Key opinion leader, passionate scientist and presidential awardee in animal alternatives
Key opinion leader, passionate scientist and presidential awardee in animal alternatives
Viraj Mehta earned his B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Surat (NIT-Surat) in 2018, achieving a CGPA of 9.45/10 and ranking among the top 10 in his department. His deep interest and research internships in biomechanics and 3D bioprinting inspired him to pursue higher studies in biomedical engineering. He received the prestigious Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF'18) to pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-Hyderabad). He conducted his research in 3D printed organ-on-chips under the guidance of Dr. Subha Narayan Rath (Professor, Biomedical Engineering) at the Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell laboratory.
He defended his thesis titled "3D Printed Tumor-on-a-Chip for Functional Multi-Drug Testing" on June 20, 2023. He developed a novel, patented tumor-on-a-chip device for personalized combinatorial drug screening. Additionally, he collaborated in developing a microfluidic device for personalized tumor invasion prediction.
Viraj assists pharmaceutical companies and CROs in establishing next-generation Microphysiological Systems, including 3D spheroid cultures, 3D organoids, and organ-on-chips based assays. Currently, he is involved in establishing liver MPS systems at DMPK at Sai Life Sciences, with a particular focus on developing 3D hepatic spheroids and organoids for predicting the clearance of metabolically stable compounds and chronic drug-induced liver injury.