Umut Gurkan, PhD

Umut A. Gurkan, Ph.D., is the Wilbert J. Austin Professor of Engineering with tenure at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Gurkan holds BS degrees in Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from the Middle East Technical University in Turkey and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University. He completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology.

Dr. Gurkan’s research is on global equitable access to diagnostics and personalized health. Dr. Gurkan is a leader in efficiently translating microfluidics and point-of-care diagnostics for blood disorders, antimicrobial resistance, and cancer. He has led international clinical studies on sickle cell disease research in the United States, Africa, Southeast Asia, and India.

Dr. Gurkan has authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles. His research has been supported by the NSF, NIH, DoD, non-profit organizations, and several industrial partners. Dr. Gurkan’s inventions have led to over 15 issued US patents and four successful biotechnology companies to date with products in global markets. Dr. Gurkan’s innovations won numerous awards, including USPTO Patents for Humanity recognition and USFDA Breakthrough Device Designation. His honors include the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the American Society for Engineering Education Curtis W. McGraw Research Award Finalist, Translational Research Featured New Investigator Award, the Biomedical Engineering Society Rising Star Award, MIT Technology Review Innovator under 35 Award, the Doris Duke Innovations in Clinical Research Award, NHLBI feature in Today’s Faces of Sickle Cell Disease, the Wiederhielm Award from the Microcirculatory Society, the Faculty Distinguished Research Award, the Research Innovator of the Year Award, and the Faculty Innovator Award from Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Gurkan is a member of the Global Gene Therapy Initiative (GGTI), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Dr. Gurkan is a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a member of the New Voices in Science, Engineering and Medicine Program by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), and a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). 

Dr. Gurkan's many accomplishments and accolades are summarized below. For a more comprehensive listing, please click here to view the Case School of Engineering web page.