Ad Astra: Undergraduate Research Newsletter

“Be Bold”: A Conversation with Dr. Maria Entezari

by Natalia Biani, Lucia Fuentes, and Roman Senkov

Dr. Maria Entezari

Dr. Maria Entezari is a Professor of Biology at the Department of Natural Sciences at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY. She earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Tehran Medical University, Iran. As a graduate student, she worked with Dr. Zakeri at Queens College, CUNY, where she investigated the effect of oxidative stress on astrocytes and microglial cell responses in different genders. During her postdoctoral fellowship at the Feinstein Institute and St. John’s University, she worked with Dr. Lin Mantel on oxidative stress's effect on the functions of alveolar macrophages, particularly hyperoxia. After joining LaGuardia in 2008, she actively continues researching the molecular mechanisms of microglial dysfunction upon oxidative stress. At LaGuardia, she has served as a research mentor since 2009 and has mentored about 40 of her students since then. She has published her work in many scientific journals and a book chapter. Dr. Entezari has been awarded several grants as both PI and Co-PI. She received several PSC-CUNY grants which support her research with her students at LaGCC. She worked as a research mentor, an advisor, and Co-PI and PI for two Institutional grants: The Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP; 2012-2016) sponsored by the New York State Department of Education; which empowers talented undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM), the licensed professions and health-related fields. The Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (Co-PI 2013-2021, PI 2021-2024) sponsored by NIH, which is a partnership with Queens College, Hunter College, and The City College of New York designed to increase the number of underrepresented science students who transfer to a four-year baccalaureate-granting institution and pursue careers in science or biomedicine. The other area of Dr. Entezari’s research interest is the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL), where she is required to identify how to mix teaching and research effectively to promote students’ learning in science courses. Since 2012, she has actively engaged in SOTL on topics such as problem-based learning, course-based undergraduate research, and flipped classroom. One of her pedagogical publications in collaboration with her colleague, Dr. Lucia Fuentes, is “Water in Your Neighbourhood: A Model for Implementing a Semester-Long Course-Based Undergraduate Research Project in Introductory Biology,” which introduces a feasible, sustainable, semester-long, and cost-effective strategy to incorporate authentic research in the curriculum which promotes integrated understanding of science and addresses socio-scientific issues in an introductory Biology course.

Q#1: Maria, how would you introduce yourself? Do you consider yourself more of a biology scientist or an educator/professor of biology?
Maria: A biologist.

Q#2: What memories from your undergraduate years are still present with you today?
Maria: During my undergraduate years, I had to take an embryology class, and in that class I was fascinated when I looked at... Click to see the complete answer Maria: During my undergraduate years, I had to take an embryology class, and in that class I was fascinated when I looked at slides of thin sections of embryos, under the microscope. We had to make slides of the different stages of development from different embryos, like chicken or mouse. And then, from what we saw under the microscope, we had to model them with clay. That whole process really struck me a lot because, first of all, I saw how different embryos are very similar in the initial stages of development, and second, when I look back, that was the class where I fell in love with science, biology, and I wanted to continue in this field. - Did you go into biology as a general undergrad and you picked your specialty later? Maria: No, in Iran, we have to choose our major when we are in high school. So, when you go to high school, you have to choose if you want to follow the math, biology or social sciences path. I chose biology early on. Initially, I wanted to go into the medical field, but I changed my mind after I observed the different interactions that my brother, who is a doctor, had with his patients and his professors at the hospital. Also, we had a family friend who was a scientist. I talked to him a lot about different paths and different areas I could work on. After those conversations, I realized I would really like to go into biology and, from the beginning, I always wanted to go into academia. Click to hide the answer

Q#2: What memories from your undergraduate years are still present with you today?

Maria: During my undergraduate years, I had to take an embryology class, and in that class I was fascinated when I looked at...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: During my undergraduate years, I had to take an embryology class, and in that class I was fascinated when I looked at slides of thin sections of embryos, under the microscope. We had to make slides of the different stages of development from different embryos, like chicken or mouse. And then, from what we saw under the microscope, we had to model them with clay. That whole process really struck me a lot because, first of all, I saw how different embryos are very similar in the initial stages of development, and second, when I look back, that was the class where I fell in love with science, biology, and I wanted to continue in this field.

- Did you go into biology as a general undergrad and you picked your specialty later?

Maria: No, in Iran, we have to choose our major when we are in high school. So, when you go to high school, you have to choose if you want to follow the math, biology or social sciences path. I chose biology early on. Initially, I wanted to go into the medical field, but I changed my mind after I observed the different interactions that my brother, who is a doctor, had with his patients and his professors at the hospital. Also, we had a family friend who was a scientist. I talked to him a lot about different paths and different areas I could work on. After those conversations, I realized I would really like to go into biology and, from the beginning, I always wanted to go into academia.

Click to hide the answer

Q#3: Our next question was precisely related to what made you choose biology. So, I think you already answered that. I guess you were influenced by different people, including your brother, correct?
Maria: Actually, yes. My brother is four years older than me; he really liked science and always had experiments set up in the house. I would just watch him. At that time, he always bought science journals like Scientific American or other journals, which were in Farsi, not in English. I would read all those journals and magazines, and that contributed to my interest in biology and science in general.

Q#3: Our next question was precisely related to what made you choose biology. So, I think you already answered that. I guess you were influenced by different people, including your brother, correct?

Maria: Actually, yes. My brother is four years older than me; he really liked science and always had experiments set up in the house. I would just watch him. At that time, he always bought science journals like Scientific American or other journals, which were in Farsi, not in English. I would read all those journals and magazines, and that contributed to my interest in biology and science in general.

