Dr Ahmed Refaat is a postdoctoral researcher working on innovative strategies for cardiovascular diseases therapy using nanomedicines. He completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology in 2022 (Australia), under supervision of Prof Simon Moulton, Prof Karlheinz Peter, and Assoc Prof Xiaowei Wang. His PhD research leveraged the use of NIR-responsive nanomaterials and activated platelet-targeting single chain antibodies to develop novel targeted nanomedicines for acute thrombosis. He also holds a master’s degree of Pharmaceutics and a bachelor’s degree of Pharmaceutical Sciences from Alexandria University (Egypt).

During 2022–2023, Refaat has undertaken his Postdoctoral training in Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), alongside Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN), within Prof Nicolas Voelcker's group. His research involved the development of targeted nanomedicines for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a deadly brain cancer. He has also established and validated an innovative microfluidic blood-brain barrier (BBB) model for screening of new CNS therapeutics.

Over the last few years, Refaat built up an extensive expertise in the area of targeted-nanoparticles — spanning from lipid-based to polymeric ones — for different clinical applications and using a wide-range of targeting ligands and conjugation methods. His current research focusses on the application of stimulus-responsive nanomaterials, the design of innovative mRNA therapies, and the implementation of state-of-the-art microfluidic organ-on-a-chip models towards more efficient therapy of thrombosis and atherosclerosis.

Dr Refaat holds an honorary appointment in the Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, Melbourne University and an adjunct research fellow position at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University. He is also member of the Australian Society of Molecular Imaging and the Australian Society of Mechanobiology.