Title
Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice
Faculty Profile
My School
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Area of Study/Expertise
Neurodegenerative Disorder, Stem Cell Biology, Neuroimmunology, Regenerative Medicine, Mitochondrial Biology
Website
Research Gates
Orchid ID
LinkedIn
Office Location
101 Theory
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697
Phone Number
(949) 824 – 3805
Email
azahedi@uci.edu
Atena Zahedi, MS., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Atena Zahedi earned her MS and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Riverside, where she focused on mitochondrial dysfunction and stem cell health in the context of cell stress. She has held several prestigious postdoctoral fellowships, including the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship and the KL-2 Faculty Mentored Fellowship at UC Irvine’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, where she leveraged mitochondrial-targeted therapeutics to augment the efficacy of stem cell transplantation in models of spinal cord injury. Currently, Dr. Zahedi’s research centers on the role of mitochondria in cellular repair and disease, particularly in neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
At her new role, Dr. Zahedi plans to expand her research on personalized medicine, using patient-specific stem cell models to explore therapeutic interventions for neurodegenerative conditions. Her lab will focus on the development of innovative mitochondrial-targeting therapies, aiming to slow or reverse disease progression. Dr. Zahedi is also committed to teaching and mentoring, with a strong interest in guiding PharmD students through the Scholarly Project course and fostering future leaders in the field of translational medicine.
Education & Research
- Ph.D, Univerisity of California, Riverside (2014 – 2018)
- M.S, University of California, Irvine (2011 –2014)
- B.S University of Southern California (2005–2010)
Academic Distinctions
- 2021 KL-2 Fellow, Institute of Clinical and Translational Research (ICTS)
- 2019 UC President’s Postdoc Fellowship awarded by the UC Office of the President
Awards and Honors
- 2024 Best Oral Presentation Award, UCI 11th Annual Stem Cell Science Symposium
- 2023 UCI Stem Cell Research Center Golub Postdoctoral ISSCR Travel fellowship to attend ISSCR conference
- 2021 National Academies of Medicine (NAM) awarded a grant by the Healthy Longevity Global Grant Challenge
- Catalyst competition
- 2021 KL-2 Mentored Career Development Fellowship awarded by UC Irvine Institute of Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS)
- 2021 Seed Grant from Center for Multiscale Cell Fate (CMCF), awarded an Interdisciplinary Opportunity Award
- 2020 Wings for Life Grant awarded for 3-years by the Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation
- 2020 Seed Grant on Mitochondria-DNA CRISPR awarded by UC Irvine Stem Cell Research Center (SCRC)
- 2020 11TH Annual Emerging Scientists Symposium Trainee selected by the UC Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (MIND)
- 2019 UC President’s Postdoc Fellowship awarded by the UC Office of the President Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP)
- 2014 NSF IGERT Video Bioinformatics Fellowship awarded by UC Riverside
- 2013 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) Travel Fellowship awarded by AAIC