Q#4: Maria, if I can follow up on this interest and passion for science, what was the origin of this interest? It came from your family, from society or from somewhere else. For example, your brother liked science journals. How did he know about those journals?
Maria: My father was a teacher and, therefore, he introduced us to this world when we were in elementary school. The best thing my father did was that, whenever he wanted to give us a gift, he gave us a journal or a book or something for us to read. Also, in the evenings, he used those Russian practice books to practice math or physics with us. So, my father basically introduced us to those magazines and journals. After that, we were already hooked and we just continued reading science.

Q#4: Maria, if I can follow up on this interest and passion for science, what was the origin of this interest? It came from your family, from society or from somewhere else. For example, your brother liked science journals. How did he know about those journals?

Maria: My father was a teacher and, therefore, he introduced us to this world when we were in elementary school. The best thing my father did was that, whenever he wanted to give us a gift, he gave us a journal or a book or something for us to read. Also, in the evenings, he used those Russian practice books to practice math or physics with us. So, my father basically introduced us to those magazines and journals. After that, we were already hooked and we just continued reading science.

Q#5: Maria, I remember when you did the fireside chat, the Honors meeting, and you talked about your research and about how you discovered that you can give people different doses of medication depending on if they are biological females or males. I was amazed by that. I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about that research.
Maria: Sure. I started my PhD program in Iran, but because of the sanctions and all the things that happened after... Click to see the complete answer Maria: Sure. I started my PhD program in Iran, but because of the sanctions and all the things that happened after the revolution in Iran, we didn't have that many resources to do our experiments for our PhDs. Therefore, the university gave us funds to apply and to go outside of Iran and do our thesis in other countries. At that time, when I wanted to do my thesis, my husband got a green card, and we said, OK, we're going to the US. Then, I was looking at different labs to see where I could go to continue my thesis for my PhD. In Iran, I was working on stem cells, and I was really interested in doing that research here as well. So, we found a lab in Connecticut that worked on stem cells. But after they gave us the acceptance, as we were getting ready to go there, something happened. It was in 2001, and they told us that because we were Iranian, they were sorry but they could not accept us. So, I had to search for another lab. At that time, I thought that the only scientist that would accept us was an Iranian scientist. This turned out to be correct, and I was accepted by Dr. Zakeri, who was at Queens College. Dr. Zakeri’s work was on gender differences, different aspects of gender differences. So, this is how I developed my project and went to her lab where I did the research for my thesis. That was how I became familiar with this project. - I think the result of your research had huge implications for later. Like many people maybe began to look at treatments from this new angle, is this correct? Maria: Yes. At that time, when we started to work on gender differences, I remember it was just our lab and maybe one or two other labs. But after that, when our lab published several papers, and after we presented our work at different conferences, more and more scientists were interested in this field. Right now, if you search for gender differences, there are many papers. - But you were the pioneer, Maria! Maria: (laughing) Yes, thank you. Click to hide the answer

Q#5: Maria, I remember when you did the fireside chat, the Honors meeting, and you talked about your research and about how you discovered that you can give people different doses of medication depending on if they are biological females or males. I was amazed by that. I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about that research.

Maria: Sure. I started my PhD program in Iran, but because of the sanctions and all the things that happened after...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: Sure. I started my PhD program in Iran, but because of the sanctions and all the things that happened after the revolution in Iran, we didn't have that many resources to do our experiments for our PhDs. Therefore, the university gave us funds to apply and to go outside of Iran and do our thesis in other countries. At that time, when I wanted to do my thesis, my husband got a green card, and we said, OK, we're going to the US. Then, I was looking at different labs to see where I could go to continue my thesis for my PhD. In Iran, I was working on stem cells, and I was really interested in doing that research here as well. So, we found a lab in Connecticut that worked on stem cells. But after they gave us the acceptance, as we were getting ready to go there, something happened. It was in 2001, and they told us that because we were Iranian, they were sorry but they could not accept us. So, I had to search for another lab. At that time, I thought that the only scientist that would accept us was an Iranian scientist. This turned out to be correct, and I was accepted by Dr. Zakeri, who was at Queens College. Dr. Zakeri’s work was on gender differences, different aspects of gender differences. So, this is how I developed my project and went to her lab where I did the research for my thesis. That was how I became familiar with this project.

- I think the result of your research had huge implications for later. Like many people maybe began to look at treatments from this new angle, is this correct?

Maria: Yes. At that time, when we started to work on gender differences, I remember it was just our lab and maybe one or two other labs. But after that, when our lab published several papers, and after we presented our work at different conferences, more and more scientists were interested in this field. Right now, if you search for gender differences, there are many papers.

- But you were the pioneer, Maria!

Maria: (laughing) Yes, thank you.

Click to hide the answer

Q#6: Maria, was it hard to come to the US from Iran? Did you experience a big cultural difference, maybe language, maybe other problems? How did you feel coming here to the US?
Maria: Definitely, it was very hard for us, because when we came here... Click to see the complete answer Maria: Definitely, it was very hard for us, because when we came here, I had my two kids, and we needed to think about them as well. It wasn't just studying, we had to work as well. We also had difficulties with the language because we never spoke English in Iran. And all books were translated. None of our textbooks were in English. At the PhD program, I had to read books, which were in English. But again, they weren’t accessible to all of us. As a result of the US sanctions, no book could come to Iran, and there were also some copyright issues. Therefore, it was very difficult for us to learn English even by reading books. So, when we came here, it was very difficult for us. But then little by little, even with my kids, when they learned English, I learned with them as well. In addition, we worked, and my mentor and her husband were very helpful because, as I mentioned, we needed to work as well. They gave us a biology lab class to teach. I had 15 years of experience teaching in medical and dental school in Iran. But the method was very different from here. So, when we came here, I remember that they told us that we had to make PowerPoint slides. I really didn't know how to do that because we used those slides which we put on the projectors, like in the old days. So, I didn't know about PowerPoint slides. Also, because we didn't have that much money, my brother bought a laptop for me. I had to learn how to make my slides for my class. Every night, I wrote the script about what I wanted to say in class, and I went over that script several times to make sure that I knew what I was talking about. So, it was hard. But, when you like what to do and when you have a clear goal, that helps you a lot. - It is about motivation, right? If you have the motivation, you can go through all these challenges. Maria: Yeah. Click to hide the answer

Q#6: Maria, was it hard to come to the US from Iran? Did you experience a big cultural difference, maybe language, maybe other problems? How did you feel coming here to the US?

