A geneticist, Shahin Rafii is an expert in vascular biology, stem cell homeostasis, and the development of preclinical models that move stem cell research from the bench to the bedside. He is the director of the Ansary Center for Stem Cell [Page 968]Therapeutics and the Arthur B. Belfer Professor in Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. His research focuses on identifying the molecular and cellular pathways that trigger the differentiation of stem cells into functional tissues. Rafii is particularly interested in molecular and cellular pathways and their impact on regeneration and tumor growth. He has found that vascular endothelial cells spur organ regeneration and tumor proliferation by producing specific growth factors.

Rafii’s team also studies human genetics, tissue cultures, cancer, and metabolic ...