Dr. Mehdi Najar

In 2006, Dr. Mehdi Najar set up a new research program in the Laboratory of Experimental Hematology (Institut Jules Bordet) by addressing the biological properties of stem/progenitor cells isolated from the bone marrow. In 2011, he successfully earned a PhD degree in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine of the “Université Libre de Bruxelles” (ULB). Within the Laboratory of Clinical Cell Therapy, he started a new challenge by investigating new alternatives tissues sources for isolating stem/progenitor cells with immuno-trophic features. Besides his fundamental research, he expanded his expertise by following several theoretical and practical training related to innovative Stem Cell Technology, Bio-banking, regulations including GDPR, quality manufacturing process (GMP) and clinical research practice (e.g. GCP). In 2017, he joined the Osteoarthritis Research Unit of the “Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (Canada)” as a visiting investigator. In parallel, he is actively involved within different laboratories by developing many projects, training and supervision of PhD students, establishing and facilitating national/international collaborations and networks. Dr. Mehdi Najar also participate to the management of several inter-university research programs related to cell therapy and their translational clinical use. Currently, he holds a Professorship in immunology at Brussels CERIA campus in Belgium.