Maria: Definitely, it was very hard for us, because when we came here...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: Definitely, it was very hard for us, because when we came here, I had my two kids, and we needed to think about them as well. It wasn't just studying, we had to work as well.

We also had difficulties with the language because we never spoke English in Iran. And all books were translated. None of our textbooks were in English. At the PhD program, I had to read books, which were in English. But again, they weren’t accessible to all of us. As a result of the US sanctions, no book could come to Iran, and there were also some copyright issues. Therefore, it was very difficult for us to learn English even by reading books. So, when we came here, it was very difficult for us. But then little by little, even with my kids, when they learned English, I learned with them as well.

In addition, we worked, and my mentor and her husband were very helpful because, as I mentioned, we needed to work as well. They gave us a biology lab class to teach. I had 15 years of experience teaching in medical and dental school in Iran. But the method was very different from here. So, when we came here, I remember that they told us that we had to make PowerPoint slides. I really didn't know how to do that because we used those slides which we put on the projectors, like in the old days. So, I didn't know about PowerPoint slides. Also, because we didn't have that much money, my brother bought a laptop for me. I had to learn how to make my slides for my class. Every night, I wrote the script about what I wanted to say in class, and I went over that script several times to make sure that I knew what I was talking about. So, it was hard. But, when you like what to do and when you have a clear goal, that helps you a lot.

- It is about motivation, right? If you have the motivation, you can go through all these challenges.

Maria: Yeah.

Click to hide the answer

Q#7: Maria, you've talked a little bit about your PhD project, but is there a particular project that you are personally most proud of?
Maria: I went to North Shore LIJ Feinstein Institute to do my postdoc. There. I worked for about... Click to see the complete answer Maria: I went to North Shore LIJ Feinstein Institute to do my postdoc. There. I worked for about one and a half years. After that, my supervisor moved to St. John's University, and she asked me to move there with her. So, I went and worked for three years at St. John's University. We worked on HMGB-1 and, at that time, our lab and Kevin Tracy, the director of the Feinstein Institute, were working on HMGB-1. Thus, I was one of the first researchers working on different aspects of HMGB-1. - Maria, I'm just going to interrupt you for a second, but could you give us a brief summary of what HMGB-1 stands for for the readers of Ad Astra? Maria: High Mobility Group Box 1. It's a very technical word, but it is related to one of the paths for transduction and also works in conjunction with other molecules such as NF-kappa-Beta, does that ring a bell...? - Maybe regulation of gene expression? Maria: Yes. So that work was about regulation of gene expression. Also during oxidative stress or any inflammatory factors or infection, even with bacteria or viral infections, HMGB-1 is upregulated and released, and this causes more inflammatory responses. One of the projects we did was on hydrogen peroxide and expression of HMGB-1. It was very original and, at the institute, everyone was very excited about that because at that time, they didn't know the path of HMGB-1 expression promoted by hydrogen peroxide. You know, sometimes, when an experiment fails, the failure might result in another research avenue you discovered or you find another way to do the same experiment. That was what happened because we worked on that experiment for a long time and, every week, we had lab meetings. Everyone got together and discussed the experiments. Suddenly, I was reading different papers, and I suggested my supervisor to try this other experiment. I think that helped and was something that we could understand. Thus, we were able to find one of the paths involved in the expression of HMGB-1 due to the presence of hydrogen peroxide. So, I'm very proud of doing that. - Maria, is this also related, correct me if I'm wrong, to hospitals where they give oxygen? So, in terms of applications, maybe you can tell us about the importance of your discovery in this context. Maria: Yes, because in hospitals, when people go to ICU, they go under ventilation, and they put in oxygen, and that level of oxygen could express HMGB-1 as an oxidative stress for the cells. This scenario results in a higher expression of HMGB-1. A little bit of oxygen is good because we need inflammatory responses in these cases, but if it's going to be too much, then a higher expression of HMGB-1 would impair the function of macrophages, and then they cannot fight the infection. In turn, that causes more infection and sepsis in patients that go under ventilation in the ICU. We know that sepsis can kill many patients in hospitals. So, in that regard, that work and project was very important because it was directly related to patient care. Click to hide the answer

Q#7: Maria, you've talked a little bit about your PhD project, but is there a particular project that you are personally most proud of?

Maria: I went to North Shore LIJ Feinstein Institute to do my postdoc. There. I worked for about...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: I went to North Shore LIJ Feinstein Institute to do my postdoc. There. I worked for about one and a half years. After that, my supervisor moved to St. John's University, and she asked me to move there with her. So, I went and worked for three years at St. John's University. We worked on HMGB-1 and, at that time, our lab and Kevin Tracy, the director of the Feinstein Institute, were working on HMGB-1. Thus, I was one of the first researchers working on different aspects of HMGB-1.

- Maria, I'm just going to interrupt you for a second, but could you give us a brief summary of what HMGB-1 stands for for the readers of Ad Astra?

Maria: High Mobility Group Box 1. It's a very technical word, but it is related to one of the paths for transduction and also works in conjunction with other molecules such as NF-kappa-Beta, does that ring a bell...?

- Maybe regulation of gene expression?

