Reza Zandi Shafagh
About me
Ph.D in Micro and Nanosystems
Head of Biofabrication and Tissue Engineering core Facility (Biofab)
Reza is a research specialist and currently the head of Biofabrication and Tissue Engineering core Facility (Biofab) at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, karolinska institutet (KI). He holds Ph.D degree in Micro and Nanosystems from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Micro and Nanosystems department (MST), Stockholm, Sweden. Reza's expertise lies in nanoengineering, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, and biomicroelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS) for biomedical applications. More specifically during his Ph.D studies, he made the following contributions:- Establishing novel micro-and nanofabrication methods (micro and nano reaction injection molding- μRIM and NanoRIM), as well as implementing the standard ones (Electron beam lithography and Nanoimprint lithography), for high-resolution structuring of polymer materials (down to 20 nm) and scalable manufacturing of microfluidic devices.
- Introducing facile back-end processing techniques, including direct bonding and sealing, 3D surface energy patterning, and seamless integration of microfluidic devices and sensors.
- Presenting high-resolution protein patterning techniques.
- Developing ultrasensitive biosensing methods.
He was also previously involved in three European IMI and EU FP7 projects , "RAPP-ID" and "Norosensor" and "POSITIVE":- Within the framework of the RAPP-ID project, the research included technologies for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of Influenza
virus directly from human breath. - Within the framework of the Norosensor project, the research included technologies for the rapid and ultrasensitive detection of Norovirus in ambient air.
- POSITIVE project aimed at the diagnosis of food allergies via porous silicon-based lab-on-a-chip devices.
Reza is currently the head of Biofabrication and Tissue Engineering core Facility (Biofab) at KI. Biofab aims to bridge the gap between engineering and biology at Karolinska Institutet and provide common grounds with respect to suitable material of use of modular design and tunable structures for biomedical purposes.
Research
- Microphysiological systems to mimic organ-to-organ crosstalk: Microphysiological systems, also coined as Organ-on-a-Chip devices, offer exciting possibilities to bioengineer tissue-tissue interaction for disease modeling or drug development purposes. Reza's research interest lies in developing suitable materials and engineering solutions in the noted research field.
- Mechanobiological control of human cells using bioinspired nanostructures: Development of suitable platforms for 3D cell culture and manipulation of different cell behaviors on a broad range of nanotopographies to alter mechanosensing of human cells are some other examples of the intended research efforts.
Articles
- Article: MICROORGANISMS. 2025;13(3):534Ova AO; Joffre E; Shafagh RZ; Assuncao MFG; Sidorov RY; Santos LMA; Lauschke VM; Romling U
- Article: ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES. 2024;11(14)Harris P; Kaveh J; Kemas AM; Mikaelsson H; Fielden M; Lauschke VM; Shafagh RZ
- Article: ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS. 2024;13(11):2303561Compound Absorption in Polymer Devices Impairs the Translatability of Preclinical Safety AssessmentsKemas AM; Shafagh RZ; Taebnia N; Michel M; Preiss L; Hofmann U; Lauschke VM
- Article: ADVANCED SCIENCE. 2022;9(34):e2203368Shafagh RZ; Youhanna S; Keulen J; Shen JX; Taebnia N; Preiss LC; Klein K; Buettner FA; Bergqvist M; van der Wijngaart W; Lauschke VM
- Article: ADVANCED SCIENCE. 2021;8(16):e2100106Shen JX; Couchet M; Dufau J; de Castro Barbosa T; Ulbrich MH; Helmstadter M; Kemas AM; Zandi Shafagh R; Marques M-A; Hansen JB; Mejhert N; Langin D; Ryden M; Lauschke VM
