Omid C. Farokhzad, M.D., Director, Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials, Anaesthesia, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

Harvard Medical School Professor Omid Farokhzad is doing pioneering work in nano-medicine using nanoparticles to deliver drugs to specific sites inside the body. Omid Farokhzad is pictured in his lab at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

Omid Farokhzad is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and a physician-scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). Dr. Farokhzad directs the Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials at BWH. He is a faculty member of the Brigham Research Institute Cancer Research Center and a member of the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

Dr. Farokhzad’s research is focused on the development of therapeutic nanoparticle technologies; most notably, he pioneered the high throughput combinatorial development and screening of multifunctional nanoparticles for medical applications.

Dr. Farokhzad has authored approximately 110 papers and holds more than 135 issued/pending US and International patents. The technologies that Dr. Farokhzad has developed with collaborators at HMS and MIT have formed the basis for: 1) a new class of targeted nanoparticles for treatment of important human diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease; 2) a new class of synthetic nanoparticle vaccines for prophylactic and therapeutic applications and 3) a new class of integrative combination nanomedicines for synergistic treatment of cancers, inflammation/pain, and infectious diseases. These technologies formed the foundational platform for the launch of four biotechnology companies: BIND Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BIND), Selecta Biosciences, Blend Therapeutics and Koan Biotherapeutics. These companies are translating the aforementioned academic innovations into potential drug candidates for treatment of important diseases.

Dr. Farokhzad serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Blend Therapeutics and Koan Biotherapeutics and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Selecta Biosciences, as well as serving on these companies’ Scientific Advisory Board. Previously, Dr. Farokhzad served on the Board of Directors (2006 - 2014) and Scientific Advisory Board (2006 - 2015) of BIND Therapeutics through the company’s IPO.

Dr. Farokhzad was elected to the College of the Fellows of the American Institute of Medical and biological Engineering. He was a recipient of the 2013 RUSNANOPRIZE, one of the largest international nanotechnology prizes, for the development and industrialization of nanoparticle technologies for medical applications.

In 2013, the Boston Globe selected Dr. Farokhzad among the top innovators in Massachusetts and the Boston Business Journal selected him among the Health Care Champions for his innovations. In 2012, he was among the regional Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awardees. Dr. Farokhzad completed his post-graduate clinical and post-doctoral research trainings, respectively, at the BWH/HMS and MIT in the laboratory of Institute Professor Robert Langer. He received his M.D. and M.A. from Boston University School of Medicine.