The Benefit of the Doubt

by James Cavuoto, editor

Of all the sessions that took place during the 25th annual Neurotech Leaders Forum earlier this month, perhaps the one that stands out the most is the keynote address by this editor’s former professor at Case Western Reserve University, J. Thomas Mortimer. In his talk, Mortimer reflected back on some of the experiences in his life where someone gave him the benefit of the doubt, and offered him an opportunity that would prove to be significant in his career.

“Every new idea in our field begins when someone somewhere gives another person the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “Privilege gives you wind at the back and unearned confidence. And the benefit of the doubt is how the wind feels every day.”

So since November is the time for us all to give thanks, it only appropriate for this editor to take Mortimer’s advice and look back on the opportunities I was given that others may not have had. It is doubly appropriate since the year 2025 represents our 25th year of publishing this newsletter and organizing the Neurotech Leaders Forum. This year is also the 50th anniversary of the first commercial implanted neuromodulation system, a Medtronic device that Prof. Mortimer helped develop. And it was also 50 years ago that this editor entered Case Western Reserve University as a freshman biomedical engineering student and first became exposed to the technologies that would prove to be significant in my career.

I am certainly thankful for the education and guidance I received from Prof. Mortimer in his graduate-level class on applied neural control and also from post docs Hunter Peckham and Pat Crago, who would become pioneers in the emerging field of functional electrical stimulation.

But I am also thankful that 25 years later, on a visit to my alma mater, Mortimer and Peckham introduced me to two people who would become instrumental in the success of Neurotech Reports: Warren Grill and Jennifer French. Grill (now at Duke University) was a young assistant professor who would become our first senior technical editor at Neurotech Reports, and help steer the publication in the right direction. French, who was in Cleveland to demonstrate her implanted FES system at the IFESS meeting, impressed upon me the key role that end users could play in the development of the neurotech industry. She would later become my writing partner and associate publisher of Neurotech Reports.

Though neither name is still on our masthead, the contributions that Warren and Jennifer made to this publication and our events cannot be forgotten. Nor can I fail to recognize the contributions of our current editorial team members, Jeremy Koff, JoJo Platt, Victor Pikov, and Sharena Rice.

As we begin the next 25 years of publishing this newsletter and organizing our conferences, it will be important to remember the advice Mortimer gave in his keynote talk. “Trust extended, serendipity encountered, lenses reshaped. And perhaps that’s the next chapter of our field that Jim or whoever organizes this forum in the future will confront: To choose among a remarkable range of leaders—women, men, people of color, LGBTQ colleagues—all ready to take this podium.”