I am from the northern part of Iran, near the coast of the Caspian Sea. I have always been fascinated by the field of Biology. I studied Microbiology for my undergraduate degree and continued to get a master degree in Molecular Biology at Lund University in autumn 2013. My motivation for being a part of the field of Molecular Biology lies in the fact that it is a foundation of our capability to treat almost all human diseases.
The increasing number of cancer patients in Iran and my family’s experience with this disease were the main reasons why I became interested in cancer research. I got the opportunity to work in this field as my master thesis in order to make a small contribution to the world of cancer therapy. Afterwards, I was accepted as a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Stina Oredsson and Per Fredrik Johansson in Biology department, Lund University in 2016.
Recent findings has shown that cells often exhibit different behaviour when they are separated from their native three dimensional (3D) tissues and confined to a monolayer cell cultures (2D). The development of complex synthetic 3D cell culture models, which can mimic the native extracellular matrix, represents an important step towards a more in vivo-like cell environment. We will work on the development of a 3D cell culture models of nanofiber mashes using different types of polymers such as Polycaprolactone (PCL) and polylactide (PLA). We will also examine the effect of 3D culture systems primarily on various breast cancer cell lines and other cells such as fibroblasts, immune cells and neural cells and co-culture of such cells. The effect of different anti-cancer compounds such as Salinomycin and its analogues on the cancer cells and cancer stem cells proliferation and migration will also be investigated. 3D systems present a novel tool to further decrease the use of animals in cancer research in future.
