About
Stanford’s Entrepreneurship Program for Preventive Medicine
We launched the Emergence Program in 2021 with a bold vision: to build a new health innovation ecosystem rooted in prevention and inclusion.
Our program grew out of our firsthand experiences in the healthcare industry and our recognition of critical gaps in addressing the growing burden and costs of chronic illness—conditions that impact hundreds of millions of Americans, especially the most vulnerable.
From the outset, we believed that lasting change requires transforming the healthcare system to prioritize prevention and address systemic drivers of poor health, including inequities in access, food and nutrition health, behavioral and social challenges, and environmental factors. Addressing these factors demands a fundamental rethinking of healthcare business models, stronger collaboration between public and private sectors, and the mobilization of entrepreneurial talent and capital for health impact.
We started the Emergence program because we believe in the power of education, innovation, and collaboration to catalyze this transition.
Emergence is part of the Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine.
Our Mission
We catalyze entrepreneurship in preventive medicine to transform health and wellbeing.
What We’re Creating
- A network of Emergence Innovators: faculty, students, founders, and alumni.
- A pipeline of innovations addressing systemic health challenges.
- A collaborative ecosystem of academia, industry, investors, and social sector.
- Case studies and methodologies for shifting healthcare business models towards prevention and inclusion.
- A new standard for health innovation - preventive, inclusive, systems oriented.
What Makes Us Different
- Stanford’s first and only accelerator dedicated to preventive medicine—turning bold ideas into real-world health impact.
- Where research, education, and entrepreneurship converge to create lasting solutions.
- Relentlessly focused on implementation, transforming discoveries into companies that change lives.
- Entrepreneurship with purpose— aligning breakthrough innovation with measurable impact.
- A platform for faculty, students, and founders to build ventures that shape the future of healthcare.