When Zahra Mohtashami was growing up in Iran, her traditional family told her she would have every opportunity she wanted — as long as she didn’t leave the country. But Mohtashami wanted to be an international scientist. During her final year studying for her PhD in pharmaceutics — during which she happened to be pregnant — she began looking for the chance to fulfill her goal.
“I was working with ocular drug delivery systems, but in Iran, there is no opportunity to combine industry with science,” Mohtashami says. “I looked for a place where I could be more efficient and free to work with industry.”
The Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at University of California, Irvine, turned out to be that place. Mohtashami and her young daughter arrived in California about a year ago, and her husband, an IT specialist, arrived six months later.
Thanks to a stipend provided by Discovery Eye Foundation, Mohtashami has been working in the mitochondrial lab of DEF Research Director Dr. Cristina Kenney, where she is studying the mechanism and effects of drugs on age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
“In the future, I see myself connecting my knowledge and my background to design the most efficient drug-delivery systems for various retinal diseases, especially AMD,” says Mohtashami, a self-described optimist. “This is one of the most important areas of study, as it affects vision, and the eye is the second heart in the body. With DEF’s help, I will see my scientific future, and we will see brilliant results for ocular-disease patients.”