Siavash Azari

I am a postdoctoral researcher from Tehran, Iran. I joined Dr. Shirit Einav's lab in September 2021. The focus of my research is on developing novel, selective inhibitors of the Numb-Associated Kinases (NAK) as broad-spectrum antivirals. These inhibitors are potent against multiple unrelated viruses which our lab has shown rely on members of the NAK family for effective replication, including dengue virus (DENV), Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) and SARS-CoV2. I am also interested in discovering novel substrates of NAKs and better characterizing the signaling pathways they regulate in cell biology and viral infection. My PhD dissertation under Dr. Stephanie Seveau's supervision at The Ohio State University was focused on the role of fetal placental macrophages in mother-to-fetus transmission of listeriosis. My master’s thesis at Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in Qazvin, Iran, was on a modified derivative of rotavirus toxin NSP4 as a candidate for vaccine production. I enjoy doing translational research that can be used as a stepping stone toward development of therapeutics to battle human diseases. My hobbies are: Learning foreign languages, cooking, traveling, exploring food from different cultures, and inventing new cocktails with tequila! Fun fact: To do research at Stanford, I moved by driving 2,500 miles across the country from Columbus, Ohio to San Jose, California, and had the greatest road trip of my life!