Mahtab JafariDirector, Pharmaceutical Sciences Undergraduate Program Assistant Professor, College of Health Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences Joint Appointment, Pharmacology |
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Research Interests |
Anti-Aging Pharmacology in Drosophila and Preventive Medicine | |
| URLs | Jafari Laboratory | |
| See below for selected publications or click here for additional publication listings available via PubMed | ||
| http://www.cohs.uci.edu/pharmsci/ | ||
| http://www.pharmacology.uci.edu/ | ||
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Academic Distinctions |
2008 UCI Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Fostering Undergraduate Research 2008 "20 Women to Watch in Orange County", OC Metro Business Magazine 2007-2008; Recipient of the UCI Distinguished Assistant Professor Award for Teaching 1997; Honorable Mention for Innovation in Teaching, American Council on Pharmacy Education |
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Research Abstract |
The use of animal models for screening and evaluating anti-aging compounds is a promising approach for drug discovery. While testing anti-aging compounds using the premier animal genetic systems, Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, has already started, the fundamental biological issues involved in such screening have not been systematically formulated. As a result, after selecting potential anti-aging compounds to be tested, we need appropriate methodologies to study the pharmacology of aging in model species. Once these methodologies or rules of investigation are developed, we may consider extrapolating these experimental findings with such systems to the treatment of human aging. However, there are a number of potential artifacts, confounds, and errors that can arise in such research programs. In order to minimize these problems, I developed the following rules of investigation and am in the process of applying them to a number of potential anti-aging compounds. These are the rules of investigation that I propose: 1) Since human adulthood is almost exclusively a period of aging, data that conflate aging and late life should not be extrapolated to human aging. 2) The response to candidate medications should show a normal drug-dose response pattern, although not necessarily a linear response. 3) Medicated animal models should not be hypometabolic. 4) Medicated animal models should not show pronounced reductions in fertility. 5) Medicated animal models should not exhibit general nervous system depression. 6) The effect of the medication should not be highly sensitive to the culture environment. 7) The effect of the medication should not be highly dependent on the genetic ancestry of the stock employed, leaving aside inbreeding, which should be avoided because humans are not generally inbred. While these rules do not guarantee successful extrapolation of successful drug results from the animal model to humans in a clinical setting, the failure to adhere to these rules should raise doubts about such extrapolation. In my research, I attempt to address this task. |
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| Publications |
- Selected Publications in Aging - Jafari, M. and Rose, M.R. 2006. Rules for the Use of Model Organisms in Anti-Aging Pharmacology. Aging Cell. 5:17-22. Jafari M, Long AD, Mueller LD and Rose MR.. 2006. Pharmacology of aging in Drosophila.Current Drug Targets. (7), 1479-1483. Mathieu, C. and Jafari, M. 2006 Immunomodulation by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3: Therapeutic implications in autoimmunity and transplantation. Clinical Nephrology. 66(4): 275-283. Mahtab Jafari, Behnood Khodayari, Jeffrey Felgner, Irvin I. Bussel, Michael R. Rose, and Laurence D. Mueller. 2007 Pioglitazone: An Anti-Diabetic Compound with Anti-Aging Properties. Biogerontology 8:639-651. Mahtab Jafari, Jeffrey Felgner, Behnood Khodayari, Anthony Hutchili, Irvin I. Bussel, Concordia Vince-Cruz, Michael R. Rose, and Laurence D. Mueller. 2007 Rhodiola: A Promising Anti-Aging Chinese Herb. Rejuvenation Research. 10 (4): 1-16. Sepulveda S., P. Shojaeian, C. L. Rauser, M. Jafari, L. D. Mueller, M. R. Rose. 2008. The Relationship between Injury, Stress, and Aging in Drosophila melanogaster. Experimental Gerontology. 43(3):136-45. Mahtab Jafari, Asghar Zarban, Steven Chang, and Thomas Wang. 2008 Rosa damascena decreases mortality in adult Drosophila. Journal of Medicinal Foods. 11 (1): 9-13. Bussel, I.I, Joseph, M., Lewis, V., Jafari, M. 2008 Caffeine supplementation increases mortality in female Drosophila melanogaster without reproductive or metabolic impairment. Drosophila Information Services. Volume 91. - Recent Book Chapters - Preventive Cardiology. 2nd Edition. Nathan D. Wong, Henry R. Black, and Julius M. Gardin. McGraw-Hill 2004. Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate. Chapter 4: Religious Perspectives on Embryonic Stem Cell Research, 2007, University of California Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London. |
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- Selected Recent Posters Presented and Published at Scientific Meetings - Jafari, M, Bussel II, Zare N, and Tavakoli B. Drosophila Melanogaster as a Model System to Evaluate Drug Induced Central Nervous System Adverse Effects. International Congress on Schizophrenia Research, Colorado Springs, Co. April 2007. Khodayari B and Jafari M. Evaluating Metabolic Rate as a Rule of Investigation for Anti-Aging Pharmacology. Dominican University Research Symposium for Undergraduate Research. Oakland, California. April 2007. Khodayari B and Jafari M. The Trade-off Between Metabolic Rate and Anti-Aging Properties of Lamotrigine. 35th Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association. San Antonio, Texas. June 2007. Jafari M, Khodayari B, Bussel II, and Rose MR. Pharmacological Assays for Screening Anti-Aging Compounds. 35th Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association. San Antonio, Texas. June 2007. Jafari M. Drosophila melanogaster: a model organism for anti-aging pharmacology. 2008 American College of Clinical Pharmacy Annual Practice and Research Forum . Phoenix, AZ. April 2008. |
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| Graduate Programs |
Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology Pharmacology and Toxicology |
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| Link to this profile | http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=5313 | |
| Last updated | 07/20/2009 | |