Nafiseh Nafissi
Nafiseh Nafissi, BSc, MSc
PhD Candidate
School of Pharmacy
University of Waterloo
Email Nafiseh
Education Info
Bachelor of Science, Cellular and Molecular Biology (2000), North Tehran- Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Master of Science, Biology (2009), Department of Biology, University of Waterloo
About Nafiseh
Ever since my childhood, I have dreamt of doing something special for people, like being a hero or a scientist. My strong interest in molecular biology dates back to when I was 12 years old, after one of my relatives came back from the UK with a PhD degree in Medical Human Genetics and started his Medical Genetics laboratory, which was one of the first ones at that time in the country. I used to go there and look at the pregnant women who were impatiently waiting for their prenatal diagnosis (PND) test results. I hoped that one day I would stand in his shoes and try my best to solve people’s problems. To pursue this dream, I started my undergraduate studies in Cellular and Molecular Biology (with more focus on Microbiology) in 1996. After two years, I felt that theoretical studies didn’t quench my desire. Therefore, as a volunteer I joined the “Helicobacter pylori Research Group”, Pasteur Institute of Iran, which is one of the most prestigious research centers in Middle East. I worked on ‘Genotyping of Iranian H.pylori strains for conserved and un-conserved genes’. After a year there, I was offered a part time job in the same group.
Then after my graduation in 2000, I started full time as a research assistant in “Medical Genetics Research Group” in the Department of Biotechnology at the same centre, working on ‘ Screening the factor IX gene mutations to detect carrier status of Haemophilic patients’, which lasted until 2005. During my five years of research with this group, I presented my research results at different conferences and submitted several papers to national and international journals. Also, I learned different molecular techniques, and other valuable skills, which were dealing with patients, gathering clinical samples from hospitals, and very critical in my opinion, ‘team work’. Although this research centre is highly ranked in my country, I felt that I wasn’t taking full advantage of my potential in this environment; instead, I decided to study abroad for more advanced and up-to-date studies.
I started my graduate studies in the Department of Biology, University of Waterloo working on ‘Effect of obesity on the gene expression levels of certain apoptotic markers’. Now, I believe that I have the potential to go further and learn more. Considering my theoretical knowledge and practical experience, I have now joined Dr. Roderick Slavcev “Mediphage Team” as a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Pharmacy on a project utilizing phage therapy, gene delivery, and his novel ideas about vaccine production since I believe this is a state-of-the art and attractive research area with immense potential.
Miscellaneous
- Awarded as young researcher in the 2nd Iranian Congress of Genetic Disorders and Disabilities, Dec 7-11th 2002, Tehran, Iran.
- Detection and reporting of five novel mutations in human Haemophilia B gene.