I believe doing impactful research and having fun while doing it makes the journey of a thousand miles feel relatively short. Below is details of my research.
1. Infertility reasons
Since 2020, I have been working on understanding the infertility reasons at the Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine. I took the lead on a project to identify gene mutations in a family with severe infertility phenotype, using family-based whole-exome sequencing analysis. This project was conducted under the supervision of Dr. mehdi Totonchi. I found a frameshift mutation in synaptonemal complex protein 1 (SYCP1) gene which is one of the most important genes in meiosis.
Conducting this project was a unique research experience for me as I went on a full circle of collecting data, analyzing it, reviewing the literature extensively, writing up the manuscript, and submitting the results to the Journal of Molecular Human Reproduction. Our results got published in the same journal, Volume 28, Issue 4, on April 2022. Through my research experiences, I have acquired theoretical understanding, clinical and laboratory techniques, and collaborated with other researchers at the institute.
I believe that following one's passion with persistence would lead to unimaginable outcomes. In the project I was leading, I faced many obstacles, from not having sufficient laboratory equipments to not having enough data collection resources, especially during the COVID pandemic. But, I have learned to be resilient and pursue my passion with the greatest effort possible. I also reached out to experts and sought their guidance whenever I faced a challenging obstacle which was very insightful.
2. Association between survival rate and a type of gastric infection
During my master’s program, I was very passionate to learn more about these molecular genetics and deepen my understanding of genetics in greater detail. So, I started conducting my master’s thesis under the co-supervisions of Dr. Marjan Mohammadi at at Pasteur Institute of Iran and Dr. Soltani Banavandi in Kerman.
For my master's thesis, I analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (the most common type of genetic variation among people) named C3435T and C24T in gastric cancer patients to assess association between these polymorphisms, survival of patients, and Helicobacter pylori infection (a type of bacteria that causes infection in the stomach). During my research, I interviewed patients and collected blood and gastric tissue samples. I also followed up with them to learn about their survival rates, lifestyle, nutrition, and occupation.
The results of my research were accepted at the European Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (EHMSG). I presented my work as a poster at the International Workshop on Helicobacter and Microbiota in Inflammation and Cancer which was held in Germany in Sept 2016.