Maria: Yes. So that work was about regulation of gene expression. Also during oxidative stress or any inflammatory factors or infection, even with bacteria or viral infections, HMGB-1 is upregulated and released, and this causes more inflammatory responses. One of the projects we did was on hydrogen peroxide and expression of HMGB-1. It was very original and, at the institute, everyone was very excited about that because at that time, they didn't know the path of HMGB-1 expression promoted by hydrogen peroxide.

You know, sometimes, when an experiment fails, the failure might result in another research avenue you discovered or you find another way to do the same experiment. That was what happened because we worked on that experiment for a long time and, every week, we had lab meetings. Everyone got together and discussed the experiments. Suddenly, I was reading different papers, and I suggested my supervisor to try this other experiment. I think that helped and was something that we could understand. Thus, we were able to find one of the paths involved in the expression of HMGB-1 due to the presence of hydrogen peroxide. So, I'm very proud of doing that.

- Maria, is this also related, correct me if I'm wrong, to hospitals where they give oxygen? So, in terms of applications, maybe you can tell us about the importance of your discovery in this context.

Maria: Yes, because in hospitals, when people go to ICU, they go under ventilation, and they put in oxygen, and that level of oxygen could express HMGB-1 as an oxidative stress for the cells. This scenario results in a higher expression of HMGB-1. A little bit of oxygen is good because we need inflammatory responses in these cases, but if it's going to be too much, then a higher expression of HMGB-1 would impair the function of macrophages, and then they cannot fight the infection. In turn, that causes more infection and sepsis in patients that go under ventilation in the ICU. We know that sepsis can kill many patients in hospitals. So, in that regard, that work and project was very important because it was directly related to patient care.

Click to hide the answer

Q#8: Maria, you have had many ideas over the years, and you have also probably applied to different grants and have spearheaded many initiatives. Could you briefly tell us about any initiative that you are most proud of, or that you liked a lot.
Maria: Sure. I get different ideas for my research because I read many... Click to see the complete answer Maria: Sure. I get different ideas for my research because I read many papers about what I want to work on. I always had or found ideas by comparing different papers and putting all these pieces next to each other to figure out which one was missing. Then, I tried to find out if we can make the story whole. In terms of grants related to our students it was different. When I was doing my postdoc, every week we had lab meetings, and in those lab meetings, I realized how I could help everyone to learn better, to communicate, to solve issues. So, therefore, I thought that for students, it should be the same. If they interact with each other and if they are introduced to research early on, then that should help them learn all the material in the courses they take in college. When I came to LaGuardia, I realized that there was an NIH Bridges program, but it wasn't the same as the one we train students today. There were no weekly workshops there. Also, many students didn’t go to work in labs at four-year schools in the summer. So, I talked to Dr. Delcham, who was the director of the program at that time, and I told him that I thought that weekly workshops would be very good for students to allow them to interact with each other. They could discuss different projects with each other. Also, I recommended that when they do the research at LaGuardia during the academic year, maybe we could find similar labs at four-year schools for them as well, and they could go to that school in the summer, which helps their transfer to a senior college much smoother. So, that's why when we wrote the renewal for this grant, we proposed having weekly workshops to improve soft skills for students and also introduce them with research at LaGuardia and at senior colleges. That was something that I hadn’t seen at that time in other community colleges. So, we had that model of weekly workshops and later the CRISP program also followed that model. So, that was one initiative and then the other initiative was when Dr. Fuentes and I developed lab manuals for SCB-201. Dr. Fuentes and I took a professional development workshop, and when we talked to each other, we realized that it would be a very good idea to implement research in the classrooms because we knew that for CRSP and NIH Bridges, we could only recruit a few students. But we wanted to involve more students, and also students sometimes wonder how they can apply what they learn in our courses to real life experiences. Therefore, Lucia and I thought that it could be a good idea to have a semester-long project for students and, during each lab, we could introduce them to some experiments and research; they could gradually collect their data. We thought that we could introduce students to a written project that they could relate to. Most students live in Queens or around LaGuardia, and they know Newton Creek. In addition, Dr. Sarah Durand was doing some research on the creek as well. So, we decided to develop lab manuals for SCB 201 related to water collected from Newtown Creek. I think that was the most important thing that I can say that I'm proud of because at that time, there wasn't research in the classrooms related to the course. There were some research in the classroom at that time, but it was totally isolated from the course materials, and also it was just one time that the students could go and do a very preliminary experiment, but the way we introduced our students to do research was, I think, more effective because it was related to their course and in a semester-long fashion. - Definitely. Teaching SCB 201, I can say that it's great. Very well integrated, and every lab has a research component, so it's amazing. Click to hide the answer

Q#8: Maria, you have had many ideas over the years, and you have also probably applied to different grants and have spearheaded many initiatives. Could you briefly tell us about any initiative that you are most proud of, or that you liked a lot.

Maria: Sure. I get different ideas for my research because I read many...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: Sure. I get different ideas for my research because I read many papers about what I want to work on. I always had or found ideas by comparing different papers and putting all these pieces next to each other to figure out which one was missing. Then, I tried to find out if we can make the story whole.

In terms of grants related to our students it was different. When I was doing my postdoc, every week we had lab meetings, and in those lab meetings, I realized how I could help everyone to learn better, to communicate, to solve issues. So, therefore, I thought that for students, it should be the same. If they interact with each other and if they are introduced to research early on, then that should help them learn all the material in the courses they take in college. When I came to LaGuardia, I realized that there was an NIH Bridges program, but it wasn't the same as the one we train students today. There were no weekly workshops there. Also, many students didn’t go to work in labs at four-year schools in the summer. So, I talked to Dr. Delcham, who was the director of the program at that time, and I told him that I thought that weekly workshops would be very good for students to allow them to interact with each other. They could discuss different projects with each other. Also, I recommended that when they do the research at LaGuardia during the academic year, maybe we could find similar labs at four-year schools for them as well, and they could go to that school in the summer, which helps their transfer to a senior college much smoother. So, that's why when we wrote the renewal for this grant, we proposed having weekly workshops to improve soft skills for students and also introduce them with research at LaGuardia and at senior colleges. That was something that I hadn’t seen at that time in other community colleges. So, we had that model of weekly workshops and later the CRISP program also followed that model.

