Dr. Mona Atabakhshi Kashi

Doing interdisciplinary research in the field of Nanobiotechnology, Biochemistry, and Biomolecular Interactions. Further activities: • Data analysis • Writing scientific publications (literature research), reports, and grants • Gained extensive experience in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology • Provided laboratory instruction and organization • Mentored and supervised master and Ph.D. students

Working in the CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience under the supervision of Prof. Guangjun Nie. The research was included: • Cancer Immunotherapy • Synthesis and modification of Peptide-based and Lipid-based Nanoparticles • TEM microscopy • Confocal microscopy • Cell analysis using flow cytometry (FACS) • Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) • Planning and executing scientific experiments- Data analysis • Writing scientific reports and manuscripts • Presenting scientific projects at meetings

Doing research in the Bioengineered Particles Group under the supervision of Prof. Wolfgang J. Parak. Working at the interference between drug delivery and nanobiotechnology using a self-assembled cluster of quantum dots. Characterization techniques were included: • Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) • Dynamic light scattering (DLS) • Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) • Light Microscopy (Darkfield scattering spectroscopy) • Single cell analysis using flow cytometry (FACS)

Teaching and familiarizing middle school and high school students with biology experiments, critical thinking, team working, and data representation.

Production, purification, and characterization of high quality recombinant proteins (enzymes) for use in laundry detergents - Developing the formulation of granulated enzymes - Writing scientific reports and SOPs

In the Ph.D. thesis, I was working on improving the coating strategies of non-toxic quantum dots for their use in theranostic applications. The project included critical nanoscience techniques such as: • Chemical modification of polymers • Quantum dots synthesis and characterization • Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) • Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) • Dynamic light scattering (DLS) • In vitro cell culture • Western blotting • Fluorescent imaging • Flow cytometry

The master project involved the investigation of allosteric signaling pathways in a thermophilic enzyme. The project was supervised by Dr. Khosro Khajeh and included several molecular biology techniques such as: • Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) • DNA sequencing • Primer designing • Gel electrophoresis • Bacterial transformation • Recombinant protein expression • Protein purification using FPLC and HPLC techniques • Structural analysis of proteins using Fluorescence and CD spectroscopy

Studied Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Learning and practicing the principles of molecular biology and also the technology underpinning of biotechnological techniques.