Sara is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychiatric Genetics at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada, under the supervision of Dr. James Kennedy. Her research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the womenmind initiative. With a deep interest in advancing women’s mental health, Sara’s work focuses on the genetic and molecular aspects of psychiatric disorders, particularly Bipolar Disorder (BD) and suicide risk.

Sara completed her Ph.D. at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science in Iran, where she excelled in genetic research, including the discovery of a previously unreported genetic variant in the ADCY2 gene that correlates with a higher suicide risk in women. Throughout her career, she has published 15 papers, with 9 as first author, and has presented her work at numerous international conferences including the International Congress of Bipolar Disorder (ICB) in 2019 and 2020, the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP), and the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG) in 2023. Her research has been recognized with awards, including the Student Encouragement Award at CINP 2023 and the Peter McGuffin Scholarship at WCPG 2024.

In addition to her scientific achievements, Sara is passionate about teaching and mentorship. She has co-mentored several graduate and co-op students, helping them navigate their research projects and fostering their growth as emerging scientists. She actively engages in collaborative research and has contributed to several grant applications, while sharing her expertise through workshops and seminars. Sara’s dedication to mentorship reflects her broader commitment to supporting the next generation of scientists in the field of psychiatric genetics.

At CAMH, Sara is expanding her research to include biomarkers within both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA to better understand BD and its high-risk behaviours, utilizing advanced statistical and machine learning techniques. She is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion in her research and aims to develop genetics-driven strategies to address mental health disparities in underrepresented populations.

With a strong background in genetics, her goal is to contribute significantly to the field of women’s mental health through personalized approaches.