- Article: FASEB JOURNAL. 2021;35(3):e21305Kemas AM; Youhanna S; Shafagh RZ; Lauschke VM
- Article: ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS. 2020;3(12):8757-8767Shafagh RZ; Shen JX; Youhanna S; Guo W; Lauschke VM; van der Wijngaart W; Haraldsson T
- Article: MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING. 2019;5:25Shafagh RZ; Decrop D; Ven K; Vanderbeke A; Hanusa R; Breukers J; Pardon G; Haraldsson T; Lammertyn J; van der Wijngaart W
- Article: ACS NANO. 2018;12(10):9940-9946Shafagh RZ; Vastesson A; Guo W; van der Wijngaart W; Haraldsson T
- Article: JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING. 2017;27(12):124001Sandstrom N; Shafagh RZ; Gylfason KB; Haraldsson T; van der Wijngaart W
- Article: ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES. 2017;9(36):30267-30272Marinins A; Shafagh RZ; van der Wijngaart W; Haraldsson T; Linnros J; Veinot JGC; Popov S; Sychugov I
- Article: OPTICS LETTERS. 2017;42(11):2157-2160Lobov GS; Marinins A; Shafagh RZ; Zhao Y; van der Wijngaart W; Wosinski L; Thylen L; Toprak MS; Haraldsson T; Ostling M; Popov S
- Article: ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES. 2017;9(12):10418-10426Decrop D; Pardon G; Brancato L; Kil D; Shafagh RZ; Kokalj T; Haraldsson T; Puers R; van der Wijngaart W; Lammertyn J
- Article: PLOS ONE. 2016;11(12):e0166330Rajabi M; Roxhed N; Shafagh RZ; Haraldson T; Fischer AC; van der Wijngaart W; Stemme G; Niklaus F
- Article: JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING. 2015;25(7):075002Sandstrom N; Shafagh RZ; Vastesson A; Carlborg CF; van der Wijngaart W; Haraldsson T
- Article: OPTICS EXPRESS. 2013;21(18):21293-21298Errando-Herranz C; Saharil F; Mola Romero A; Sandstrom N; Shafagh RZ; van der Wijngaart W; Haraldsson T; Gylfason KB
All other publications
- Review: PHARMACOLOGICAL REVIEWS. 2022;74(1):141-206Youhanna S; Kemas AM; Preiss L; Zhou Y; Shen JX; Cakal SD; Paqualini FS; Goparaju SK; Shafagh RZ; Lind JU; Sellgren CM; Lauschke VM
- Review: CHEMICAL RESEARCH IN TOXICOLOGY. 2020;33(1):38-60Shen JX; Youhanna S; Shafagh RZ; Kele J; Lauschke VM
- Review: BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL. 2019;14(7):e1800347Lauschke VM; Shafagh RZ; Hendriks DFG; Ingelman-Sundberg M
Grants
- KI Infrastructure grant1 January 2025 - 31 December 2028
- KI Forskningsbidrag1 January 2025 - 31 December 2026
- KI core-facility grant1 January 2022 - 1 January 2024
- An “on-chip” platform for 3D cell co-culture, tissue-tissue interaction and “in-situ” drug screeningTORE NILSON'S FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH1 January 2021 - 1 January 2022
Employments
- Research specialist, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-
- Research Specialist, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-
- Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 2019-2023
- Research assistant, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 2018-2019
Leadership and responsibility assignments
- Head of Biofabrication and tissue engineering core facility at Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska Institutet, 2019-
Committee work
- Svenska Institutet för standarder, 2025-
Other expert reviewer/evaluation assignment
- Reviewer or advisor for other scientific bodies, Member of topical advisory board for Micromachines journal, Micromachines Journal, 2021
Conference/event participation
- Poster presenter of own accepted abstract, The 28th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences - Micro-Total Analysis Systems (µTAS 2024), https://microtas2024.org/, MANIPULATION OF CELL MORPHOLOGY AND ATTACHMENT ON NANOIMPRINTED THIOL-ENE-EPOXY TOPOGRAPHIES, 2024
- Oral presenter of own accepted abstract, The 30th IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS 2017), NANORIM: SUB-MICRON STRUCTURING WITH REACTION INJECTION MOLDING, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7863378, 2017