Reaz Vawda, Research Associate
rvawda@lunenfeld.ca

·       Dr Reaz Vawda, MSc PhD - has a background in regenerative neuroscience, to which he was drawn from a young age through a series of personal experiences and events. At age 13, he suffered a near-fatal car accident from which he was lucky to escape. His father suffered a high-cervical spinal cord injury which he was also lucky to recover from fully. His aunt later on developed early-onset Parkinson’s disease and a close family friend developed irreversible glaucoma.

The desire to help develop treatments through gaining a better understanding of these afflictions motivates Reaz to pursue a career in neuroscientific research, and drives his passion day-to-day.

He previously worked on retinal regeneration during his first post-doctoral position in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland in Profs Jane Farrar and Peter Humphries laboratory.

His efforts as Senior Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (and subsequently Scientific Associate) focused on developing and applying novel and innovative cell therapeutic strategies to experimental models of spinal cord injury in Dr Michael Fehlings' laboratory in Toronto (University Health Network).

He specialises in defining and exploiting the therapeutic potentials of human mesenchymal stromal cells and neural stem cells of various derivations as well as induced pluripotent stem cells.

Reaz's interest & experience are in developing treatments for CNS injury & degeneration, including stroke, cerebral palsy, SCI, TBI, MS, PD & retinal degeneration (RP, AMD).

He has a LinkedIn profile (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/reazvawda), an Academia.edu profile (ReazVawda) and maintains an active Twitter account (@reazvawda) for updates of the most recent and exciting scientific developments in the field.

SUMMARY    

• Highly published Neuroscientist with 20 years of multi-disciplinary translational health research experience in academia and industry.
• Translational Regenerative Medicine Researcher. Expertise in cell therapy for CNS injury & disease.
• Leveraged $2.3M in funding as Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow through grant writing, fundraising and negotiated industry sponsorship.
• Critical project planning, strong project and team management, effective communication & negotiation strategies, motivational leadership & mentorship skills, reliable financial planning & budget forecasting.
• 13 years of experience in industry (Pfizer/Neusentis, ReNeuron, Create, Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics, BioUetikon, REMEDI) and academia.
• Applied my experience as multi-project Manager & Coordinator, Director, Leader, Advisor, Recruiter and Mentor to complete several studies and obtain multiple awards, grants, Fellowships and industry sponsorships.
• Invited Speaker, Lecturer, Consultant, Peer Reviewer, Research & Technology Analyst.
• Experience evaluating and submitting Invention Disclosures, Patent filings and Intellectual Property claims.