Media Advisory
Leaving a war behind for
10 weeks,
two Afghan professors
become students again
Cal State L.A.’s
Professor Momand welcomes
Los Angeles, CA –
With
war raging in their homeland, two biochemistry professors from Kabul
University (KU) recently left Afghanistan to spend 10 weeks learning in
the laboratories of Cal State L.A.
They
were greeted by the familiar face of Cal State L.A. biochemistry
Professor Jamil Momand, who arranged the trip for Shamsulrahim
Rahim and Ziauddin Azimi. It is the first visit to the United
States for each of the KU professors.
Rahim
and Azimi said they are eager to take back knowledge and lab techniques
learned at Cal State L.A. to Afghan students in KU’s reconstructed
classrooms and outdated labs.
Their
trip grew from Momand’s vision to help establish a highly-educated
Afghanistan. Two years ago, Momand, a resident of Rancho Palos Verdes,
abruptly ended his teaching trip in Afghanistan and returned home due to
security issues. Although disappointed at the time, Momand changed
course. Since it was difficult for him to travel to Afghanistan, he
invited the KU professors to Cal State L.A. instead.
Thanks to Momand’s resourcefulness and funding by Koshland Foundation,
Rahim and Azimi are at Cal State L.A. this spring quarter. Azimi teaches
in KU’s pharmacy school and Rahim teaches in KU’s medical school.
Since
arriving at Cal State L.A., the visiting professors embraced a rigorous
educational training schedule. Besides taking beginner’s English, they
are being introduced to advanced biotechnology techniques in four
research labs at Cal State L.A.: Western blotting protocol in Momand’s
lab, enzyme kinetic experimentation in Scott Grover’s lab, polymerase
chain reaction technique in Robert Vellanoweth’s lab, and lipoprotein
metabolism analysis in Raymond Garcia’s lab.
Note
to editors and reporters: To schedule an interview with Cal State L.A.’s Professor
Jamil Momand or the visiting professors from Afghanistan, please contact
the CSULA Public Affairs office in advance at (323) 343-3050.
Momand’s research interests include tumor suppressor genes and redox
regulation. He has published 27 journal articles. The National Cancer
Institute and National Science Foundation have funded his research to
determine how the p53 tumor suppressor protein is regulated by oxidation
and reduction. Momand also directs the CSULA Southern California
Bioinformatics Summer Institute, one of nine federally-funded programs
throughout the United States.
# # #
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Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu
Kabul University biochemists to high-tech labs
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