Matthew Behrend, PhD

Matthew Behrend, at Intellectual Ventures in Seattle, Washington, is working to improve global health. He is building an Eradication model of Poliomyelitis and developing diagnostic instruments for Malaria.

Matthew received his PhD in the James D Weiland group, part of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems at the University of Southern California (USC). The purpose is to measure spatial resolution of artificial vision, and to effectively engineer the next generation of implants for people blinded by retinal degenerative diseases. His research produced the first high-resolution images of the picture the retina “sees” from electrical stimulation by a multi-electrode array. After graduation Matthew was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School where he studied the metabolic aspects of photoreceptor death and rescue using fluorescent sensors and viral gene transfer.

Outside of work, Matthew enjoys fine dining, writing with fountain pens, glass blowing, and he meditates in the Vipassana and Zen traditions.