Titles and Education

1. Research Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison (July 2026- present)
2. Research Instructor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University (January 2026 - July 2026)
3. Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University (Dr. Peter Jackson's lab) (2021-2026)
4. Ph.D. in Chemistry, Biological Mass Spectrometry, University of Virginia (Dr. Donald F. Hunt’s lab) (2015-2021)
5. MSc in Analytical Chemistry, K. N. Toosi University of Technology (Dr. Ali Jabari and Dr. Ali Mehdinia labs) (2009-2012)
6. BSc in Chemistry, Sharif University of Technology  (2004-2009)

Research

Deciphering The Dialogue Between Pancreatic Islet Cells: Spatial and Temporal Control of Paracrine Signaling

Pancreatic β-cell insulin secretion is governed not only by glucose sensing but also by a network of paracrine signals exchanged among α, β, and δ cells within the islet microenvironment. Secreted peptides, proteins, and metabolites engage diverse receptor pathways, including GPCRs, to tune hormone release and preserve glucose homeostasis. In human islets, α-cell signals can potentiate insulin secretion, while δ-cell-derived somatostatin provides inhibitory feedback; disruption of these intercellular circuits is increasingly recognized as an important component of islet dysfunction in diabetes.

My research focuses on dissecting this ongoing cellular conversation and determining how receiving cells interpret these cues at the molecular level. Rather than studying one secreted factor at a time, we use quantitative mass spectrometry to generate comprehensive stimulus-dependent secretion profiles from human islets. By integrating these measurements with cell-type-resolved datasets and functional studies, we aim to link candidate paracrine factors to their cellular sources, receptors, and effects on islet function. Our goal is to define the α-, β-, and δ-cell communication networks that shape insulin secretion beyond direct glucose sensing and to identify how those networks are remodeled in metabolic disease and across species.

A central question is how recipient cells decode paracrine inputs through dynamic post-translational modification (PTM) networks. Signaling outcomes depend not only on which proteins are modified, but also on when and where those modifications occur. I use synchronized model systems, high-resolution imaging, and time-resolved phosphoproteomics to determine how GPCR activation generates compartment-specific phosphorylation programs. This approach tests the hypothesis that signaling is organized into organelle-associated microdomains, rather than operating uniformly throughout the cell, and that these local signaling programs determine distinct physiological outcomes. GPCRs can signal from multiple intracellular compartments, and subcellular receptor location can alter receptor-proximal coupling and downstream phosphoproteomic responses.

Equally important is signaling time. Many regulatory events in healthy cells arise within seconds to minutes and are incompletely captured by conventional endpoint experiments. To address this challenge, I developed metabolic STAMP (Synchronized Temporal-spatial Analysis via Microscopy and (Phospho)-Proteomics), a platform for distinguishing acute from sustained signaling responses and separating rapidly reversible phosphorylation events from more durable regulatory changes. Applied to pancreatic islets, these tools will allow us to trace the molecular trajectory of a secreted paracrine cue to the spatially organized signaling response it produces in a target cell, and ultimately to its effects on insulin secretion.

By resolving signaling across cell type, time, and subcellular space, my research aims to build a dynamic framework for understanding how extracellular cues are converted into context-specific physiological responses. Although pancreatic islets provide the primary model system, the principles and tools developed in this work will be broadly applicable to GPCR signaling and intercellular communication in other tissues.

Responsibilities

Research Assistant Professor, Dr. Turn Lab, Department of Comparative Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine

