People

I have spent the greater portion of my life in the bay area and I'm convinced it's the greatest place to live. The furthest I went was to UC Davis where I completed my undergraduate work and even got to milk a cow. I love to draw and paint so I'm always struggling to make more time for it. I also enjoy rock climbing and hope to conquer another 5.11 someday. On the science side, I work on the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) protease. I'm trying to find small molecule regulators of this protease in order to further understand it's sophisticated dimerization mechanism of activation.

I am currently an Assistant Professor in Residence in the Department of Anesthesia & Peri-operative Care (DAPC) at the University of California,San Francisco (UCSF). I am interested in designing and engineering proteins to bind/inhibit targets of biomedical interest, particularly in applications concerning cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). My research involves developing therapeutic macromolecules to modulate fibrinolysis and contact activation. Using phage display technology coupled with the molecular evolution, I am interested in developing macromolecular inhibitors of certain proteases involved in fibrinolysis, inflammation, and coagulation. I also have clinical and teaching responsibilities in the DAPC as a member of the cardiothoracic anesthesia service.

I was born in Iran and raised in a close-knit family with a love for education. I completed my undergraduate work at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) and am now pursuing my interest in research at the Craik Lab at UCSF. My current project involves identifying potential inhibitors of Cruzain, an essential cysteine protease from the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Inhibition of this primary protease has shown some promising results in treating or curing the patients suffering from Chagas, a serious disease transmitted by the sting of the parasite.

I received my PhD from UC Berkeley in the lab of Dr. Michael Marletta. My graduate research focused on understanding the heme binding capabilities of Histidine-Rich Protein II from malaria causing agent Plasmodium falciparum. Currently, my research focuses on determining protease function in cancer progression through the use of an Fab phage display library to identify highly specific protease inhibitors.

My research interest focuses on the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in the characterization of protein/enzyme structure-function relationships. Currently, my project involves the modeling the homodimer interactions and conformational dynamics regulating the activity of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV), a serine protease that is inactive in its monomeric form. In addition, NMR will be used to model the modes of interactions between KSHV and various peptidomemetic or small molecule substrates that either inhibit or enhance catalytic activity.

I love proteases. I am interested in identifying porteases important to the biology of mycobacteria tuberculosis. More generally, I hope my work in the Craik Lab will cure tuberculosis, prostate cancer, and the general malaise the insane possess and the genius lament. When I’m not saving the world through proteases, I enjoy soccer, skiing, baking, camping and hibernating. I also love magic!

I am investigating the potential of cell surface serine protease activity as a biomarker for cancer detection and therapy. The Craik lab has developed potent and specific probes for recombinant MT-SP1 in vitro, and I am using cell culture and mouse models to evaluate the ability of these probes to localize to areas of increased MT-SP1 proteolysis. Antibody-based probes for active MT-SP1 can not only help us more effectively target the protease, and potentially, cancerous growth in vivo but may also serve as tools for better understanding the role of this protease in biology.

My research focuses on tying elements of physical biochemistry with the burgeoning field of nanotechnology. My work in the Craik lab focuses on developing antibodies against disease biomarkers that can be used to direct nanometer-scale objects to specific tissues. I am working on targeting therapeutic devices to proteolytic systems that are directly involved in cancer progression. Being a joint student between the Craik lab and the Desai lab I am working towards developing a hybrid technology that takes maximal advantage of biomolecular engineering and materials sciences.

My research focuses on the specificity of macromolecular interactions. In particular, I am interested in how enzymes are specifically regulated so that complex biological processes can be precisely carried out. To that end, my research has focused on a cancer-associated enzyme membrane-type serine protease 1 (MT-SP1). MT-SP1 is an extracellular protease which triggers a number of developmental and morphologic processes through the processing of growth factors, receptors, and other enzymes. In cancer, the exprezssion and regulation of MT-SP1 are dysregulated, resulting in tumor growth and metastasis. The Craik Lab has developed a number of potent and specific macromolecular inhibitors of MT-SP1, and I am working on determining the mode and mechanism of inhibition. This information should not only provide us information on how these particular inhibitors gain specificity, but should give us strategies for specifically inhibiting other proteases, and suggest how the enzyme, MT-SP1, determines its own substrate specificity. Hopefully, this research can help guide the development of novel therapeutics for MT-SP1 and other disease-associated proteases.

I received my B.S. degree (2000) in Biochemistry and Ph.D (2005) in Fungal Genetics and Biochemistry from the National University of Ireland, Galway. My research interests lie in the characterization of acid acting proteases. I am currently looking at the role of Cathepsin E in cancer and glutamic proteases in the growth of filamentous fungi. I am also developing a fluorescent substrate library with a universal application for all classes of endoproteases.

I received my PhD from Stanford University in the lab of Dr. James Spudich. My research in the Craik laboratory focuses on the biological impact of proteolysis. Proteolytic events are irreversible and therefore represent decision-making points in biology. Such regulation is strikingly evident in the proteolytic control of cell death by cytotoxic lymphocytes (CLs). These cells induce death primarily through the release of the granzymes into the cytoplasm of their targets. The granzymes are a family of serine proteases of which granzyme B (GrB) is the best characterized and has been implicated as an important contributor to target cell death. I’m using GrB structure-activity relationships to facilitate the identification of substrates to better understand the role of GrB in CL mediated cell death. When I’m not thinking about the granzymes, I enjoy hiking, wine tasting, and following national politics.

My work is focusing on the biological functions of the serine protease MT-SP1. While we have learned much about its putative substrates and its involvement in many cancers, we have yet to elucidate the true biological consequences of MT-SP1 activity in the disease state. I am attempting to learn the specific roles this enzyme plays in cancer progression.

I received my B.A. (2001) in Chemistry and Spanish from Amherst College and PhD (2008) in Chemistry from UC Santa Cruz. My doctoral research involved the synthesis of photoactive manganese nitrosyl complexes for the visible light-controlled release of nitric oxide, a signaling molecule important in many biological processes. In the Craik Lab, I am working on the design and synthesis of generalized peptide substrate profiling libraries that will rapidly provide substrate data for proteases of all classes. I am also working on the synthesis of peptide inhibitors that selectively target serine proteases involved in cancer progression.

My work in the Craik Lab involves supporting Charly and the Lab with various things such as grant and manuscript submissions, travel and meeting reimbursements, event planning, fashion consulting, relationship counseling, and whatever else may come up!