Farzad Sekhavati

Iranian

Curriculum Vitae

Since 2011	PhD student in the group of Prof. Joachim Rädler, LMU Munich
2010 - 2011	PhD student in the group of Dr. Alexander Gigler, LMU Munich
2009 – 2010	MSc. Erasmus Mundus Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Delft University of Technology (TUD), Delft, Netherlands
2008 - 2009	MSc. Erasmus Mundus Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Chalmers University of Technology (CTH), Gothenburg, Sweden
	Master Thesis: “E-Coli properties under pressure in microchannel”
2005 - 2008	Double Major in Physics, Amirkabir Univeristy of Technology (AUT), Tehran
	Thesis title: “Quantitative study of nanopores arrangement in alumina membrane using Furrier transform analysis”
2003 – 2008	BSc. Mechanical Engineering, Amirkabir Univeristy of Technology (AUT), Tehran, Iran
	Bachelor Thesis: “Design and characterization of a micromotor for swimming microrobot”

Scholarships

Since 2010	Scholarship of the IDK-NBT (Elite Network of Bavaria)
2008 - 2010	Erasmus Mundus master scholarship

Research Project

In this project, we are developing a microstructured platform to trap non-adherent cells in a small volume. The microstructure is made of PEG-DA or PDMS which are proven to be non-toxic to the cells. The device geometry and surface properties are optimized for long-term observation of stem-cell development and differentiation. We concluded that micro-trenches with width of 15-20 µm and length of 80 µm can are suitable for the observation up to two generations.
The model cell line is MEL (Mouse erythroleukemia) cells with some similar physical properties to stem-cells. Phase-contrast microscopy and fluorescent microscopy are used as two imaging techniques for long-term observation. In the project we expect to observe the differentiation of stem-cell after second generation and be able to track down the mother cell. The parallel observation in large quantity of single cell compartment enables us to get statistically relevant data to be able to describe the stochastic phenomenon of stem-cell differentiation. Next step would be to continue the experiment for several more generations and build the differentiation tree of each stem-cell.

Publications

J. Männik, F. Sekhavati, J. E. Keymer and C. Dekker:
“Bacteria in submicron channels and microvalves”,
Proc 14th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands, 3-7 October 2010, p 1376-1378.

f.sekhavatilrz.uni-muenchen.de