Tarek Fahmy Named “Top Translational Researcher”

Tarek Fahmy, associate professor of biomedical engineering and immunobiology, has been named a 2013 top junior faculty translational researcher by Nature Biotechnology.

The rankings are based on a combination of paper and patent output, with Fahmy having been awarded five patents in 2013; additionally, Fahmy's research was featured in SciBX: Science-Business eXchange, a high-profile weekly publication that provides an industry viewpoint on important translational research developments.

"Working at Yale enables translational science and engineering to happen," said Fahmy. "Because of a fantastic technology transfer support through the Office of Cooperative Research, a potent and focused engineering and applied science thrust, and one of the top immunobiology and biomedical science departments in the country, engineering innovations can be translated to frontline medicine with little effort."

Fahmy's research focuses on engineering and the immune system—how we can better understand it, how we can activate or suppress it, and how we can specifically target it to best help the body fight disease. Centered on the interface between advancements in immunobiology and the construction of novel biomaterials, Fahmy has made contributions to immunodiagnostics through the invention of sensitive nanosensors capable of rapidly detecting not only viral, bacterial, and parasitic diseases but also vaccine efficacy; as well, his lab has developed particulate-based contrast agents that can non-invasively track the migration through the body of critical immune cells.

In addition to these diagnostics, Fahmy has also created a number of methods for boosting a patient's immune system using biologically-inspired nanomaterials. FDA-approved polymers developed in his lab have been utilized for flexible vaccine delivery systems that allow for targeted delivery of antigen to antigen-presenting cells. Other biodegradable polymers from his lab have been used to stimulate T cell for flexibly targeting a variety of disease states.

And finally, published just last week, Fahmy's most recent research uses carbon nanotube-polymer composites to rapidly grow and enhance a patient's immune cells outside the body; the immune cells can then be injected back into a patient's blood to boost the immune response or fight cancer.