B*****i

My name is Behnaz, born & raised in Tehran, Iran. Inspired by parents who valued education, I pursued competitive schools & a broad curiosity across science, psychology, and languages (English & German). My record—two Wiley Top 10 Cited papers recognition (2024, 2025), 620+ citations, 20+ presentations, awards and competitive grants (>$1500)—demonstrates readiness for deeper, hypothesis-driven multi-disciplinary research. I serve as a reviewer for several journals. I earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry (Jan 2008), worked in industry, then began an M.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry at Azad University (Sep 2010). Despite an undiagnosed rare condition that required hospitalization during undergrad, I finished strong—earning top marks (Quantum 18/20; Food Science 19.5/20)—and set my path to study abroad. During my first master’s studies in Iran, under the supervision of Dr. Najafi, I developed clinically useful serum assays for malondialdehyde (MDA), an oxidative-stress biomarker whose reliable measurement improves diagnosis, risk stratification, and treatment monitoring in cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurodegenerative disease. My Hypotheses were (1) Chromatographic assay workflows can be optimized to quantify trace MDA with high specificity;(2) data-driven modeling (e.g., response surface methodology or RSM) can tune assay conditions;(3) a targeted fluorescent probe can report both free and total MDA in complex matrices. I developed reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography methods for serum MDA and a modified ELISA-based kit; in collaboration with Institute for Color Science and Technology, I applied RSM/AI networks to optimize absorbance and co-designed a fluorescent probe evaluated by calibration curves (Wiley, 2023 and ASBMB, 2025), recovery in spiked serum, limit-of-detection analyses and orthogonal validation across platforms (Unpublished (UP)). These workflows enabled trace detection, two patents, and conference-to-journal publications, steering me toward imaging-omics of oxidative stress and fluorescent probes.
At Newcastle University (UK), I studied DNA damage under photochemical/oxidative stress using LC–MS and controlled photo-cleavage workflows, focusing on lesions like 8-oxoG, which are crucial for cancer, neurodegeneration, and therapy monitoring, where precise measurement reveals mechanisms and guides intervention. My hypotheses were (1) illumination generates predictable spectra of DNA lesions;(2) LC-MS can unambiguously speciate/quantify 8-oxoG; (3) Intercalating dyes (YOYO, YO-PRO1) and illumination parameters modulate cleavage pathways;(4) Custom instrumentation improves reproducibility. I trained in PCR/PAGE and DNA purification, built illumination setups, performed photo-cleavage on commercial supercoiled (RFI) and open circular (RFII) DNA with Intercalating dyes, and identified 8-oxoG by LC-MS(UP). I proposed a pipeline to detect 8-oxoG via dye-dependent cleavage signatures and will extend it to additional bases and kinetics to develop translational assays for radiation-induced oxidative stress in cancer immunotherapy. My Newcastle work initiated an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Baghaei (Univ. of Westminster, UK); as first author, I co-led plant-derived antioxidant research reducing oxidative stress (Wiley, 2022) and co-authored a 50th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress study on green analytical methods to minimize pharmaceutical waste (2019).
At Univ. of Nebraska–Lincoln, I performed diagnostic Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization–Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI-FT-ICR MSI) lipidomics of Staphylococcus (STAPH), using spatial metabolomics to reveal region-specific infection chemistry that can inform earlier diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. My hypotheses were (1) Ultra-high-resolution MALDI-FT-ICR can resolve/isolate isobaric lipid species for reliable mapping;(2) STAPH produces discriminative metabolite signatures detectable directly by MALDI to aid future species/phenotype classification. Methods used are building end-to-end label free MSI workflows like tissue preparation and matrix optimization. I performed MALDI-FT-ICR acquisition and spatial statistics to compare STAPH regions with lipid maps; imaged/identified very low-abundance ions, annotated hundreds of lipids from thousands of peaks, and localized metabolites in STAPH. (Presented in a department forum). Despite a pandemic-driven shift outside my expertise, I fabricated laminar perovskite materials and studied halide diffusion (I⁻/Br⁻ exchange in MAPbBr₃) for my second master’s thesis, leading to an active collaboration with the University of Trento (Italy) and a manuscript now in advanced peer review (First and Corresponding author).
I completed Boston University’s intensive one-year M.S. in Bioimaging, earning predominantly A grades. I accomplished SPM12 (MATLAB) VBM (segmentation, modulation, smoothing) and extended these skills to fMRI pipelines. My thesis co-advised by Dr. John McLean (Vanderbilt), reviewed Cytometry by Time-Of-Flight-based MSI of brain tissue. Post-graduation, I advanced accessible neurovascular imaging collaborating with a Radiologist, Dr. Janet Sherman, co-authoring four Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (JCMR) papers. I learned to process and export MRI images, co-authored the SIGNET multi-centre cardiac Diffusion Tensor Imaging protocol (JCMR, 2025), provided clarifying revisions, and co-authored the initial potential for head and neck dark blood 0.064T MR of arteries and veins without contrast. As first/corresponding author in Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry, I published a multi-omics roadmap integrating MSI with MRI/PET/optical. I designed a long-COVID practicum testing natural-product therapies for smell loss, measuring improvement with a portable olfactometer, and as first/corresponding author, I published a Public Health Challenges review on long-COVID–related smell loss in LGBTQIA+ communities, showcasing translational, and DEI-focused research (Wiley, 2024).
At Purdue University, I mapped spatial chemistry onto brain pathology by integrating Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) MSI with expansion microscopy (ExM) in mouse tissue, showing that spatial metabolomics reveals region- and sex-specific disease mechanisms and that local metabolic shifts precede anatomical change, enabling earlier, more sensitive biomarkers for neurodegeneration and translational pharmacology. I hypothesized that AD brains show sex- and region-specific metabolite differences, that tissue expansion with DESI-MSI improves visualization and quantification of metabolites/drugs at pathological structures (e.g., Aβ plaques), and that these protocols extend beyond brain to heart and kidney. I performed dissections, built the lab’s first ExM workflows and ran Zeiss AxioZoom imaging in Dr. Kerstein’s lab. I captured phase-contrast images on a Keyence microscope for co-registration studies and produced regional molecular maps, lipid ontology and metabolite annotations using DESI-MSI (ASMS conference, 2024). DESI-ExM prototypes ExM-compatible MSI across organs and, in AD models, maps region- and sex-specific metabolites with improved pathology. While DESI-MSI-ExM integration continues, I established the sample-prep workflow enabling higher-resolution drug/metabolite mapping (Merck Symposium, 2024), yielding a robust imaging-omics pipeline (UP).
In addition, over two years at Purdue and two at UNL, I taught General Chemistry labs and recitations and supported seminar courses, managing multiple 24–40-student sections. I emphasized safety, clear protocols, and data analysis, delivered consistent grading and feedback, and earned strong student evaluations.
I look forward to working with you!