-founder, HOSA alumni representative, and global leader and friend. So great to see you. You've inspired us today. Thank you so very much for all that you do each and every day. It is profound.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Thanks for having me, George. Really appreciate it. Good to see you.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Good to see you, hope to see you soon.