MD Plus student wins Aggie PITCH competition

Most medical students only focus on one thing—learning medicine. However, this is not the case for Ahad Azimuddin, MD Plus student with the Texas A&M College of Medicine Class of 2024.

Azimuddin is wrapping up his Master of Business Administration (MBA) through the Texas A&M Mays Business School. Through the MD Plus Program, students can enhance their medical education by earning a master’s degree in addition to their medical degree—all within five years.

Earlier this week, Azimuddin and his team won first place in the Aggie PITCH Competition hosted by the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship in the Mays Business School. This competition gives students from across Texas A&M the opportunity to pitch their tech startups and new innovations. The competition awarded a total of $50,000 to the winners.

Azimuddin’s startup, LCLIP, placed first and won $15,000. LCLIP is committed to eliminating the most common adverse event during intubation—dental damage with the laryngoscopy. They designed a disposable sensor that attaches to the laryngoscope and alerts the user when too much pressure is being applied to the teeth.

His company also won the 2019 MBA Venture Challenge and the 2018 Raymond Ideas Challenge, both challenges hosted by the Mays Business School. His team members are Kevin Kotamarti, MD, anesthesiologist resident, and Aaron Kotamarti, a first-year medical student and electrical engineer.

“As medical students, we have an innate curiosity in the way things work. Innovation gives us the outlet to channel that curiosity to come with new ideas, practices, procedures and cure,” Azimuddin said. “Every day, healthcare is changing and it’s up to us, future innovative physicians, to make sure it’s changing for the better. Fortunately, the Texas A&M College of Medicine and The Texas A&M System, in general, do a great job of providing us with the resources we need to innovate.”