An outstanding Ph.D. student at the Department of Oral Medicine at University College London, Dr. Niaz Shokri, has been awarded the prestigious 2021-2022 Persia Mirzakhani Scholarship for Women in STEM.

Dr. Shokri’s pioneering research focuses on “Development and Validation of a Specific Patient- Reported Outcome Measure for Osteoradionecrosis of the Jaws in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors”. Following her graduation from Tehran University as a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), she worked as a volunteer dentist to care for mentally challenged individuals. In 2018 she enrolled as an oral medicine student at UCL, and earned her graduate degree with distinction, earning a place on the Dean’s list. Her Ph.D. work addresses the need to develop tools that measure a patient’s response to therapy for the treatment of head/neck cancer with the objective to improve quality of life. A native of Sari in northern Iran, Dr. Shokri plans to use the Persia Mirzakhani scholarship to further her studies on osteoradionecrosis of jaws in cancer survivors.

Persia Educational Foundation established the Persia Mirzakhani Scholarship in remembrance of the first woman, an Iranian, to win the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics, the late Stanford Professor, Dr. Maryam Mirzakhani. Each year, an independent panel selects the recipient of the Persia Mirzakhani Scholarship from among eligible applicants. The results are announced on 3 May, marking the anniversary of the birth of Professor Mirzakhani (3 May 1977 – 14 July 2017). The scholarship is designed to empower Iranian-descent women studying sciences, technology, engineering, or mathematics at UK’s top research university, UCL.

Persia Educational Foundation is a non-governmental UK-registered charity. Its mission is to provide scholarships and educational opportunities to Iranian descent students throughout the UK. To support more students, please contribute to Persia’s Scholarship Scheme. Please note that 100% of your donations plus the additional 25% Gift Aid are awarded to eligible students studying at UK universities. In this manner, for every Pound of your donation, £1.25 are donated to an Iranian descent student.