Mahin Khatami

National Institutes of Health United States of America

Dr. Mahin Khatami was born in Tehran-Iran. She immigrated to USA in 1969 after training in Chemistry (BS) and Science Education (MS). She received her MA in Biochemistry from SUNY at Buffalo (1977) and PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania (UPA, 1980). Her postdoctoral trainings were in physiology at the University of Virginia, protein chemistry (proteomics) at the Fox Chase Cancer Institute and UPA. She was a Faculty of Medicine at the Department of Ophthalmology, Scheie Eye Institute, UPA, until 1992. In collaboration with a team of scientists, under the direction of John H. Rockey, MD, PhD, at UPA, she quickly earned her supervisory responsibilities on two major projects; cell and molecular biology of diabetic retinopathy/maculopathy and experimental models of acute and chronic ocular inflammatory diseases. In her junior academic career, Dr. Khatami is considered the most productive scientist in USA as she published 39 scientific articles and over 60 abstracts in conference proceedings in the first decade of her research. In 1998, at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), she was a Program Director and health scientist administrator, involved in developing molecular concepts for utilization of patient biospecimen for large clinical trials such as Prostate-Lung-Colorectal Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trials. Extension of her earlier ‘accidental’ discoveries on models of inflammatory diseases became closely relevant to her duties for developing proposals for molecular diagnosis, prevention and therapy of cancer for PLCO and designs of cohort clinical trials. The results of her pioneering studies in 1980’s on experimental models of inflammatory diseases are suggestive of the first evidence for a direct link between inflammation and tumorigenesis and angiogenesis. She also published the first report on inflammation-induced developmental phases of immune dysfunction that would lead to tumor development. In 2005, she also published an NCI-Invention, in Federal Register for standardizing cancer biomarkers criteria (data elements) as a foundation of developing a cancer biomarkers database; M-CSF, an inflammatory mediator was identified as prototype to test/tailor data elements. Her challenging efforts to promote the role of inflammation in cancer research, which initially met with tremendous resistance by decision makers, have recently paid off as the number of federally funded projects, technologies and drug development and related networks that focus on the role of inflammation and cancer has significantly increased in the last decade within and outside NCI/NIH. Dr. Khatami has lectured internationally; served as president and VP for Graduate Women In Science (GWIS) Omicron Chapter; scientific judge; founder and president of Medical Education Technologies (HUS); consultant to pharmaceutical companies; member of professional societies and editorial activities; symposia organizer. She is Associate Editor for Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics, lecturer, author and editor. Before retiring at professor level from NCI/NIH in 2009, her position was Program Director (IMAT) and Assistant Director for Technology Program Development, Office of Technology and Industrial Relations, Office of the Director, NCI/NIH.

Mahin Khatami

2books edited

1chapters authored

Latest work with IntechOpen by Mahin Khatami

This book is a collection of excellent reviews and perspectives contributed by experts in the multidisciplinary field of basic science, clinical studies and treatment options for a wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases or cancer. The goal has been to demonstrate that persistent or chronic (unresolved or subclinical) inflammation is a common denominator in the genesis, progression and manifestation of many illnesses and/or cancers, particularly during the aging process. Understanding the fundamental basis of shared and interrelated immunological features of unresolved inflammation in initiation and progression of chronic diseases or cancer are expected to hold real promises when the designs of cost-effective strategies are considered for diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a number of age-associated illnesses such as autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases as well as many cancers.

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