Jeff Karp

Jeff Karp, bioengineer and Associate Professor at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, illuminates the art and science of adapting medical tools, treatments, and technologies from solutions found in nature.

“Evolution is the best problem solver.” — Jeff Karp

ABOUT JEFF

Jeff Karp’s research focuses on stem cell engineering, biomaterials, and medical devices inspired by nature. He has many inventions to his name including slug-inspired tissue glues, parasitic worm inspired microneedles, jellyfish inspired cell-sorting chips, and a gecko-inspired medical tape. Jeff’s other innovations include a novel neonatal skin adhesive and a nanoparticle prophylactic approach to prevent contact dermatitis. He is the co-founder of two startups, Gecko Biomedical and Skintifique. Jeff is an acclaimed mentor and is most proud of the 17 trainees he has launched into faculty careers around the globe. He is Associate Professor at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and a principal faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and member of the Harvard-MIT Health Science & Technology Faculty. He is an inaugural member of the TEDMED Editorial Advisory Board.