So, that was one initiative and then the other initiative was when Dr. Fuentes and I developed lab manuals for SCB-201. Dr. Fuentes and I took a professional development workshop, and when we talked to each other, we realized that it would be a very good idea to implement research in the classrooms because we knew that for CRSP and NIH Bridges, we could only recruit a few students. But we wanted to involve more students, and also students sometimes wonder how they can apply what they learn in our courses to real life experiences. Therefore, Lucia and I thought that it could be a good idea to have a semester-long project for students and, during each lab, we could introduce them to some experiments and research; they could gradually collect their data. We thought that we could introduce students to a written project that they could relate to. Most students live in Queens or around LaGuardia, and they know Newton Creek. In addition, Dr. Sarah Durand was doing some research on the creek as well. So, we decided to develop lab manuals for SCB 201 related to water collected from Newtown Creek. I think that was the most important thing that I can say that I'm proud of because at that time, there wasn't research in the classrooms related to the course. There were some research in the classroom at that time, but it was totally isolated from the course materials, and also it was just one time that the students could go and do a very preliminary experiment, but the way we introduced our students to do research was, I think, more effective because it was related to their course and in a semester-long fashion.

- Definitely. Teaching SCB 201, I can say that it's great. Very well integrated, and every lab has a research component, so it's amazing.

Click to hide the answer

Q#9: So, Maria, I wanted to go back to your college years, and then we can come back to your research as well. If you look back, who was the most influential person for you, or what was the moment you remember the most from your college years that maybe shaped your vision or passion for science and your future career?
Maria: As I mentioned, my professor in the embryology class, he really loved what he was doing, and you could tell when... Click to see the complete answer Maria: As I mentioned, my professor in the embryology class, he really loved what he was doing, and you could tell when he came to class and he talked about the course materials, he really loved his work. I think he could transmit that love to his students.Then, when I worked in the lab with him, and he saw my work, I remember that he came to me and told me that I should continue in this field because, he said, I was very good at it and that I seemed to like it. Those words motivated me to do that, and I wanted one day to be like him. I would go to class and decided I was going to teach the way that he taught us biology. He taught us in my second year of college in undergraduate, but he followed me until my PhD, and every time he asked me, why are you doing this? I would answer because I want to, and in Iran, basically, in medical school and dental school, I taught embryology. So he was the person who influenced me a lot. - It's such a tough topic, it's a tough, tough subject. Maria: Yes, it's a tough subject, but it's really interesting. - But not everybody can transpose what you did, like having a flat slide and then build a 3D model in clay from just looking at sequences of slides. I think that is amazing, and I think a lot of people can't do it because their brain just doesn't have the capability, and that's probably why your professor picked you, you were amazing! - Summarizing, what makes a professor to be a good professor? Based on what you just said, do you think that what makes a professor great is their love for the science they are involved in? Or do you believe there is something else? Maria: Definitely, there is something else as well besides loving the topic or the course that a professor teaches. The other thing is to be present all the time in the class, and be there for students, help them, not only just for the course material, but sometimes students need to be motivated. For example, for me, my professor motivated and encouraged me by telling me I was good at what I was doing. These are the things that I think a good professor should pay attention to and motivate his or her students. If any students have any strength in a particular area, it's good to encourage them. It's also good to encourage them in other ways, and maybe someday they will become interested in science or in the topic that the instructor teaches because of the recognition their professor gave them. - That's especially important for LaGuardia students, because they have to struggle with a lot of issues, and most of them are international students. Maria: Yes, that's true. Click to hide the answer

Q#9: So, Maria, I wanted to go back to your college years, and then we can come back to your research as well. If you look back, who was the most influential person for you, or what was the moment you remember the most from your college years that maybe shaped your vision or passion for science and your future career?

Maria: As I mentioned, my professor in the embryology class, he really loved what he was doing, and you could tell when...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: As I mentioned, my professor in the embryology class, he really loved what he was doing, and you could tell when he came to class and he talked about the course materials, he really loved his work. I think he could transmit that love to his students.Then, when I worked in the lab with him, and he saw my work, I remember that he came to me and told me that I should continue in this field because, he said, I was very good at it and that I seemed to like it. Those words motivated me to do that, and I wanted one day to be like him. I would go to class and decided I was going to teach the way that he taught us biology. He taught us in my second year of college in undergraduate, but he followed me until my PhD, and every time he asked me, why are you doing this? I would answer because I want to, and in Iran, basically, in medical school and dental school, I taught embryology. So he was the person who influenced me a lot.

- It's such a tough topic, it's a tough, tough subject.

Maria: Yes, it's a tough subject, but it's really interesting.

- But not everybody can transpose what you did, like having a flat slide and then build a 3D model in clay from just looking at sequences of slides. I think that is amazing, and I think a lot of people can't do it because their brain just doesn't have the capability, and that's probably why your professor picked you, you were amazing!

- Summarizing, what makes a professor to be a good professor? Based on what you just said, do you think that what makes a professor great is their love for the science they are involved in? Or do you believe there is something else?

