Sassan Rafizadeh, M.D., Ph.d. - accengen chairman and founding c.e.o.

Extended Biography

Dr. Rafizadeh immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in the year 2000, at the age of 15, with little funds and little spoken English. Six months after his arrival, he founded Sky Design Studios, a web development company focused on developing Macromedia (now Adobe) Flash products to local businesses in Los Angeles. He ran Sky Design Studios for 7 years, while in high school and college, until starting his graduate studies in physiology at University of California at Davis to pursue his life-time passion of medicine and science.

Sassan holds a doctorate degree in molecular, cellular and systemic physiology from U.C. Davis and is a recipient of the U.C. Davis Max Kleiber Research Prize for superior scholarly achievement. During his medical training, he has worked with world-renowned physicians and physician-scientists who are pioneers in their respective fields. He has authored multiple publications in top-tier, peer-reviewed journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), American Heart Association Journal-Circulation, and Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). Sassan has trained and contributed to research at a number of top-funded N.I.H., N.S.F., and A.H.A. laboratories at U.C. Davis, U.C.L.A., and Department of Veterans Affairs. Most recently as co-founder of Rejuvenate Healthcare, LLC, Sassan helped build a team of healthcare visionaries to create a healthcare reinsurance plan specific to kidney failure patients, revolutionizing healthcare delivery. Innovations stemming from the team members at Rejuvenate Healthcare have already contributed to thousands of patients receiving life-saving kidney transplants.

Sassan’s personal passions consist of, first and foremost- family, friends and fitness. He is an avid flamenco guitar player and holds a third-degree black belt in Kyokushin Karate.