Afshin Beheshti

Afshin Beheshti is an accomplished researcher and leader in the field of biomedicine, currently serving as the Director of the Space Biomedicine Program at the University of Pittsburgh and the Associate Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Holding a Professor title in Surgery and Computational and Systems Biology, Beheshti continues to advance research initiatives while also acting as President of Kwaai, which focuses on grassroots AI initiatives, and as a Scientific Advisor for Ursa Bio. In addition, Beheshti leads the COVID-19 International Research Team, is a Visiting Researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and has a history of impactful roles at NASA Ames Research Center, where multiple projects related to space biology were undertaken. With a PhD in Biophysics from Florida State University and significant academic experience, including positions at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Tufts Medical Center, Beheshti has contributed extensively to cancer research and biomedicine.