On any given day, Herinaina Rabarimanantsoa, who goes by Rina, can be found in our office in Galway, Ireland, putting novel Medtronic technologies on a path to reach patients for the first time.

Much of Rabarimanantsoa’s work – including designing test methods and pre-clinical studies – happens early in a product’s journey to market. She nurtures technologies from concept to patient, becoming so familiar with them that she later trains employees who train physicians on how to use them.

She’s earned many accolades along the way – including being named a Technical Fellow – but individual success is not her motivation.

That comes from seeing the impact on patients.

“I just want the product to succeed,” she said. “I’ve worked on devices that were first generation, meaning the patient had no other options, so we’re not just making patients’ lives better but giving them hope. That’s what keeps me going.”

More people behind our pipeline:

Meet Beth Stephen

Meet Sarnath Chattaraj

Meet Joe Brannan

Rabarimanantsoa, a senior principal R&D engineer in our Structural Heart and Aortic Operating Unit, puts her expertise specifically toward TAVR, which stands for transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure that's allowed a growing number of patients to avoid open-heart surgery.

‘I can be that’

Being a Black woman of African descent is an important part of Rabarimanantsoa’s identity, especially in the STEM field, which continues to fall short in representation of women, Black, and Hispanic professionals.

In addition to being a Technical Fellow, she is professional development lead for our first African Descent Network (ADN) hub outside of the United States, and a key member in the Global Medtronic Women’s Network (MWN). 

Rabarimanantsoa believes there is power in representation.

“I want to make sure equity stays a priority for Medtronic,” she said. “Since leaving Madagascar, I didn’t have a role model for me to say, ‘I want to be like that person,’ but now I can be that.”