Dr. Ali Tavallaei

When Ali Tavallaei approached the front of the class as a first-time English instructor in his native Iran, the trilingual 18-year-old was overcome with nerves. “Everybody was older than me. They started making fun of me when I walked up to the board, because they thought I was joking around,” he recalls. Eventually, those nerves dissipated and Tavallaei’s passion for teaching took over. “My personal belief is that if you know something, it’s your responsibility to share that knowledge,” says Tavallaei. “Society would be better off if everybody shared what they know.”

Societal impact has been a driving force throughout Tavallaei’s career in biomedical engineering, more specifically, image-guided therapy in cardiovascular interventions. “Cardiovascular disease is the number 1 global cause of death. There are millions of procedures every year, but up to 30 per cent fail or have to go for repeats. There’s still so much room for improvement.” Tavallaei’s most significant contribution comes in the form of an advanced cardiac catheter, a device that has remained largely unchanged since its introduction in 1929. “Our new advanced catheter will overcome the limitations of existing catheters, in terms of steering, pushability, navigation, visualization – all with a single-use, inexpensive device. It will make a huge global impact.”

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 Ali's LinkedIn Profile (external link)