Sanctions and research on cord blood cells

Economic and trade sanctions are inhuman and undermine the basic rights of nations. Particularly when they hinder the advancement of science and spreading of knowledge, sanctions counter human rights. Science belongs to all, research and efforts to understand the secrets of life and to promote the frontiers of knowledge are the fundamental rights of all nations.

Iran has been facing sanctions now for several years. In fact, we have been practically always under one form or another of sanctions and economic pressures for the past thirty years.
Inspite of those hurdles Iran has experienced unprecedented economic, scientific and technological advances in the past years. The growth in ISI published articles and citations from Iranin research has been acknowledged worldwide. Only recently the ultraconservative government in power has enacted policies which are slowing the country's pace .

A Ph.D. student of mine had purchased a reagent she needed for her cell culture work on her thesis. The reagent was not high-tech or anything sensitive of that nature. I do not know whether anyone is interested, but she is working on a very novel topic ie; to study the effect of certain neurotransmitters on cord blood cells, which are now highly regarded in transplantation studies. She had ordered the reagent from a local company who dealt with an American producer on the other side. When she had received the reagent she found that the production label and lot number did not match with the company information provided.

She had sent an email to the customer services of the corporation asking them to verify the authenticity of the product and the reason for the discrepancy. The person in charge of the customer had replied that since Iran was under sanctions he could not reply. Surprised and shocked my student had asked him again " But I already have your product! I only need some product verification, what does this have to do with sanctions!" The customer service officer had provided the same answer again.

We returned the reagent to the company and ordered another lot from another American corporation through a local dealer, we also had the option of several European companies as well. They provided the reagent and all necessary technical assistance without any hesitation. We had lost a couple weeks and some dollars but the research will continue. Sanctions cannot prevent a nation from advancing. They might slow down our pace of growth but instead we have learned how to persevere and resist in difficult circumstances .

Back and forth; between science and politics

Classes are finished by now at the University , students and faculty alike are preparing for exams. Those students working on their thesis now find their advisers more available. Tarbiat Modares is a graduate university created after the Islamic Revolution. We have only MS and PhD degree programs in a wide variety of fields. Both degree programs have a thesis which includes practical research on a basic or applied approach and seminars which are intended to upgrade the research and presentation skills of the students.
One of the Immunology Department students had decided to take his seminar with me , and we had several sessions together to define the subject and prepare an outline of the topic and how it is to be presented in oral and written forms. I usually let the students find the subject themselves, since I believe looking for questions and unresolved issues is part of the research and the same goes for their thesis. I do not agree with certain colleagues who provide students with ready-to go subjects.
Students know what specific field each faculty is involved in and prefers to work on. This student proposed to work on Th17 which is a newly debated pattern for inflammatory cytokine responses. I thought it was an interesting subject and on the frontiers of immunological research, but he took a daring decision as well . He told me that he wished to present both the oral and written form of the seminar in English. For a student studying in Iran, gaining a strong command of English, is a difficult process, since our existing educational systems do not provide strong English training, unless the student takes his own initiative in this regard. Mahmood presented his well prepared seminar in English and did a good job , although he still needs to work on his pronunciation, syntax and sentence structure but on the overall he took a daring decision and did well.
As a retreat from the hectic work in the City Council and Environment Committee, I enjoy my work at the University very much. I consider working with my students as a blessing from God since I feel it gives me energy to deal with some of the difficult challenges we face in life. We have challenges in politics, in implementation of our ideals and in our efforts to improve the quality of life for our citizens. It does seem difficult sometimes, moving back and forth from politics to academic work, but I have been on that double track for a long time now.
What bothers me is the discrepancies we see between what the politicians say and what they actually practice. The recent disqualification of a large number of reformist candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections , is an indication that the legal procedures have become politicized . Independent press and media have all seriously objected to this process. The struggle is more than a tug of war between the rival political factions ie.; the reformists and the conservatives in power.
This debate is understood as a struggle to maintain the democratic quality of the Islamic Republic. This seems to be an indication that those in power are not ready to relinquish their grip on power through democratic means. I hope the reformists will succeed to correct this trend.