Pursuing a PhD degree is a great opportunity for me to follow my passion in biology, learn from my advisors, mentors, and peers, and become an expert in the field myself. 

I believe there are three main traits one should possess in order to succeed on a research path: passion, resilience, and independence. Through my research experiences and personal life, I have demonstrated these traits.  

Passion. There are two main reasons why I am personally excited about my research: on a macro-level, it has to do with the overall positive impact of genetics research on humanity.  I get excited when I read about history of both molecular and cellular biology research and the type of impact they have had on humankind. On a micro-level, I am connected to this research through personal reasons and life experiences of my loved ones. 

Resilience. The path is certainly not easy, but a resilient person will pave the path as she walks on it by remembering the ultimate goal and by learning from the experiences of their mentors and senior students.  I have had my own share of failures and rejections, but they never have stopped me to push forward. Through personal experiences, I have grown to be mentally tough and resilient. 

 Independence. I have no doubt that it takes a community to raise a scientist. However, to be a good scientist one needs to be independent. By that I mean the ability to take initiatives, to push projects forward, and to gather the knowledge before she is asked to do so. To follow my passion in research, I migrated to Tehran. I identified the best research centers, approached them, and created strong connections. With help from my mentors, I also identified research gaps and initiated the research projects. I was not afraid to learn new domains by self-studies. I learned about new devices and collected data. I learned when to insist on one project and I also learned when it is time to pivot from a research hypothesis. I am ready to use all these experiences in the next chapter of my professional life. 

Besides research, I am also passionate  about traveling, arts, and cooking. 

I grew up in  the southern region of Iran, which is more mountainous compared to the rest of the country. The city I grew up in sits towards the end of the beautiful chain of folded mountains called Zagros. I like traveling a lot and I have visited several different places in Iran. I was also lucky enough to have traveled abroad. 

Magdeburg , Germany (2016)

Istanbul, Turkey (2017, 2022)

Yerevan, Armenia (2017, 2022)

I like art and it's fascinating how much one can learn from a culture and its history through its display of arts. 

I like cooking, especially cooking for special occasions such as Norooz (Persian New Year) and celebratory gatherings. When I was an undergrad student, my friends and I won a cooking contest on campus :)