Jeff Karp

Dr. Jeff Karp is the Distinguished Chair at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT in Boston.  He was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Royal Society of Chemistry, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s College of Fellows, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

He specializes in bioinspired medical problem-solving and runs a research laboratory dedicated to the process of medical innovation that harnesses lessons from nature for inspiration.

He has published over 165 peer-reviewed papers, with >33,500 citations (top 0.1% globally in 2023 Clarivate ranking), and has given nearly 400 invited lectures. He has over 100 issued or pending national and international patents and his lab’s technologies have led to the formation of thirteen companies.

The technologies Jeff has developed include a tissue glue that can seal holes inside a beating heart; targeted therapy for osteoarthritis, Crohn’s disease, and brain disorders; “smart needles” that automatically stop when they reach their target; a nasal spray that neutralizes pathogens; and immunotherapy approaches to annihilate cancer

Growing up in rural Canada he was written off by his school because of his learning differences. He evolved a process for embracing life, embodied by ‘Life Ignition Tools’, through years of iteration and tinkering to make his unique patterns of thought and behavior work for him. These LIT tools have been thoroughly road-tested, through Dr. Karp’s life, in his lab, and by his many mentees and are now featured in the Harper Collins Book LIT: Life Ignition Tools, which was released on April 9th, 2024 (visit www.jeffkarp.com to learn more).

Jeff is also Head of Innovation at Geoversity, Nature’s University, a rainforest bio-leadership training conservancy located in one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world. Dr. Karp lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife, children, and two Cavalier King Charles spaniels.

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Throughout his academic career, Jeff Karp has been involved with many companies in several capacities. He has also received licensing fees to patents in which he was an inventor.  He has consulted for companies and been a member of advisory boards. He has received a fee for some of his lectures and he has conducted sponsored research funded by  companies at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital for which he was not paid. He continues to actively pursue these activities for a select group of companies. Companies he has worked with in the past, or continues to work with in these capacities include: Alivio Therapeutics, Abercrombie and Fitch, Cobro Ventures, Altrix Bio, Stempeutics, Sanofi, Celltex, LifeVaultBio, Tissium, Takeda, Skintifique, Corner Therapeutics, Ligandal, Lumicell, Guidepoint Global, Biomodels, One Fun Company, Katharos Labs, Triton Systems, Edge Immune, W. L. Gore, Camden Partners, Stemgent, Gyro Gear, Mirakel Labs, Janssen Research & Development, Biogen, Pancryos, IP Asset Ventures, Enlight Biosciences,  Mesoblast, SRU Biosystems, New Frontier Bio, Clear Nanosystems, Bullseye Therapeutics, Schick Manufacturing Inc, Biolacuna, Oakley, Element Biosciences, Frequency Therapeutics, Molecular Infusions, Quthero, and Vyome. The interests of JMK were reviewed and are subject to a management plan overseen by his institutions in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.  Jeff holds equity in several companies that have licensed IP generated by him that may benefit financially if the IP is further validated. Jeff also has also been Co-PI a multi-year collaborative grant funded by the Indian Government and a separate grant funded by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia through the Center of Excellence for Biomedicine (CEBM), both of which involved research and training of Saudi students.