Forooz Soroor

PhD candidate

Current Project:  Septins form rod-shaped complexes that can further join end-to-end to form filaments. However, the mechanisms involved in the assembly of septin complexes and their polymerization into filaments are poorly understood.  Her project involves deciphering the mechanisms of septin complex assembly and how it is regulated. Her findings will provide the first mechanistic insights into how the assembly of this important component of the cytoskeleton is controlled in mammalian cells.

Previously:  For her Master’s degree she cloned the bgn13.1 anti-fungal genes from Trichoderma virens into Agrobacteria, and used these to generate transgenic lines of Canola plants, which were then shown to be highly resistant to fungal infection.  As a Research Assistant in the lab of Dr. Henry Krause (Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto) she was given the task of optimizing a multi-step affinity purification procedure that aims to purify tagged nuclear receptor proteins from live Zebrafish, and to then identify directly bound small molecule ligands using various mass spectrometry approaches. Using her own collection of transgenic fish, she succeeded in optimizing the multi-step affinity purification, extraction and mass spectrometry procedures such that she could identify specifically bound drugs and endogenous hormones.

Education:  She completed her M.Sc. in Plant Biotechnology (Science and Research Branch, and the National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran University, Iran).

Activities:  Loves to be in a café and read favourite books and papers, listen to music or spend time with friends and socialize. She is also interested in nature and taking long walks in her favourite seasons. Besides this, she loves to travel, visit new countries and become familiar with different cultures.

Favourite Quote:  “If you see it in your mind, you’re going to hold it in your hand.” – Rhonda Byrne