On November 14, 2023, SSU hosted Prof. Hashem Akhavan-Tafti, a prominent international Iranian chemist and inventor living in the US. More than 400 university professors and students participated in this meeting. Prof. Akhavan-Tafti, who is originally from Taft, Yazd, is a discoverer holding more than 70 U.S. Patents and over 100 international patents related to chemiluminescent substrates used in medical diagnostic assays, and these inventions have had a profound impact on the field of chemiluminescence. His lecture was held in Shahid Feiz Hall of the School of Public Health, hosted by the Department for Research and Technology of the University and the School of Pharmacy, with the topic of path to succeed in research. In an inspiring and moving speech, Prof. Akhvan-Tafti spoke to the audience about the ups and downs of the path he passed since childhood and the challenges he faced; that he kept every experience in his own toolbox and used each one at a specific point in his life. He encouraged the students to persevere, strive without giving up, act on critical thinking, have a holistic view, and have a passion for learning and discovering.
Prof. Akhavan-Tafti is the vice president of research for Beckman Coulter’s immunoassay and molecular diagnostics business group in Southfield, Michigan, where he manages a team of scientists researching innovative detection technologies for clinical and life-science laboratories. He began his career in 1989 at Lumigen, and stayed on after that company was acquired by Beckman Coulter.
Substrates he invented are used worldwide in automated systems for the chemiluminescent detection of alkaline phosphatase conjugates and in ultrasensitive assays in life-science research and human identity testing. More than a billion tests are conducted annually using these substrates. His team has refined methods for chemiluminescent enhancement, developed applications for DNA and protein detection using chemiluminescence, and developed methods for nucleic acid purification.
[Source: https://www.myadlm.org/community/merit-awards/hall-of-fame/bios/a-to-k/hashem-akhavan-tafti]
