Parinaz Massoumzadeh, PhD, staff scientist in the Department of Radiology, was one of eight American women chosen to participate in a U.S.-Brazil exchange program to recruit, retain and advance women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Massoumzadeh was chosen from among more than 500 applicants by the U.S. Department of State’s Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. She will visit Brazil Dec. 5-13, 2011. The exchange is sponsored by the Brazilian and U.S. governments under an agreement to advance women.
The delegation will meet with various organizations in Brazil, including those in government, academia and non-profit. While in Brazil, Massoumzadeh’s group plans to visit the Strategic Technology Center of the Northeast, the Goeldi Museum, the National Observatory, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, the Secretariat of Policies for Women of the Presidency, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. They will also participate in the opening of the Third National Conference on Policies for Women.
Massoumzadeh, originally from Iran, came to the United States to pursue degrees in science in 1985. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics and a doctoral degree in medical physics in 2000. She joined the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at the School of Medicine in St. Louis in 2004. Her research experience emphasizes radiation dose reduction, 3D visualization and optimization of MRI techniques. Most recently, she has been studying brain tumor response to stereotactic radiosurgery.
Massoumzadeh also is actively involved in the community and currently is president of the Association for Women in Science – St. Louis Chapter.