Recent Publications

1. Azizzanjani MO, Turn RE, Asthana A, Linde-Garelli KY, Xu LA, Labrie LE, Mobedi M, Jackson PK. Synchronized temporal-spatial analysis via microscopy and phosphoproteomics (STAMP) of quiescence. Sci Adv. 2025 Apr 25;11(17):eadt9712. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adt9712. Epub 2025 Apr 25. PubMed PMID: 40279433; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12024681.
2. Aziz-Zanjani MO, Turn RE, Hang Y, Asthana A, LaBrie LE, Mobedi M, Xu LA, Krawitzky M, Kim SK, Jackson PK. Metabolic STAMP for deciphering GPCR-regulated insulin secretion by pancreatic β cells. bioRxiv. 2026 Jul 12;. doi: 10.1101/2025.10.03.680349. PubMed PMID: 41256453; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12621840.
3. Turn RE, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Asthana A, Jackson PK. Strategies for multimodal spatiotemporal profiling of phosphorylation in cilia biology. J Cell Sci. 2025 Oct 15;138(20). doi: 10.1242/jcs.264159. Epub 2025 Oct 31. Review. PubMed PMID: 41171145; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12916056.
4. Nguyen L. T, Hains A. E, Aziz-Zanjani M.O, Dalsass M, Farooqee S. B.U. D, Lu Yi, Jackson P.K, Van Rechem C., Absence of SMARCB1 in rhabdoid tumor cells increases sensitivity to translation inhibition and alters translation efficiency of specific mRNAs. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107988.
5. Heather JM, Myers PT, Shi F, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Mahoney KE, Perez M, Morin B, Brittsan C, Shabanowitz J, Hunt DF, Cobbold M. Murine xenograft bioreactors for human immunopeptidome discovery. Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 6;9(1):18558. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54700-2. PubMed PMID: 31811195; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6898210.
6. Turn RE, Hilgendorf KI, Johnson CT, Han K, Rabiee A, Demeter J, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Cheng R, Domizi P, Zhu Y, Jiang Z, Svensson KJ, Bassik MC, Jackson PK. A CRISPR-based genome-wide screen for adipogenesis reveals new insights into mitotic expansion and lipogenesis. Genes & Development. 2025 Jul 17. doi: 10.1101/gad.352779.125. 
7. Schmidt HB, Jaafar ZA, Wulff BE, Rodencal JJ, Hong KB, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Jackson PK, Leonetti MD, Dixon SJ, Rohatgi R, Brandman O. Oxaliplatin disrupts nucleolar function biophysical. Cell Rep. 2022;41(6). doi: ARTN 11162910.1016/j.celrep.2022.111629. PubMed PMID: WOS:000891254500007.
8. Vazquez N, Lee C, Valenzuela I, Phan TP, Derderian C, Chávez M, Mooney NA, Demeter J, Aziz-Zanjani MO,Cusco I, Codina M, Martínez-Gil N, Valverde D, Solarat C, Buel AL, Thauvin-Robinet C, Steichen E, Filges I, Joset P, De Geyter J, Vaidyanathan K, Gardner T, Toriyama M, Marcotte EM, Roberson EC, Jackson PK, Reiter JF, Tizzano EF, Wallingford JB. The human ciliopathy protein RSG1 links the CPLANE complex to transition zone architecture. Nat Commun, 1;16(1):5701. 2025 Jul 01. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61005-8.
9. Mehdinia A, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Ahmadifar M, Jabbari A. Design and synthesis of molecularly imprinted polypyrrole based on nanoreactor SBA-15 for recognition of ascorbic acid. Biosens Bioelectron. 2013 Jan 15;39(1):88-93. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2012.06.052. Epub 2012 Jul 20. PubMed PMID: 22871516. 
10. Aziz-Zanjani MO, Mehdinia A. Electrochemically prepared solid-phase microextraction coatings-a review. Anal Chim Acta. 2013 Jun 5;781:1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2013.03.012. Epub 2013 Mar 13. PubMed PMID: 23684460. 
11. Aziz-Zanjani MO, Mehdinia A. A review on procedures for the preparation of coatings for solid phase microextraction. Microchimica Acta. 2014 May; 181:1169-1190.
12. Mehdinia A, Azizzanjani MO. Advances for sensitive, rapid and selective extraction in different configurations of solid-phase microextraction. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 2013 November; 51:13-22. 
13. Mehdinia A, Aziz-Zanjani MO. Recent advances in nanomaterials utilized in fiber coatings for solid-phase microextraction. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 2013 January; 42:205-215. 
14. Mehdinia A, Ahmadifar M, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Jabbari A, Hashtroudi MS. Selective adsorption of 2,4-dinitrophenol on molecularly imprinted nanocomposites of mesoporous silica SBA-15/polyaniline. Analyst. 2012 Sep 21;137(18):4368-74. doi: 10.1039/c2an16244j. Epub 2012 Aug 3. PubMed PMID: 22866325.
15. Mehdinia A, Baradaran Kayyal T, Jabbari A, Aziz-Zanjani MO, Ziaei E. Magnetic molecularly imprinted nanoparticles based on grafting polymerization for selective detection of 4-nitrophenol in aqueous samples. J Chromatogr A. 2013 Mar 29;1283:82-8. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2013.01.093. Epub 2013 Jan 29. PubMed PMID: 23465129.