Trainee Profile: Pooyan Moradi
As a PhD trainee for over two years, Pooyan Moradi is proud of the work he’s accomplished with the Brain Repair Centre and in Dr. Alon Friedman’s Blood Brain Barrier lab, and only sees progress for the future.
“The BRC to me is a friendly yet professional environment,” said Moradi. “You can share ideas to educate and collaborate.” Moradi was introduced to the BRC through Dr. Friedman and is now studying the impacts of traumatic brain injury. “We are developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to prevent or treat injury complications,” he said.
The goal of Moradi’s research is to identify biological markers in patients with traumatic brain injury in order to identify early signs of chronic diseases that may stem from the injuries, such as post-traumatic epilepsy. If these can be properly identified and assessed, patients will receive a diagnosis and can receive treatment.
Using a method focused on traumatic brain injury, Moradi is able to see the effects of injury just seconds after impact, and continues to examine the effects up from six to nine months.
“Currently, we don’t know how exactly repeated brain injuries affect the brain, making it hard to design treatments for the disease. Our model shows how injury immediately affects neurons, vessels and astrocytes, triggering later pathological outcomes,” said Moradi. “I would like to transfer my research data to the clinic and see the impact of my research on the quality of life for patients in need.”
“I’m lucky to be a part of a big research group with diverse backgrounds,” he said, acknowledging his lab partners and supervisor.
Moradi keeps busy in and out of the lab - he’s the communications manager for Brain Waves, an engagement group that organizes panels and professional development workshops students can take. For 2022, Moradi and his labmates are hoping to start a new journal club in the traumatic brain injury cluster at the BRC, where he is active in the AMAP journal club.
Moradi volunteers at the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia where he teaches English, as well as Dalhousie’s food bank. He was recently awarded the Graduate Student Leadership Award, which reflects his dedication to research, leadership, community and humanitarianism.
Moradi completed his undergraduate degree in biology, followed by a Masters in in pharmacology and physiology, both from the University of Zanjan in Iran.