Staff Profiles

Dr. Haroon Zafar is an Irish Research Council (IRC) investigator at the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway. He graduated with a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering in 2007. He received his first M.Sc. degree in Photonics from the University of St Andrews and Heriot Watt University, UK and received a second M.Sc. Engineering degree in Photonics from the Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium in 2011. He received his Ph.D. degree in Biophotonics from the NUI Galway, Ireland. Over the last 5 years, Dr. Zafar has published more than 25 papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at several renowned international platforms. Dr. Zafar is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Irish Research Council (IRC) “Enterprise Partnership Scheme” postdoctoral fellowship, the Hardiman Research Fellowship from NUI Galway, the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship from European Union, the IRC “New Foundations” grant, the “Key Scientific Article Certificate” by Advances in Engineering, Canada, the SPIE (The International Society for Optics and Photonics, USA) travel award. He was the founding president of the NUI Galway and University of Limerick, SPIE Chapter.   

Education:                                                                                          

2011-2016   PhD in Biophotonics, National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway, Ireland.

2010-2011   Erasmus Mundus M.Sc. in Photonics Engineering, Ghent University and Vrije                             Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.  

2009-2010   Erasmus Mundus M.Sc. in Photonics, University of St Andrews and Heriot Watt                           University, UK.

2003-2007   B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore,                       Pakistan.  

Honours & Awards:   

Awarded over 10 National and International Research/Professional Recognition Awards in the period from 2009-present, with a representative selection shown here: 

2016   Irish Research Council "Enterprise Partnership Scheme" Postdoctoral Fellowship

2016   Irish Research Council "New Foundations" Grant

2016   "Key Scientific Article Certificate" by Advances in Engineering, Canada

2011-2015   Hardiman Research Fellowship, NUI Galway  

2012-2013   President, SPIE (The International Society for Optics and Photonics, USA) NUIG-UL Chapter

2012   SPIE Travel Award, USA

2009-2011   Erasmus Mundus Scholarship by European Union

Selected Recent Publications: 

Over the last 5 years, Dr. Zafar has published more than 25 papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at several renowned international platforms.

Vijay Raghavan et al.,"Dual plasmonic gold nanostars for photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy," Nanomedicine 12(5), 457-471 (2017). 

Barry O’Brien et al.,"Transseptal puncture - Review of anatomy, techniques, complications and challenges," International Journal of Cardiology 233, 12-22 (2017). 

Haroon Zafar, Faisal Sharif, "Reply to the letter to editor: A new technique to deal with challenging transseptal puncture," International Journal of Cardiology, 242, 25 (2017).  

Cliόna Murphy et al., "An updated Review of cardiac devices in heart failure," Irish Journal of Medical Science, in press (2017).

Aamir Hameed et al., "Recent Trends in Clot Retrieval Devices: A Review" Cardiology and Therapy, in press (2017).

Barry O'Brien et al., "Renal Nerve Stimulation for Treatment of Neurocardiogenic Syncope: A Review from Perspective of Commercialization Potential"  Irish Journal of Medical Science, in press (2017).

Barry O'Brien et al., "Stent Materials and Coatings: A Technology and Performance Update," Annals of Biomedical Engineering 44(2), 523-535 (2016).

Martin Leahy et al., "Functional Imaging for Regenerative Medicine," Stem Cell Research and Therapy 7:57 (2016).

Haroon Zafar, Aedán Breathnach, Hrebesh M. Subhash, Martin J. Leahy, "Linear-array based   photoacoustic  imaging of human microcirculation with a range of high frequency transducer probes," Journal of Biomedical Optics 20 (5), 051021 (2015).

Haroon Zafar, Joey Enfield, Marie-Louise O’Connell, Bart Ramsay, Maeve Lynch, Martin J. Leahy, "Assessment of psoriatic plaque in vivo with correlation mapping optical coherence tomography,"Skin Research and Technology 20(2), 141-146 (2014). 

Haroon Zafar, Ihsan Ullah, Kate Dinneen, Sajjad Matiullah, Alan Hanley, Martin J. Leahy, Faisal Sharif, "Evaluation of hemodynamically severe coronary stenosis as determined by fractional flow reserve with frequency domain optical coherence tomography measured anatomical parameters," Journal of Cardiology    64 (1), 19-24 (2014). 

Haroon Zafar, Faisal Sharif, Martin J. Leahy, "Measurement of the blood flow rate and velocity in coronary artery stenosis using intracoronary frequency domain optical coherence tomography: validation against fractional flow reserve," International Journal of Cardiology: Heart & Vasculature 5, 68-71 (2014).

Haroon Zafar, Faisal Sharif, Martin J. Leahy, "Assessment of coronary artery stenosis with frequency domain optical coherence tomography derived blood flow measurements: relationship with fractional flow reserve," Journal of the American College of Cardiology 64 (11_S), (2014).

Haroon Zafar, Faisal Sharif, Martin J. Leahy, "Feasibility of intracoronary frequency domain optical coherence tomography derived fractional flow reserve for the assessment of coronary artery stenosis," International Heart Journal 55(4), 307-311 (2014).

Selected Courses/Workshops:    

Attended over 15 National and International Educational Courses/Workshops, with a representative selection shown here:

2017   Innovators Day Paris and EuroPCR, Paris, France.

2015   Oxford Coronary Physiology and Imaging Course, Oxford, UK.

2015   Designing Cardiovascular Devices, Galway, Ireland.  

2014   26th Annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), Washington DC, USA.

2012   SPIE Chapter Leadership Workshop, San Diego, USA.

2012   Biophotonics and Imaging Graduate Summer School (BIGSS 12), Galway, Ireland.

2011   Erasmus Mundus Summer School in Photonics, St Andrews, UK.

2010   Erasmus Mundus Summer School in Photonics, Edinburgh, UK.