Ray A. Gaskins graduate fellowship supports research into childhood epilepsy

Mona Safari hoped that by enrolling in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program she could merge her deep-rooted passion for research with her commitment to advancing medical science.

With an undergraduate degree in anesthesiology and several internships through Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Safari developed a foundation in clinical care and gained exposure to pediatric, neurological, orthopedic and women’s hospitals. But she was looking for something different.

“My undergraduate degree was primarily focused on clinical training, but I sought to expand my knowledge through research, aiming to contribute to advancements in the treatment of childhood diseases,” Safari said. “My long-term goal is to establish myself as a principal investigator focusing on neurodevelopmental disorders that contribute to the development of epilepsy in children.” 

Safari is the recipient of a 2024-25 Dr. Ray A. Gaskins Exercise Health Sciences Graduate Fellowship, which will help advance that research.

As a master’s degree candidate, Safari began working with Sharon Swanger, an assistant professor with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. Swanger focuses on the molecular mechanisms that underlie seizure disorders, including Dravet Syndrome, which is associated with childhood seizures, intellectual disability, and autism spectrum disorder.

That’s where Safari learned advanced research skills while working on synapse dysfunction in Dravet Syndrome. Over two years, she contributed to two publications.

Safari then switched to the translational biology, medicine, and health doctoral program and joined the lab of Associate Professor Matthew Weston, where she is working with a genetic mouse model of childhood epilepsy syndrome characterized by severe, treatment-resistant seizures.

Weston said her skills as a cellular electrophysiologist will allow her to capture recordings of single neurons to explore the cellular basis of the syndrome. “By identifying key cell types in the brain which need to be modified to stop seizures, her work will contribute to finding new cures that are side-effect free and may also be applicable to other epilepsies,” he said.

The Gaskins fellowship will support Safari in gathering preliminary data for her research and allow her to attend key scientific conferences that bring together researchers and clinicians studying the underlying neuroscience of epilepsy.

Gaskins supports three annual $5,000 fellowships for students on Virginia Tech’s Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke who are conducting doctoral research mentored by the institute’s primary faculty. Gaskins is a Virginia Tech alumnus and health and fitness enthusiast who retired from the faculty of Hampden-Sydney College.