Rafael V. Davalos

Dr. Rafael Davalos' research interests are in microfluidics for personalized medicine and developing technologies for cancer therapy. He is most recognized for co-inventing Irreversible Electroporation (IRE), a minimally invasive non-thermal surgical technique to treat unresectable tumors near critical structures such as major blood vessels and nerves. The technology has been used to help thousands worldwide. He also co-invented a second generation version of the technology known as biphasic Pulsed Field Ablation, which is in use to treat patients with cardiac disease. Davalos has authored 170 peer-reviewed articles and has 65 issued patents (84 h-index, >23,000 citations) and has secured over $37M in research funding with $10M his share. His patents have been licensed to 7 companies. He has been a plenary speaker for several prestigious venues including the International Symposium of the Bioelectrochemistry Society, the European Medical and Biological Engineering Conference, the World Congress on Electroporation, and the Society of Cryobiology Annual Meeting.  Davalos is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE), and the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).