Partner

Nikki Hafezi

Nikki Hafezi was born near Seattle and raised in Southern California. She has her bachelor’s degree from UCLA (Los Angeles, CA) and her master’s degree in intellectual property from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich.

The “Power-List” 2015 in Ophthalmology

In 2015, Mrs. Hafezi was voted by peers onto the global  “PowerList – Top 40 under 40 (years)”, a list of the “young, up-and-coming individuals set to rise to the top of the field.” Mrs. Hafezi was one of only six females listed and one of two nominees only representing the industry.

Current positions

• Partner of GroupAdvance (Management) Consulting GmbH, Zug, Switzerland
• Managing Director & Board Member of EMAGine AG, Zug, Switzerland
• Head of Strategy, Business Development & Licensing, The ELZA Institute, Zurich, Switzerland
• Co-Founder & Managing Partner of the Light for Sight Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland

Skill Set

• Professionally trained in traditional fundraising for non-profit organizations, specifically in the medical field.
• In 2003, Mrs. Hafezi was funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to lead the industrial liaison office of one of the 21 NSF-funded academic research centres in the United States. This office is responsible for the management of the intellectual property portfolio, raising and managing industrial research funds and facilitating communication between researchers and industry.
• From 2006-current, Mrs. Hafezi has raised over $5 million of funds to support basic and clinical research in the field of ophthalmology through industrial and traditional fundraising means.
• In 2007, Mrs. Hafezi wrote a successful European Commission Framework-7 Program (FP7) grant representing nine European universities  entitled “Reducing the national fragmentation of retinal research in Europe.”  The grant was awarded $1 million USD.
• With her master’s degree in intellectual property from the ETH Zurich, Mrs. Hafezi is knowledgeable of the workings of the European Patent Office as well as the US Patent and Trademark Office.
• Since 2013, Mrs. Hafezi has been the main intellectual property advisor for a spin-off company from the University of Geneva (EMAGine AG).
• From 2015-current, Mrs. Hafezi has raised an additional $1 million to establish two laboratories in Switzerland and the United States dedicated to ocular cell biology and corneal biomechanics.

Partner

Farhad Hafezi

Farhad Hafezi is a swiss eye surgeon and researcher. Hafezi is internationally recognized as a pioneer of corneal cross-linking (CXL) for treating keratoconus and a pacemaker in translating CXL principles to new applications like infectious keratitis.

The “Power-List” 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 in Ophthalmology

In 2014, Prof. Hafezi was voted by peers onto the “PowerList”, a biennial list of the 100 most influential international personalities in ophthalmology. Since 2016, Hafezi was continuously voted onto the PowerList

Current positions

• Partner of GroupAdvance (Management) Consulting GmbH, Zug, Switzerland
• Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland
• Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, USC Roski Eye Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
• Visiting Professor of Ophthalmology, Wenzhou Medical University, China
• Medical Director, The ELZA Institute, Zurich, Switzerland
• Research Group Leader, Center for Applied Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine (CABMM), University of Zurich, Switzerland

Clinical Activities

• Prof. Hafezi’s clinical focus are the cornea and complication management after complicated refractive laser surgery. He was instrumental in implementing corneal cross-linking technology in ophthalmology.
• From 2010 to 2014, Farhad Hafezi was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology of the Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. In 2012, he was also appointed Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Department of Ophthalmology,  Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC) Los Angeles.

Publications, International Activities, Awards

• By 2017, Prof. Hafezi has published more than 160 scientific articles, and his scientific work has been cited more than 6’100 times, his total impact factor is 570 and his h index is 41.
• He is an Associate Editor of the “Journal of Refractive Surgery” and on the Editorial Board of the “International Journal of Keratoconus and Ectatic Corneal Disease”, “Current Eye Research” and the “Iranian Journal of Ophthalmology”. He frequently moderates courses at the ESCRS (European Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery) and the AAO (American Academy of Ophthalmology).
• Prof. Hafezi is also a member of the Advisory Board of “Global ONE”, the educational network of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
• Prof. Hafezi has received 23 national and international awards and distinctions, both for his scientific work and for the development of new technologies (innovation awards). Awards include, amongst others, the ARVO Foundation/Carl Camras Translational Research Award (USA) 2014, as well as the highest distinctions in ophthalmology of Switzerland and Belgium.

For more information, see here.

Consultant

Sabine Kling

Dr. Sabine Kling is a research scientist. She holds a MSc and PhD in Visual Sciences from the University of Valladolid in Spain, and a Dipl-Ing (FH) in Physical Engineering from the University of Isny in Germany.

Current Positions

• Consultant at GroupAdvance Consulting GmbH, Zug, Switzerland
• SNSF Ambizione group leader at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich

Skill Set

• Experimental study design and conduct, laboratory management and project prioritization.
• Statistical data analysis and data interpretation, numerical simulations, mechanical tissue characterization, photodynamic cross-linking and writing research publications.
• Experienced in the application of optical imaging systems including optical coherence tomography, Scheimpflug technique and Brillouin microscopy.
• Between 2013 and 2017, Dr. Kling was working as postdoctoral researcher in the Ocular Cell Biology group at the Universities of Zurich and Geneva.

Publications, International Activities, Awards

• By 2017, Dr. Kling’s scientific work has been cited more than 600 times, she has a cumulative impact factor of 87, and an h-index of 12.
• In 2016, Dr. Kling received the Troutman Award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery.
• In 2013, Dr. Kling received the Theo Seiler Young Researcher Award at the International Meeting of Corneal Cross-linking.