Mehrdad Rafat

Dr. Rafat received his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Ottawa (Canada) with specialization in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. He is the senior author of more than 50 refereed publications and the inventor of five patents. Dr. Rafat co-developed the first clinically-tested bioengineered cornea at the University of Ottawa and Linköping University. Dr. Rafat’s achievement earned him the Government of Canada’s NSERC Innovation Challenge Award in 2008 and the Ontario Centers of Excellence Industrial Fellowship Award in 2006 (both awards honor Canada’s brightest minds, who have demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit by identifying ways in which their research results can be developed into products and processes to benefit all). He has further developed the bioengineered cornea technology in his group at Linköping University and taken it to the next level toward commercialization. His career spans a broad range of professional experiences–from working as a researcher and lecturer in academia, a medical devices regulator at the Canadian Government (Health Canada), and a consultant to biotech industries. Dr. Rafat received two prestigious awards/grants from the European Research Agency including FP7 Marie Curie Incoming Fellowship Award (IIF) and FP7 Career Integration Grant. He is also a co-recipient (co-applicant) of the EU Arrest Blindness project and plays a key role in the success of that project. He is also one of the founders of LinkoCARE Life Sciences AB, a start-up/spinoff of Linköping University focused on GMP production and commercialization of bioengineered corneas. Through his career, Dr. Rafat has been closely working and collaborating with many excellent clinicians around the world on transplantation of bioengineered corneas in patients helping them gain their vision back.