TRIUMPH/NCI F32 Postdoctoral Fellow
Hello and Welcome to My Personal Website
I am a TRIUMPH andNCI F32 Postdoctoral Fellow at MD Anderson Cancer Center. I received my MS and PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology (CMPP) atUniversity of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in Rochester, NY.
My PhD research project inleukemia was focused on investigating new molecular strategies that improve patients’ survival rates, and reduce lethality, especially 3q26 rearrangements leukemia. During my PhD, I successfully received aRuth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA)(F31HL143994) from The National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to pursue my studies (link), and published my research entitled "EVI1 overexpression reprograms hematopoiesis via upregulation of Spi1 transcription" in Nature Communications (link). During my ongoing postdoctoral research at MD Anderson, I have received aRuth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual NationalResearch Service Award (NRSA)(F32CA271697) from the NIH/National Cancer Institute (NCI)to investigate my project entitled: "Targeting Quiescence Pathways to Overcome Chemoresistance in EVI1-Overexpressing Leukemia" (link).
Personal Background
I began my undergraduate studies in 2008 as a Pharmacy student at The Arab International University (AIU) in Damascus, Syria. My interest in pharmacology led me to intern at Bahri Pharmaceuticals, while studying at AIU. As the political unrest was unfolding in Syria in 2011, it affected my education and it prevented my timely graduation. Thus, I left Syria and relocated to the United States In 2012.
Despite my setbacks during my pivotal educational experience, I did not lose hope in making my dream come true. After moving to the US, I applied to Long Island University (LIU) and was accepted. Although my transfer was not something planned, I wasn't sure what to anticipate. Eventually, I realized that my potential for succeeding was greatly achievable. Regardless of my initial outlook and the lingual difference, I graduated from LIU with a 4.00 GPA. I also made the Dean's list for all the semesters that I have attended (link). I graduated from LIU in Brooklyn, New York with a Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2014. To reach the next level in my career and further strengthen my research skills, I finished my Masters of Science in 2016, and my PhD in Pharmacology at URMC in August 2019.
Highlights(Publications)(Awards)
