Co-founder and Co-President

• Nov 2022 - Present

The goal of our initiative is to create a venue for the expansion of the practice of PharmD and other healthcare students beyond the traditional clinical settings with a focus on industry and health technology. We aim to organize start-up weekends, workshops, lunch and learns, etc. to expand the awareness of our student body on the potential that is present in the field of industry and health tech and encourage to utilize the skills and knowledge that our graduates have in such innovative fields.

Elected 2nd year representative | PharmD Class of 2025

• Sep 2022 - Present

Student Pharmacist Intern

• Oct 2021 - Present

Summer Student Research Program - Velenosi Lab

• May 2022 - Present

TitleDeveloping a stable cell line fluorescent reporter to characterize chemotherapy induction of spermidine/spermine N1-Acetyltransferase 1.AbstractBackground: Targeted insertion of a fluorescent gene reporter is an effective method to investigate transcription activation for a high-throughput screen. In a recent study, doxorubicin was found to induce spermidine/spermine N1-Acetyltransferase 1 (SAT1), a catabolic enzyme in the polyamine pathway. SAT1 induction led to elevated urine diacetylspermine as a biomarker to doxorubicin response. However, the mechanism of doxorubicin-mediated SAT1 induction is unknown.Objective: To create high-throughput screening model for assessing the mechanism of SAT1 induction by doxorubicin.Methods: A stable HEK 293 cell line was developed to create an SAT1 enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter. A DNA construct containing a mutated SAT1 stop codon followed by a self-cleaving P2A sequence and eGFP were inserted into SAT1 using paired CRISPR/Cas9(D10A) nickase via homology- directed repair (HDR). Primer sets were designed to flank the insertion site of the eGFP reporter. The insertion was validated by genotyping, Sanger sequencing and cell imaging and qPCR.Results: Two stable SAT1-2A-eGFP cell line clones, E3 and F8, demonstrated green fluorescence during live cell imaging. The correct loci and direction of insertion of eGFP reporter were confirmed by PCR and Sanger Sequencing. SAT1 was induced in wild-type, SAT1-2A-GFP-E3 and SAT1-2A-GFP-F8 clones treated with doxorubicin. Further genotyping investigations suggest the homozygosity of the F8 clone. Conclusion: Supported by the validation steps, the F8 clone was chosen as the stable reporter cell line. Validation is ongoing to create a high-throughput screening model to characterize the mechanism of SAT1 induction by doxorubicin

Research Assistant: Porter Lab, Department of Pediatrics, Cardiology

• Sep 2017 - Mar 2020

Mitochondria are mediators of cellular energy production and apoptosis induction. In addition, many apoptotic pathways converge in mitochondria. An increasing body of evidence from our lab and others indicate that the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) acts as a key nodal point in mediating cardiac dysfunction and cell death. I aim to analyze the role of Cyclophilin D (CypD) in the regulation of the MPTP and the Electron Transport Chain (ETC) supercomplexes in wild-type and CRISPR induced CypD and 6.8 mitochondrial proteolytic (MPL) KO HEK 293T cells (human embryonic kidney 293). I further have focused on an independent project on gender-specific differences in cardiac mitochondria permeability transition pore which is a series of experiments aimed to understand the underlying mechanisms for the public health studies indicating gender-specific differences in susceptibility to a variety of cardiovascular diseases (Wang et al, 2005 in American Physiological Society).

Research Assistant, Saunders Research Center for Translational Medicine

• Jul 2018 - May 2019

My initial focus was to help assess the relationship between immune cell profiles and frailty in older adults with advanced cancer starting a new chemotherapy regimen. Early on in reviewing the histories of older adults with advance cancer histories, I took a personal interest in assessing the role of psychological distress in frailty. My research has suggested that interventions aimed at decreasing psychological distress (measured using the distress thermometer) in older adults with advanced cancer may also improve the frailty

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

• Sep 2018 - Dec 2018

Leading Genetics Laboratory Sessions for Undergraduates to teach basic genetics laboratory techniques

Deputy Chair | Academic Affairs Committee | Student Association Government

• Jan 2018 - May 2018

I worked with a phenomenal team on the Academic Policies of Instruction to reflect and advocate for the input of students and faculty, e.g. increasing the transparency of academic expectations and grading practices to improve the learning experience for students | creating an efficient and transparent mode of communication between the student body and faculty | Conducting community surveys to assess the changes and receive feedback.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

• Sep 2017 - Dec 2017

Leading two student groups to go over practice questions and class material, holding office hours. Grading and proctoring exams.

Founder and Director of IR-Model UN

• May 2015 - Mar 2020

With the collaboration of the United Nations of Iran, we provide the opportunity to hundreds of students annually to participate in our leadership workshops and Model UN conferences to practice taking responsibility for the national and international challenges, constructive collaboration, and proposing resolutions. Our activity is currently paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the collaboration of the United Nations of Iran, we provide the opportunity to hundreds of students annually to participate in our leadership workshops and Model UN conferences to practice taking responsibility for the national and international challenges, constructive collaboration, and proposing resolutions. Our activity is currently paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TEDx University of Rochester-2018

• Sep 2017 - Apr 2018

- Member of the Logistics Team- As a team, our focus was on the accommodation, event management, tech set-up, event experience

Head of the Logistic Team

• Sep 2016 - Apr 2018

- Member of the Logistics Team- As a team, our focus was on the accommodation, event management, tech set-up, event experience