Qasim RAFIQ is a Professor in Bioprocess Engineering at University College London (UCL). He is Director of the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering, Co-Director of the BBSRC ABViP Collaborative Training Partnership and Vice Dean (Health) for the UCL Faculty of Engineering Science. In his role as Director of the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering, he coordinates interdisciplinary research activities within healthcare engineering across UCL Engineering, School of Life and Medical Sciences, and the hospitals within the UCL Partners academic health system.

Dr Rafiq’s research interests lie in translating novel therapeutic modalities, including cell, gene and nucleic acid therapies. He is a biochemical engineer by training working at the life science, engineering and commercial interfaces with a particular emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches which integrate bioprocessing, molecular biology, digitalisation and automation of advanced therapy manufacture. He currently holds a prestigious EPSRC Fellowship and leads a research portfolio of >£20m as Principal Investigator and leads a dynamic interdisciplinary research group that collaborate internationally with leading academic institutions, industry partners, and leading clinicians.

He is both a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Chartered Scientist (CSci), and in 2025, was elected as the Global Secretary for the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT). He also sits on multiple scientific and engineering committees including the British Standards Institute Biotechnology Committee and the BioIndustry Association’s Cell and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee.