Rate My Professor Maryam Sardari

Dr. Maryam Sardari serves as an Assistant Research Fellow in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine (DSM) at the University of Otago's Dunedin School of Medicine, part of the Faculty of Medicine within the Health Sciences Division. She earned her Master's degree in Biology from the University of Tehran in 2009 and her PhD in Biology from the same institution. Her academic career has focused on neuroscience, encompassing investigations into memory formation and impairment under stress conditions, the role of hippocampal signaling pathways, and interactions involving cannabinoid and GABA receptors in reward systems and place preference behaviors. More recently, her research has expanded to neuroprotection mechanisms post-ischemic stroke, brain remodeling, microvessel visualization in ischemic brains, and neuron-glia crosstalk in Alzheimer's disease progression, as well as metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells driven by TP53 mutations.

Sardari has made substantial contributions to the scientific literature through co-authored peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals. Key works include 'Mesenchymal stromal cell–derived small extracellular vesicles induce ischemic neuroprotection by modulating leukocytes and specifically neutrophils' (Stroke, 2020), '3D visualization and quantification of microvessels in the whole ischemic mouse brain using solvent-based clearing and light sheet microscopy' (Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 2017), 'Postacute Delivery of GABAA α5 Antagonist Promotes Postischemic Neurological Recovery and Peri-infarct Brain Remodeling' (Stroke, 2018), 'Hippocampal signaling pathways are involved in stress-induced impairment of memory formation in rats' (Brain Research, 2015), 'Structural changes in perineuronal nets and their perforating GABAergic synapses precede motor coordination recovery post stroke' (Journal of Biomedical Science, 2023), and 'Shared mechanisms of GABAergic and opioidergic transmission regulate corticolimbic reward systems and cognitive aspects of motivational behaviors' (Brain Sciences, 2023). Additional recent outputs address mitochondria's role in neuron-glia interactions in Alzheimer's disease (2025) and TP53 codon 179 mutation's impact on cancer cell invasion (2025). Her research demonstrates influence through collaborations with international teams and consistent citations, advancing therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders and stroke recovery. She is also an affiliate investigator at the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery.