Background
Dr. Kunal Parikh is a faculty member in the Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute and Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU) where he leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, and clinicians working to develop biomedical solutions for significant and unmet clinical needs, with a particular focus in ophthalmology. For more than a decade, Dr. Parikh has worked at the intersection of nanomaterials, drug delivery, and medicine to develop advanced, multi-functional biomaterials and medical devices with the ability to safely integrate with human tissue and modulate the post-operative biological response to surgery (e.g., infection, inflammation, scarring) in order to reduce post-operative complications and improve surgical efficacy.
Dr. Parikh has a particular interest in enabling access to healthcare to vulnerable populations. He leads the Global Institute for Vision Equity, a collaborative, needs- and stakeholder-driven initiative working to enable equity in eye care globally through design and development of novel solutions addressing critical needs in ophthalmology and designed for the patients, care providers, and context of care in under-resourced settings. He is also Co-founder and President of Access HEARS, a social enterprise providing affordable, accessible hearing care in Maryland.
Previously, Dr. Parikh built and served as the Executive Director of the Social Innovation Lab at JHU where he developed global partnerships and advised dozens of mission-driven entrepreneurs. Prior to arriving in Baltimore, he was the founding CEO of Core Quantum Technologies, a venture-backed biotechnology company developing superior imaging, detection, and targeting reagents.
Dr. Parikh earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at JHU where he was a Roche/ARCS Scholar and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University.