Maria: Definitely, there is something else as well besides loving the topic or the course that a professor teaches. The other thing is to be present all the time in the class, and be there for students, help them, not only just for the course material, but sometimes students need to be motivated. For example, for me, my professor motivated and encouraged me by telling me I was good at what I was doing. These are the things that I think a good professor should pay attention to and motivate his or her students. If any students have any strength in a particular area, it's good to encourage them. It's also good to encourage them in other ways, and maybe someday they will become interested in science or in the topic that the instructor teaches because of the recognition their professor gave them.

- That's especially important for LaGuardia students, because they have to struggle with a lot of issues, and most of them are international students.

Maria: Yes, that's true.

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Q#10: Maria, we have a question about English as a second language. You've told us a lot about how you struggled and how you overcame the language barrier. To follow up on that, what advice do you have for LaGuardia students, since we have a large population of students whose first language is not English?
Maria: Yes, it's very hard, but my advice would be that they shouldn't be embarrassed if they cannot... Click to see the complete answer Maria: Yes, it's very hard, but my advice would be that they shouldn't be embarrassed if they cannot pronounce a word or if their grammar is not correct because if they are shy and avoid speaking in English, then they will not learn. And also, here, I found very good people who do not care about your grammar or your accent, they just want to help you, and it's good to interact with them. In my experience, many times, even during lab meetings, I didn't talk, and I didn't tell people my opinion because I thought I couldn't say what I wanted to say, or maybe I couldn't pronounce a word, or maybe my grammar was not correct. I thought people were going to laugh at me; thus, I didn't talk. That's not a good approach because here, everyone needs to express themselves, even if they cannot speak English fluently, because what they have to say influences people more than the use of correct grammar. So, my advice would be to just talk, and don't be embarrassed. - That's great, because maybe the ideas or the message that they have to say is more important than not transmitting that message just because it's going to be in broken English. Maria: Yes, exactly, because these students are the young generation, and they have great ideas and can contribute to discussions happening in the class or even outside of the class. Click to hide the answer

Q#10: Maria, we have a question about English as a second language. You've told us a lot about how you struggled and how you overcame the language barrier. To follow up on that, what advice do you have for LaGuardia students, since we have a large population of students whose first language is not English?

Maria: Yes, it's very hard, but my advice would be that they shouldn't be embarrassed if they cannot...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: Yes, it's very hard, but my advice would be that they shouldn't be embarrassed if they cannot pronounce a word or if their grammar is not correct because if they are shy and avoid speaking in English, then they will not learn. And also, here, I found very good people who do not care about your grammar or your accent, they just want to help you, and it's good to interact with them. In my experience, many times, even during lab meetings, I didn't talk, and I didn't tell people my opinion because I thought I couldn't say what I wanted to say, or maybe I couldn't pronounce a word, or maybe my grammar was not correct. I thought people were going to laugh at me; thus, I didn't talk. That's not a good approach because here, everyone needs to express themselves, even if they cannot speak English fluently, because what they have to say influences people more than the use of correct grammar. So, my advice would be to just talk, and don't be embarrassed.

- That's great, because maybe the ideas or the message that they have to say is more important than not transmitting that message just because it's going to be in broken English.

Maria: Yes, exactly, because these students are the young generation, and they have great ideas and can contribute to discussions happening in the class or even outside of the class.

Click to hide the answer

Q#11: Maria, we were thinking about how education in general has changed in the past 10 years. Do you agree that there has been a change and what changes do you anticipate might happen in the future?
Maria: In terms of the previous 10 years, education, teaching, and learning have changed, and mostly in terms of... Click to see the complete answer Maria: In terms of the previous 10 years, education, teaching, and learning have changed, and mostly in terms of technology. So, maybe 10 years ago, there wasn't that much software or tools that students could use for learning, and that's true for instructors as well. So, today, there are many more resources that both instructors and students can use, and I think, today, there is more attention to making the course materials more inclusive for students than before. Because before, it was just traditional teaching. The instructor went to the class and then just taught the course, and left. Today, there are many other platforms or ways they can teach. They give students group work, projects, presentations, all these things that I think have improved teaching. Regarding the future, we all know that AI is coming into the picture. Thus, there will definitely be greater changes. I think in the future, based on having all these technology tools, learning will be more personalized. Also, I think that there will be more online courses offered in the future. Therefore, students can learn at their own pace or they can choose different tools that help them learn better for any courses they take. But we also need to consider that even with AI or many other digital tools which are available to students, still, the instructors' role as a mentor is crucial, otherwise students may wander aimlessly among all these tools that are available to them. Mentors and instructors can guide them on how they can study, how they can find different ways to learn better. So, still, the role of instructors is always very important, even in this era of AI. The other thing is that in the future, students need to have more or improved skills in terms of time management, communication, and soft skills. That's why I think that introducing students to research and having programs like NIH Bridges and CRSP, is very important to improve these skills for our students, because just having knowledge of something would not be enough in the future, and they have to know how to use different tools for their career. For doing that and to be successful, they need to have all these soft skills as well. - So, I've just been thinking about what you had said before about the importance of your lab meetings for the exchange of ideas. So, how do you see the classroom itself, if there's a takeover by technology tools where students individualize their learning process, even under a mentor or faculty. How does this reconcile with the need you mentioned of the exchange and discussion of ideas? How could you actually maintain exchange while still providing an individualized education, so to speak? Do you see a scenario where those two things can be combined? I'm thinking about what happened during the COVID pandemic and the isolation and its effects in spite of all the technology available. How do you feel about that? Maria: I think we need to show career examples to our students and tell them about potential jobs in the future and the qualities needed to be successful in those jobs. Otherwise, there's lots of competition between different people. Therefore, we need to work together. I know that some of the students don't like to work in a group and, given that you mentioned online classes, they do not turn on their cameras. But I think just talking to students and if we can bring people who are in the industry or companies to tell students what they need besides learning course materials, which they can learn individually, but that they can never have the group/class experience that if they don’t work in a group and one person doesn't do the work, how you need to handle that? All these things are, I think, if we tell our students from the beginning when they start their education at the college, we just tell them and we show them the examples, I think that helps. But other than that, I really don't know. - Maria, if I can follow up on Lucia's question, if more personalized learning will be important in the future, does it mean that large classes with many students will disappear? In this case, are we going to have classes with 100 or even 20 students? Maria: No. I didn't mean that personalizing education is decreasing class size. Personalized in terms of students choosing which tool is better for them to learn the course materials. I was saying that we provide the course and introduce the tools to students. Then, the students can decide which tool works better for them to learn, but a certain tool might not work for another student. That's why when I said that in traditional teaching, there was just one way of teaching where the instructor goes to class and talks and leaves. That may not work for some of the students. But then if we provide different resources and different tools, like let's say YouTube videos, animations, or questions that we provide for them to answer. These different things can help different students in different ways. - Yes, my understanding was that you say that artificial intelligence will find a way to teach every student individually in a way that is most suitable for a particular student. From this point of view, we lost this communication between the students, which is probably not good. Maria: Yes, definitely. Click to hide the answer

