A GW research professor received a prestigious award in early February recognizing her most recent research on skin cancer.
Mahnaz Badamchian, a native of Iran, received the Kharazmi International Award, an esteemed prize named for an Iranian mathematician.
Badamchian received the Kharazmi award from the president of Iran during the opening ceremonies of the 13th annual festival celebrating the award’s namesake. She also was given $5,000, which she donated to scholarships at the Tehran Medical School in Iran.
Badamchian, a biochemist, is working with peptides and proteins to develop a cure for skin cancer. Her research also explores aging, wound healing and new ways to fight tumors.
Badamchian’s latest accomplishment did not come without struggle. Badamchian aspired to be a physician as she grew up in Iran, but she said was discouraged by people in her country. She pursued chemistry instead and received her master’s degree in 1977 in Iran.
At the age of 18, Badamchian was married and had her first child. Her second child came a little more than a year later, forcing her to juggle school and motherhood while teaching biochemistry in Tehran to support herself. She and her family decided to immigrate to the United States to pursue a doctoral degree. Again, she worked as an educator to support herself, teaching math and science to high school students.
Before coming to the United States Badamchian applied to many medical schools, hoping to become a physician. She attended Utah State University on a biochemistry scholarship. She graduated in two-and-a-half years, instead of the usual four years, staying long hours in the lab while her children played soccer in the hallways.
During these years another obstacle was thrown her way. In 1979, while she was in America, a revolution took place in Iran. Islamic fundamentalists overthrew the Shah and installed a government that ruled by religious authority.
Although she originally held plans to return to her family in Iran, after the revolution Badamchian closed herself off from a world she considered morally corrupt. She was cut off from the life she once knew, her family and her savings.
Badamchian had to work two jobs to compensate for the money she lost by cutting ties with Iran. She worked for Utah State as a research assistant and teaching assistant, raising her children alone. Her husband, a professor on sabbatical, returned to Iran to continue his work. She graduated from Utah State and went on to study brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s before she decided to look for a permanent position.
In 1986, Badamchian came to work at GW. Although it was the lowest-paying job she was offered, she saw more potential to interact with other researchers than would have been possible in other places. Settling into her new job, she became a U.S. citizen in 1992. In addition to her work at GW, she is a consultant for many groups, including the Food and Drug Administration.
Badamchian said she sees an obvious message that can be taken from her struggles.
Young people should know that anything is possible, especially in the United States, Badamchian said. Once you have a goal, you’re halfway there. After what I went through, I refuse to believe that anything is impossible.
