Staff writer
Video arcades and computer games provide distractions for many North American students. But for Iranian-born Mehrnaz Izadnegahdar, distractions were liable to be bombing raids and sniper fire.
In Grade 1 during Iran's 1979 revolution and Grade 5 at the start of the country's eight-year war with Iraq, Izadnegahdar experienced the kind of disruptions most students have seen only on newscasts.
"There was a lot of disturbance and fear," says Izadnegahdar, a graduate student in the Faculty of Dentistry. "I saw some of my classmates die in the bombing."
After completing high school in 1991, Izadnegahdar and her family to moved to Vancouver in search of a stable educational and living environment.
Interested in biology since she was a girl, Izadnegahdar enrolled in UBC's science program. She graduates Nov. 21 with a master's degree in oral biology, having received a mark of 95 per cent on her thesis, the highest such mark ever earned in the faculty.
The focus of her work has been palate development, investigating what genes become active to develop a normal palate. Izadnegahdar hopes her work will be useful in helping scientists understand what causes cleft palate, a condition affecting approximately one in 1,000 Canadians of Caucasian origin and three times that number of aboriginal Canadians.
"I'm very interested in how cells proliferate and how that growth is regulated. I want to know how those processes contribute to the development of an organism," Izadnegahdar says.
Starting this work as an undergraduate, she completed a BSc honours degree in cell and developmental biology. Her lab work involved testing the role of genes in regulating palate development.
Understanding normal palate formation at the molecular level is the first step in learning what triggers the development of cleft palate, however, scientists are a long way from clinical application of their findings, Izadnegahdar adds.
Evaluating and re-evaluating experiments provided the greatest challenge in her lab work, Izadnegahdar says.
"Sometimes you do all you can but it doesn't turn out so you have to completely change the way you think about something."
The greatest challenge also provided the biggest reward.
"My experiments have taught me how to think," she says. "There's no way you can stick to one way of thinking in science -- you have to look at things openly."
Medical or dental school may be the graduate's next step. Admitting to a strong desire to pursue education, Izadnegahdar wants to continue in health sciences and work directly with people. The impulse to help people may be related to her experiences growing up in Iran, she says.
"I think overall it made a good impact on my psyche, helping me to be strong and positive. I appreciate the chances I am given."
Returning to Iran is a possibility but only for a visit, Izadnegahdar says. She will likely live in North America to stay current with advances in science and health.
And after six years of university, Izadnegahdar is ready to conduct an experiment of her own. She's going to take a month off and see how it feels.
With Thailand as the destination, she plans to make temples and beaches her only distraction.