Q#11: Maria, we were thinking about how education in general has changed in the past 10 years. Do you agree that there has been a change and what changes do you anticipate might happen in the future?

Maria: In terms of the previous 10 years, education, teaching, and learning have changed, and mostly in terms of...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: In terms of the previous 10 years, education, teaching, and learning have changed, and mostly in terms of technology. So, maybe 10 years ago, there wasn't that much software or tools that students could use for learning, and that's true for instructors as well. So, today, there are many more resources that both instructors and students can use, and I think, today, there is more attention to making the course materials more inclusive for students than before. Because before, it was just traditional teaching. The instructor went to the class and then just taught the course, and left. Today, there are many other platforms or ways they can teach. They give students group work, projects, presentations, all these things that I think have improved teaching.

Regarding the future, we all know that AI is coming into the picture. Thus, there will definitely be greater changes. I think in the future, based on having all these technology tools, learning will be more personalized. Also, I think that there will be more online courses offered in the future.

Therefore, students can learn at their own pace or they can choose different tools that help them learn better for any courses they take. But we also need to consider that even with AI or many other digital tools which are available to students, still, the instructors' role as a mentor is crucial, otherwise students may wander aimlessly among all these tools that are available to them. Mentors and instructors can guide them on how they can study, how they can find different ways to learn better. So, still, the role of instructors is always very important, even in this era of AI.

The other thing is that in the future, students need to have more or improved skills in terms of time management, communication, and soft skills. That's why I think that introducing students to research and having programs like NIH Bridges and CRSP, is very important to improve these skills for our students, because just having knowledge of something would not be enough in the future, and they have to know how to use different tools for their career. For doing that and to be successful, they need to have all these soft skills as well.

- So, I've just been thinking about what you had said before about the importance of your lab meetings for the exchange of ideas. So, how do you see the classroom itself, if there's a takeover by technology tools where students individualize their learning process, even under a mentor or faculty. How does this reconcile with the need you mentioned of the exchange and discussion of ideas? How could you actually maintain exchange while still providing an individualized education, so to speak? Do you see a scenario where those two things can be combined? I'm thinking about what happened during the COVID pandemic and the isolation and its effects in spite of all the technology available. How do you feel about that?

Maria: I think we need to show career examples to our students and tell them about potential jobs in the future and the qualities needed to be successful in those jobs. Otherwise, there's lots of competition between different people. Therefore, we need to work together. I know that some of the students don't like to work in a group and, given that you mentioned online classes, they do not turn on their cameras. But I think just talking to students and if we can bring people who are in the industry or companies to tell students what they need besides learning course materials, which they can learn individually, but that they can never have the group/class experience that if they don’t work in a group and one person doesn't do the work, how you need to handle that? All these things are, I think, if we tell our students from the beginning when they start their education at the college, we just tell them and we show them the examples, I think that helps. But other than that, I really don't know.

- Maria, if I can follow up on Lucia's question, if more personalized learning will be important in the future, does it mean that large classes with many students will disappear? In this case, are we going to have classes with 100 or even 20 students?

Maria: No. I didn't mean that personalizing education is decreasing class size. Personalized in terms of students choosing which tool is better for them to learn the course materials. I was saying that we provide the course and introduce the tools to students. Then, the students can decide which tool works better for them to learn, but a certain tool might not work for another student. That's why when I said that in traditional teaching, there was just one way of teaching where the instructor goes to class and talks and leaves. That may not work for some of the students. But then if we provide different resources and different tools, like let's say YouTube videos, animations, or questions that we provide for them to answer. These different things can help different students in different ways.

- Yes, my understanding was that you say that artificial intelligence will find a way to teach every student individually in a way that is most suitable for a particular student. From this point of view, we lost this communication between the students, which is probably not good.

Maria: Yes, definitely.

Click to hide the answer

Q#12: Maria, how are you so brilliant that you can apply for a grant overnight? I've always thought, how does Maria do this? How does your brain work? I'm not being kind, I'm being real. One thing I don't want us to let escape from your profile, is the amount of work and contributions that you have made to the college, just in terms of all the grants. So, because I know you, and I know you have applied for grants almost overnight, I don't even know what question to ask. That's why I said how do you do it? How do you write a grant overnight?
Maria: Again, when you like what you do, and you think that what you are doing will... Click to see the complete answer Maria: Again, when you like what you do, and you think that what you are doing will benefit students or colleagues then, when I read any articles or when I hear any discussions in CTL or among our colleagues, I was always thinking ‘how can we do something about this issue?’ And that's when I started to do literature review and see what people do in other schools. Then I gathered all these ideas and put them together for different grants. - Thank you. I don't want that to go away because it's such an important aspect of all your work you've done. - I think it relates to what you said before, Maria, that when you were doing different research, you saw that there were knowledge gaps, and it is kind of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. And you said ‘oh, this is the little thing that is missing’, right? Click to hide the answer

Q#12: Maria, how are you so brilliant that you can apply for a grant overnight? I've always thought, how does Maria do this? How does your brain work? I'm not being kind, I'm being real. One thing I don't want us to let escape from your profile, is the amount of work and contributions that you have made to the college, just in terms of all the grants. So, because I know you, and I know you have applied for grants almost overnight, I don't even know what question to ask. That's why I said how do you do it? How do you write a grant overnight?

