A Ph.D. student at University College London’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Negar Shahrezagamasaei, has been awarded the prestigious 2019-2020 Persia Mirzakhani Scholarship. Her outstanding work at UK’s top research institution focuses on mechanobiology. In addition to her doctoral contributions to vasculogenesis (formation of new blood vessels), Ms. Shahrezagamasaei is a published author. While completing her Master’s degree, she published her first novel. In addition to a second novel, she has co-authored a research paper for an upcoming issue of the Journal of Nature. She hopes to pursue her post-doctoral research at MIT or the Francis Crick Institute here in the UK as part of her work on cancer treatment.

Persia Educational Foundation established the Mirzakhani Scholarship in remembrance of the first woman to win the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics, the late Stanford Professor, Maryam Mirzakhani. The inaugural scholarship was awarded last year to Mahtab Farahbakhsh, a Ph.D. student at UCL working to help children with visual impairment.

The Mirzakhani scholarship is GBP 1500. Each year, an independent panel selects the recipient of the Persia Mirzakhani Scholarship from among eligible applicants. The results are announced on 3rd May, marking the anniversary of the birth of the late Maryam Mirzakhani (3 May 1977 – 14 July 2017).

A UK-registered charity, Persia Educational Foundation is a non-governmental UK-registered charity. Its mission is to provide scholarships and educational opportunities to Iranian descent students throughout the UK.