Vidadi Yusibov

Dr. Yusibov has been with Fraunhofer USA CMB since its inauguration in 2001. He oversaw the recruitment of an excellent team of scientists and has been primarily responsible for establishing the strong, externally-funded R&D programs. Dr. Yusibov has been involved in various aspects of plant molecular biology, including molecular farming, focusing since 1985 on transgenic plants and plant viruses. He is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in plant-based biopharmaceutical development and has developed a broad network of academic and industrial contacts throughout the US, Europe and Asia. Before joining Fraunhofer USA, Dr. Yusibov was an Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson University. His research has focused on the development of plant virus-based expression systems that can be used for different applications, including the production and delivery of vaccine antigens. He has been involved in the development of different expression platforms, including the thermotool-based system for production and delivery of vaccine candidates. Dr. Yusibov has more than 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals; he edited one of the first books on plant-based pharmaceuticals, has written seven book chapters, has filed more than 20 patent applications, and has given numerous guest lectures. He has been the Principal Investigator on more than 10 US government-funded grants, and has secured approximately $70M in third-party revenues for the Center. He also negotiated two significant technology-licensing deals for FhCMB.