Maria: Again, when you like what you do, and you think that what you are doing will...

Click to see the complete answer Maria: Again, when you like what you do, and you think that what you are doing will benefit students or colleagues then, when I read any articles or when I hear any discussions in CTL or among our colleagues, I was always thinking ‘how can we do something about this issue?’ And that's when I started to do literature review and see what people do in other schools. Then I gathered all these ideas and put them together for different grants.

- Thank you. I don't want that to go away because it's such an important aspect of all your work you've done.

- I think it relates to what you said before, Maria, that when you were doing different research, you saw that there were knowledge gaps, and it is kind of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. And you said ‘oh, this is the little thing that is missing’, right?

Click to hide the answer

Q#13: Maria, speaking about today's students, if you could give one piece of advice to current students, what would you advise them?
Maria: Be bold, and do whatever you love, without any hesitation. If you love to do something, you will definitely be successful. And that motivates students to reach their goals.

Q#14: Well, this is the last part of the interview and it is a little bit more personal.
- Do you have a hobby or something you like to do? Maria: So my hobby was, if I may say this because my kids also told me that my hobby was... Click to see the answers - Do you have a hobby or something you like to do? Maria: So my hobby was, if I may say this because my kids also told me that my hobby was reading papers about education, pedagogy, and also about my research. That was my hobby for a long time. But recently, I'm very interested in listening to podcasts for a healthy life and how you can forgive people, you know? Because when you forgive people, then your soul will be at peace. So therefore, recently, I'm really interested in that field, and I listen to different podcasts or read about different articles or books about this. - What can you easily forgive in people? And what is hard to forgive for you? Maria: I'm a person who forgets things easily. But then, I'm practicing. I'm practicing to just have that quality in myself, that forgiveness. It's a real quality that not everyone can do that. But again, if you want to have a quiet life with your family, and be successful in what is really important for you, forgiving people is very important. It's hard for me when you do good things for people and then they just, maybe do not understand or do not appreciate that. So that's a little bit hard for me to forgive. But eventually, I forgive that as well. - Is there something which is very easy for you to forgive? Maria: There are many things that I think that there is no point to be angry about. Let's say, for example, if we want to teach a class, and if someone else wants to teach that class, then they take it from you. I would be angry at first, but then I’ll forget about it. - If you can change one thing about yourself, what would you change? Maria: Change about myself? I would be more careful interacting with people. - Is there any character feature in you that makes you – Maria, the main character feature of yourself? Maria: I cannot say that. Other people should say it. Maybe, just believe in principles, in some principles, speaking based on those principles. - What do you like about yourself the most? Maria: That I care about other people. - If there is one thing you most regret, then what is this? Maria: The most regrettable thing is that I would have liked to come to the U.S. earlier because then I would have had many other opportunities in my life. - If there is absolute happiness, what does it mean for you? Maria: Absolute happiness? Be with my family. - Whether you believe in God or not, if you were to meet God, what would you tell him? Maria: I will ask him why life is not fair. Click to hide the answers

Q#14: Well, this is the last part of the interview and it is a little bit more personal.

- Do you have a hobby or something you like to do?

Maria: So my hobby was, if I may say this because my kids also told me that my hobby was...

Click to see the answers

- Do you have a hobby or something you like to do?

Maria: So my hobby was, if I may say this because my kids also told me that my hobby was reading papers about education, pedagogy, and also about my research. That was my hobby for a long time. But recently, I'm very interested in listening to podcasts for a healthy life and how you can forgive people, you know? Because when you forgive people, then your soul will be at peace. So therefore, recently, I'm really interested in that field, and I listen to different podcasts or read about different articles or books about this.

- What can you easily forgive in people? And what is hard to forgive for you?

Maria: I'm a person who forgets things easily. But then, I'm practicing. I'm practicing to just have that quality in myself, that forgiveness. It's a real quality that not everyone can do that. But again, if you want to have a quiet life with your family, and be successful in what is really important for you, forgiving people is very important. It's hard for me when you do good things for people and then they just, maybe do not understand or do not appreciate that. So that's a little bit hard for me to forgive. But eventually, I forgive that as well.

- Is there something which is very easy for you to forgive?

Maria: There are many things that I think that there is no point to be angry about. Let's say, for example, if we want to teach a class, and if someone else wants to teach that class, then they take it from you. I would be angry at first, but then I’ll forget about it.

- If you can change one thing about yourself, what would you change?

Maria: Change about myself? I would be more careful interacting with people.

- Is there any character feature in you that makes you – Maria, the main character feature of yourself?

Maria: I cannot say that. Other people should say it. Maybe, just believe in principles, in some principles, speaking based on those principles.

- What do you like about yourself the most?

Maria: That I care about other people.

- If there is one thing you most regret, then what is this?

Maria: The most regrettable thing is that I would have liked to come to the U.S. earlier because then I would have had many other opportunities in my life.

- If there is absolute happiness, what does it mean for you?

Maria: Absolute happiness? Be with my family.

- Whether you believe in God or not, if you were to meet God, what would you tell him?

Maria: I will ask him why life is not fair.

Click to hide the answers