My 2024 Team
Arian is a third-year medical laboratory student. We have been working together for two years now, and his potential to become an independent project leader, along with his fast learning skills, continually surprises me. Together, we have worked on numerous papers, including two systematic reviews, two narrative reviews, and one original paper. Currently, he is involved in deploying LLMs in medical practice with Dr. El-Hussuna, in addition to assisting me in managing research projects and mentees.
Nariman is a fifth-year medical student with experience in coding in Python, SQL, and a few other languages I’m not familiar with. His motivation and creativity are his hidden gems. We are currently working together on testing LLMs in a local environment. Additionally, he is leading a project on MRI imaging of perianal fistula, which aims to be published as a patent.
Dorsa is a 5th year medical student and already has multiple publications. She dived into the world of AI, where she is leading a project on colitis in colonoscopy images.
Zahra is a third-year psychology student who has been working with me on my pancreatic cancer project (PanCanAID) for the past two years. Her assistance in interviewing 400 pancreatic cancer patients over this period has been pivotal. She is an outcome-oriented individual with a remarkable sense of responsibility. Zahra not only completes tasks efficiently but also provides valuable feedback on how to improve the workflow. She continues to support me on the PanCanAID project.
Zahra is a third-year medical student assisting me with a project on extracting information from clinical text using the capabilities of large language models (LLMs). She is also involved in the PanCanAID project. Zahra is a humble and responsible team member, consistently contributing to our work with dedication and reliability.
During my research journey, I was lucky to work with bright peers and junior friends. Cheers to them; I learned many things with and from them.
Researchmates
Fatemeh Shojaeian, MD-MPH: Fatemeh is my oldest research mate, I guess. We worked on too many projects to name, and I learned many things from her. Fateme is aiming to become an onco-Surgeon and cancer scientist to work on the front line of the cancer battlefield. She is currently doing her postdoc at Sidney Kimmel comprehensive cancer center, Johns Hopkins University.
Siavash Shirzadeh Barough, MD: Siavash was my friend and peer from university. He is the first person that I will call if I have a problem with my code, and he pushed me to learn ML. We also worked together in an AI company on brain imaging. Siavash will start his postdoc on neuroimaging in the US in Summer of 2023.
Parnian Jamshidi, MD-MPH: Parnian is my friend and peer from the university, and we worked together on multiple systematic reviews. Unlike me, she is the most focused person I have ever met. She is currently doing her research on the school of medicine.
Yeganeh Farsi, MD-MPH: Yeganeh is the most hyperactive living organism in the world. We worked on many reviews and original articles, and it was always a pleasure to annoy her during the tasks. She will start his postdoc in the summer of 2023 at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard University.
Mohamad Javad Honarvar, MD: I was lucky enough to part in the first research project of MJ. He can learn fast, cope fast, and move fast. He is currently postdoc at endocrine research center, and want to become internist like me. So hurayyyy, he is on our side, not the surgeons.
Mehdi Azizmohamad Looha, PhD: The one and only biostatistician able to do all the things. In the world of biostatistics he is the full-stack one. I learned so many things from him, and he is my reference for some of my analyses. Wish him all the bests, and significant p-values :))))))
Zohre Tajabadi, MD-hMBA: Zohre is also one of greatest researchmates ever. He don’t talk too much (perhaps with me), but work too much isntead. Since we are both hyperactives, working with her was always a pleasure. He is currently doing a postdoc on GI at Tehran University (which is not better than my center at Shahid Beheshti for sure).
Saba Ilkhani, MD-MPH-hMBA: Me and Saba worked on multiple COVID-19 and bariatric surgery outcome projects. She is interested in long-term outcomes in trauma survivors with a specific focus on the long-term financial toxicity of traumatic injuries. Saba is currently doing her postdoc at Brigham and woman hospital, Harvard medical school (this one is better than my center for sure).
Mohammad-Reza Malekpour, MD
Narges Azizi, MD
Amirhossein Yousefian, Medical Student
Ilia Saadati, Medical Student
Arian Salahi-Niri, BSc Student
Amin Tarighat, MD Student
Ghazaleh Sadeghi & Mahsa Aghamohamdpour, Medical Students
Sahand Pourjavad, Student
Mentees and Younger Researchmates
I consider my research mentees to be the ultimate output of my endeavours. Their youth, enthusiasm, and hard work have privileged them to create a bright future for themselves. It is a great honour for me to facilitate their first steps in research, and I take pride in seeing many of them grow into talented individuals in their respective fields.
Being a mentor is not a senior-to-junior relation, but a responsibility to guide someone in his first steps in projects. It aims to make someone capable of doing things on his(er) own, leading projects on his(er) own, and learning things on his(er) own. It can be a 3-month guide on a project or a two-year period, but it should be ended at some point to ensure that he can continue his(er) path on his(er) own. The only permanent thing is the life-long friendship between us.
[Updated 2023-12: Until now, I proudly had 33 mentees. I stopped accepting new mentees for one year to focus on my own learning path.]
