Mehrdad Hariri

Mehrdad Hariri is the founder and CEO of the Canadian Science Policy Centre, the leading not-profit HUB for science, technology and innovation policy in Canada.

Mehrdad’s vision and leadership have positioned the CSPC as a leading non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science and innovation policy in Canada and globally. Under his guidance, the center has pioneered numerous initiatives, including the annual Canadian Science Policy Conference, Science Policy Magazine, and Science Meets Parliament.

In 2019, the Globe and Mail recognized Mehrdad for his exceptional contributions to science policy over a decade. In 2022, he was selected as an emerging leader and invited to participate in the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference (GGCLC).

An active member of the Iranian Canadian community and for over two decades, Mehrdad has been involved in various human rights activities, advocating for a democratic and secular Iran.

He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Science, Society, and Policy at the University of Ottawa and has served on various boards and advisory committees. These include being a board member of the Journal of Science Policy and Governance and the Science & Technology Awareness Network, as well as serving on the advisory committees of the Innovation Leadership Council (ILC) of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) and the MITACS Science Policy Fellowship program.

Mehrdad studied Veterinary Medicine, Cell Biology and Functional Genomics at universities in Tehran, Montréal, and Toronto. Mehrdad has numerous publications and opinion pieces in various media outlets and regularly appears in the media as a commentator on science policy issues.