BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Marzieh Majd received her Pharm.D. degree from Tehran Azad University of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Iran and her Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on: 1) understanding the heterogeneity of depression, and 2) investigating the associations between depressive symptoms and inflammatory markers.

For her Ph.D. dissertation, she measured depression-related constructs by employing a battery of questionnaires and laboratory-based tasks and examined the inflammatory correlates of each construct.

As a Rice Academy Fellow, Dr. Majd will be expanding her knowledge and experience in the field of psychoneuroimmunology. Under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Fagundes and Dr. Akane Sano, she will use a complex data-driven machine learning approach to identify biological (e.g., inflammation) and psychological (e.g., depression) predictors of complicated grief. Being a Rice Academy Fellow will allow her to expand her interdisciplinary skills in the context of biobehavioral health. This is in line with her ultimate research goal which is to use these skills to be an independent scientist with a research program that revolves around tailoring treatments for psychiatric disorders based on combinations of biological and behavioral factors.

Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, reading books about self-growth and drinking Persian tea.