Dr. Mahdavian received her undergraduate degree (B.S. in chemistry) from the University of Tabriz (Tabriz, IRAN).  She attended graduate school in Tehran at Shariff University of Technology, where she earned a M.S. in organic chemistry under the direction of Professor Firouz Matloubi.  She then pursued her Ph.D. in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina with Professor R. Bruce Dunlap.  Upon graduation, she joined the faculty of the Department of Physical Sciences at South Carolina State University in January 1999.  Her background in teaching includes both classroom and laboratory courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry.  Through her Ph.D. training, she has obtained extensive experience in several areas of biochemistry, including site-directed-mutagenesis, DNA and protein gel electrophoresis, enzyme isolation and purification, and enzyme kinetics.  Her masters training provided her with a working knowledge of organic chemistry and synthetic organic methods, characterization methods (UV-Vis, IR, 1H, 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, and stopped-flow spectroscopy).  Her current research interests involve medicinal chemistry and bioorganic chemistry, with an emphasis on the synthesis and characterization of potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents.