Biography:Shakardokht Jafari
Shakardokht Jafari شکردخت جعفری | |
|---|---|
 Shakardokht Jafari in her Surrey lab | |
| Born | 1977 (age 46–47) Urozgan (Daykundi) |
| Alma mater | Kabul Medical University Tabriz University of Medical Sciences University of Surrey |
| Employer | University of Surrey |
| Website | www.trueinvivo.co.uk |
Shakardokht (Shakar) Jafari (Dari: شکردخت جعفری) is a Medical Physicist and an award-winning innovator based at the University of Surrey. She developed a low cost method of measuring a medical dose of radiation.
Education
Jafari was born in Daykundi, Afghanistan in 1977.[1] Jafari and her family were forced to leave Afghanistan when war broke out, and at the age of six she spent six months travelling as a refugee to Iran.[2] When she turned 14, her father told her she must marry her cousin.[3] However, she managed to convince her parents and the cousin to cancel the marriage. This meant she could continue her education. Jafari completed her first degree in radiology in Tabriz Medical University in 2000.[4] She moved back to Afghanistan in 2003, where she taught in the Kabul Medical University.[2] She completed a Masters in Radiation Physics at Kabul Medical University, before moving to the University of Surrey to study a Masters in Medical Physics.[2] In 2014 she appeared on Manoto, a Persian television network, discussing her career and education.[5] In 2015 she became the first Afghan woman to earn a PhD in Medical Physics.[3] She was awarded the Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future award for her final year of studies.[6][4]
Career
Jafari developed a string of tiny calibrated silica beads that can be used to measure radiation.[7] She demonstrated that amount of radiation each bead receives can be measured using a simple thermoluminescence reader.[4] The glass beads cost significantly less than contemporary Dosimeters.[6] They ran proof-of-concept experiments at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.[8] She was inspired to create the beads because of the lack of cancer treatment in Afghanistan, where her father died prematurely of cancer.[9][7][10] In 2016 Jafari became one of 15 women entrepreneurs to win a £50,000 Innovate UK Infocus Award.[11][7] She is the founder and CTO of TrueInvivo.[12] She applied for a patent for her technology in 2017.[13] Jafari is part of the UK SIRIUS programme for graduate entrepreneus.[14][15]
In 2018 Jafari featured in the SPIE Women in Optics planner.[16]
References
- ↑ "Hazara International Network | Shakar Dokht Jafari Wins Innovation Award For New Cancer Treatment" (in en-US). Hazara International Network. http://www.hazarapeople.com/2016/11/28/shakar-dokht-jafari-wins-innovation-award-for-new-cancer-treatment/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Women In Innovation: Improving Cancer Care And Patient Quality Of Life" (in en-GB). HuffPost UK. 2017-01-10. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/shakardokht-jafari/women-in-innovation-impro_b_14048154.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Mother of Invention: Afghan Physicist Defies Tradition, Introduces Precision Radiation Therapy – This is MedTech" (in en-GB). https://www.thisismedtech.com/mother-of-invention-afghan-physicist-defies-tradition-introduces-precision-radiation-therapy/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Faculty for the Future - Shakardokht JAFARI". 2013. http://www.facultyforthefuture.net/sites/all/files/biographies/JAFARI_Shakardokht.pdf.
- ↑ "Medical Physics PhD student in the spotlight | University of Surrey" (in en). https://www.surrey.ac.uk/features/medical-physics-phd-student-spotlight.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "PhD student develops radiotherapy monitor using glass jewellery beads | University of Surrey" (in en). https://www.surrey.ac.uk/features/phd-student-develops-radiotherapy-monitor-using-glass-jewellery-beads.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Sarwar, Mustafa. "Scientist Brings Improved Cancer Treatment To Afghan Patients" (in en). RFE/RL. https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-scientist-award/28161156.html.
- ↑ "Introducing 'infocus' women in innovation applicants part III - Innovate UK" (in en). https://innovateuk.blog.gov.uk/2016/10/19/introducing-infocus-more-women-in-innovation-applicants-part-iii/.
- ↑ "AV RADIO | SHOWS | Women's World | Shakardokht Jafari - Afghan PhD Student Develops Radiotherapy Monitor". http://www.afghanvoice.org.uk/avfm/repeatlatest.php?latest=202.
- ↑ "Court circuit". http://www.embassymagazine.com/court_circuit/CC_emb49_afghanistan.html.
- ↑ "Women in Innovation awards 2016: 15 female entrepreneurs honoured - GOV.UK" (in en). https://www.gov.uk/government/news/women-in-innovation-awards-2016-15-female-entrepreneurs-honoured.
- ↑ Innovate UK (2018-03-08), Women in Innovation - Shakardokht Jafari, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hetBLMgOJ-s&feature=youtu.be, retrieved 2018-03-18
- ↑ Fibre coupled luminescent bead dosimeter. Shakardokht JAFARI, University Of Surrey. 2016-08-26. https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2017033029A1/en.
- ↑ "About the programme | Sirius" (in en). http://www.siriusprogramme.com/about-programme.
- ↑ Ingham, Edmund. "The Founders Helping The UK Government Create 'The United Nations Of Startups'" (in en). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/edmundingham/2014/11/13/the-founders-helping-the-uk-government-to-create-the-united-nations-of-start-ups/3/#1feee0521d82.
- ↑ "Shakardokht Jafari | Women in Optics | SPIE". https://spie.org/membership/women-in-optics/women-in-optics-planner/2018-wio-planner/shakardokht-jafari?SSO=1.
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