Fellow:Derek Dashti

Derek is a PhD candidate and IGERT fellow in Bioinnovation at Tulane University. Educated as a Bioengineer (obtained his B.S. and M.S. in Bioengineering at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco), his research interests center around stem cell tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Importantly, Derek's Master's training, which emphasized translational medicine, helped him to understand the regulatory processes and entrepreneurial strategies that must be considered when developing novel regenerative medical therapies that are translatable "from benchtop to bedside." The Bioinnovation PhD program at Tulane extends his education in this innovative field of translational medicine through extensive entrepreneurial training and an FDA internship in conjunction with cutting-edge research opportunities in regenerative medicine. Distinctively, Derek's doctoral training has elucidated the mechanisms and resources he needs to succeed in expediting his research interests to the biotech market. As a University Innovation Fellow, Derek hopes to gain additional entrepreneurial insight into technology fields both in and out of the biotech realm. Moreover, he is excited to interact, learn, and gain a new perspective on technology innovation and entrepreneurialism from his colleagues and peers in the UI program. Significantly, Derek aims to utilize what he has learned from the UI program to serve as a mentor to both undergraduate and graduate students at Tulane University in promoting comprehensive innovation and entrepreneurialism campus-wide.

Contact Email: ddashti@tulane.edu