Massih Forootan **** Carissa Dr, Brentwood,

TN***27

( abnxit@r.postjobfree.com

(

http://www.researcherid.com/r

id/B-5802-2009

Career Profile

. 2010-present: Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Breeding and

Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Iran (Head of

Department since 2011)

Joining the University when the Department was just established; I got

involved in outlining the teaching and research policies, organizing

the curriculum for BSc, MSc, and PhD courses, as well as teaching

activities. I also involved in biotechnology-oriented projects to

address the bottlenecks in regional agriculture.

. 2006-2010: Postdoctoral research fellow, Biotechnology Research

Department, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Iran (Visiting

scientist since 2010)

Considering my background experience in protoplast electrofusion, I was

recruited by the Institute to lead a eucalypt breeding project

exploiting somatic hybridization. Meanwhile, my attention was attracted

to lack of sufficient documented knowledge in wildtype species'

biodiversity in Iran; which encouraged me to concentrate on exploiting

appropriate molecular tools and statistical approaches for this mean.

. 2002-2003: Teaching assistant, School of Biological Sciences, The

University of Reading, UK

Encouraged by my supervisor, I got involved in teaching activities

during my studentship. Collaborating with both graduate students and

technical staff, I improved my skills in planning curriculums

considering the course objectives and students' background,

occasionally after a short notice.

. 1999-2000: Genetics instructor and educational farm administrator, Dezful

Agricultural Training Center, Iran

Further to daily routine and duties, I began establishing teaching PC-

based statistics (using Microsoft Excel 5.0). Exploiting the same

software, I later launched a small project for outlining a mathematical

model for means of to quick estimation of water use in irrigation.

Education

. 2001-2005: PhD, Plant Science Laboratories, School of Biological

Sciences, The University of Reading, UK

. 1991-1995: BSc, Department of Plant Breeding and Agronomy, Faculty of

Agriculture, University of Tehran, Iran

Laboratory Skills

. In vitro techniques: Plant micropropagation, bacterial culture,

Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation, protoplast

culture/electrofusion

. Molecular biology: DNA extraction/purification, SSR-PCR, IRAP/REMAP,

agarose-gel electrophoresis

. Cytogenetics: Chromosomal sample preparation, flowcytometry, in silico

karyotype analysis

Workshops and Other Skills

. 2010: Teaching Training Workshop. University of Zabol & Ministry of

Research, Science and Technology, Zabol, Iran.

. 2009: Web of Knowledge workshop for literature survey and analyzing

scholarly documents. Rose System Co. & Ministry of Agriculture Training

Center, Tehran, Iran.

. 1999: Intensive course in pharmaceutical herbs production. Shahid

Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

. As a long-term hobby, I have self-practiced BASIC programming, began with

Z80 BASIC interpreters, and then switched to Microsoft QuickBASIC,

Microsoft Visual Basic, and finally Microsoft VBA macro editor.

. My other IT-interest is SAS programming, mainly focused on monitoring

data exchange between SAS and Microsoft Office (Excel & Word).

Activities and Interests

Taught Courses:

. University of Zabol (Lecturer, 2010-present): Introduction to Plant

Biotechnology (BSc), IT Applications in Biotechnology (MSc), Molecular

Genetics, (MSc), Plant Cytogenetics (MSc), Probability & Statistics (BSc).

. University of Reading (Teaching assistant, 2002-2003): Techniques in

Plant Biotechnology (MSc).

Other research interests:

. Studying the geneflow in wildtype species and its possible correlation

with desertification.

. Investigating the viability and genetic stability of rare/endangered

plant species during cryopreservation procedures.

. Investigating the feasibility of karyotypical & molecular

characterization of rare/endangered species as a means of classification

and biodiversity studies.

Collaborations: Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (2008-

2009), Iranian Genetics Society (2008)

Selected Publications (see http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_Ui-

ogEAAAAJ)

. Azimzadeh, M, Amiri, R, Assareh, M H, Bihamta, M R and Forootan, M.

(2012) Genetic diversity of Iranian Bunium persicum germplasm by

morphological markers and essential oil components. Journal of Medicinal

Plants Research, 6(7):1119-1129.

. Shabannejad-Mamaghani, M, Assareh, M H, Omidi, M, Matinizadeh, M, Ghamari-

Zare, A, Shahrzad, S and Forootan, M. (2009) The effect of thidiazuron

level on in vitro regeneration type and peroxidase profile in Eucalyptus

microtheca F. Muell. Plant Growth Regulation, 59(3):199-205

(DOI: 10.1007/s10725-009-9404-x)

. Ghamari-Zare, A, Rezvani, S and Forootan, M. (2009) Assessment of

resistance to PEG-induced drought in annual medic using aquaculture

conditions. Iranian Journal of Rangelands and Forests Breeding and Genetic

Research, 16(2):182-197

. Forootan, M, Wetten, A C, and Wilkinson, M J. (2006) Colchicine-induced

chromosome elimination in potato callus culture. Proceedings of First

Agricultural Biotechnology Conference, Razi University Press, Kermanshah,

Iran, pp 208-212

Referees

Dr Mohammad Rokouei ( +98-542-******* (

abnxit@r.postjobfree.com

Department of Animal Science, Faculty of

Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol 986*******, Iran

Professor Seyed Reza Tabaei-Aghdaee ( +98 21

44580297 ( abnxit@r.postjobfree.com

Biotechnology Research Department, Research Institute of Forests and

Rangelands, Tehran PO Box 13185-116, Iran

Professor Mohammad Reza Bihamta ( +98-261-******* (

abnxit@r.postjobfree.com

Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Faculty of Agronomy and Animal

Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of

Tehran, Karaj 315**-*****, Iran.

Dr Andrew C Wetten ( +44-118-******* (

abnxit@r.postjobfree.com

School of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AS, UK.

Professor Mike Wilkinson ( +61 8 8313 1532 (

abnxit@r.postjobfree.com

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide

SA 5005, Australia.

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