Please share your academic background, motivation, and reasons for pursuing a degree in Pharmacy.
I attained a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, earned a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation degree at Northwestern University, and completed my Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy Fellowship at Midwestern University’s College of Pharmacy.

I went straight from high school to pharmacy school. At the time, PharmD was a six-year program and was heavy on chemistry.  In high school, I liked chemistry, biology, and patient care. PharmD seemed to be more in-line with my personal interests than medical or dental school (the most three popular options among my peers at the time) so I chose to go to pharmacy school.

I would love to hear about some of your experiences with your mentors, who inspired you to pursue your career. 
During pharmacy school, I did not have a mentor per se but the thesis project that my advisor proposed piqued my interest in HIV. 

My thesis advisor was a clinician scientist and an educator. The fact that his clinical practice helped him find gaps in knowledge to then pursue it as a research project was very interesting to me as a student. His teaching method was also very effective. His lectures were easy to follow which I always appreciated.

What is your opinion on the gender gap in science? Have you faced any obstacles in your career that you'd like to share?
I think in some other countries, gender gap is more noticeable. But I’ve been determined enough to pursue my goals and have tried to not let gender gap stop me.

Could you share your valuable advice for young girls passionate about pursuing careers in STEM fields? Your insights and experiences could make a huge difference in empowering and inspiring future generations of women.
My advice is, if they have a goal, they should be decisive, focused and work hard to achieve it. They should not let disappointment compel them to give up or change their path. They shouldn’t let norms, what has “typically” been done, stop them from pursuing their goal. The path can be rough but achieving the goal is very rewarding.

What are your hobbies and future aspirations? Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
In terms of hobbies, I love traveling; I find exploring new places fascinating. I think it helps me grow as a person when I interact with people from different regions and cultures. 
In regards to future goals, I would like to get a research program started to be able to teach a diverse group of students how to conduct clinical research. Eventually, I think having a leadership role in clinical research can enable me to expand beyond that and find more clinical research opportunities for students in various fields.