Profile

It’s always easier to call me “Soudi” and pronounced: /su:di:/ ! I am originally from Iran however I have been living in the UK for over 11 years now. Currently, I live with my partner who is also a scientist & we usually are busy talking about our experiments. I can never say if I have a favourite food because I just love food! I love engaging with people of all ages but kids are even better. Because they always ask me questions that are so inspirational. I learn from them a lot. I love teaching and my dream is to become a university lecturer.

Apart from work, I love nature hence try to capture the moments using my not-so-up-to-date phone camera! I enjoy running and doing fundraisers and cooking is an absolute hobby for me. Plants are my best friends particularly now that we are in the lockdown.

Well, I don’t know much about the title, but it mainly involves me doing my independent project  (neurodegenerative diseases) as well as helping/guiding PhD students in the lab. This allows me to do some teachings which I have a great passione for.

But in more detail, I look for physiological and biochemical symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases in C. elegans and try to understand a protective pathway to at least slow down the process. Then we can apply this knowledge to higher organisms and eventually take these to drug development and help people who are suffering from “forgetfulness” and old age diseases.

During COVID-19 outbreak:

I try to keep my dicipline, I wake up early as usual and aim to sit at my desk (Which is also the dining table) by 9 am., however these days I take advantage of the sunshine as well so my office is a bit more fun (want proof? take a look!).

Then around 1pm I go for a brisk run, to keep my mental and physical health in shape.

By 2:30pm I am again at my desk, ploughing through papers and research materials. It can get a bit boring at times so that is why I would love to chat with enthusiastic people like YOU! to share my memories of lab work.

Prior to the lockdown:

A typical week day, starts with me going to work around 9 am to write down my daily plan and kick start my work.

Then, hours pass by in a flash as I hop from one task to other. Usually involves running some DNA or protein gels and analysing some data. I much rather trouble-shooting and finding different solutions when we reach a dead-end. These are the real moments of science when you have to sit down, think and figure what might have gone wrong and reach an “AHA” moment! Coffee breaks are a must, too!

Finally in the evening I go for a run to unwind! I usually run to and from work depending on how busy my day is.

And lastly the best part of the evening is: COOKING! I love cooking and I always try to make spontaneous things. Considering that I am always following recipes and steps in the lab, therefore I do not like to follow a cooking-recipe! Everything happens out of the blue in my kitchen.