My academic interest started during high school with Mathematics and Physics, but later moved towards psychology and philosophy. I came to spend much time in reading in these disciplines, to the point that I felt I had to change my major to Psychology and Philosophy.

In the nationwide university entrance exam, I ranked in 49th place among about 300,000 candidates. This enabled me to be accepted into the best psychology program in Iran. I started a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology in 2011 at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran. Here I developed an interest in developmental changes during childhood and adolescence, and their contribution to emotional difficulties.

Through clinical training and practical experience in school, I realized that many adolescent problems are rooted in family and environmental circumstances. Concequently, I took a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, with a focus on Family Therapy, which gave me two years of education including intensive clinical training. This opportunity provided me with a systemic and wider view of the problems children encounter during development into adulthood.

Reading some publications by R. J. Sternberg attracted me to the subject of “Wisdom”: a philosophical, theoretical and also practical subject. The importance of wisdom in public and private decisions cannot be doubted, and there is a surprising cross-cultural consensus regarding the definition of this concept. Before long, wisdom became my main area of interest. As the topic of an earlier master’s dissertation, I investigated the effect of a psycho-educational intervention for promoting wisdom as a strategy for emotional regulation and dealing with depression symptoms in adolescents.

In order to prepare myself for the study of the neural correlates of the topics of my research interest, especially wisdom, and to elaborate a cognitive neuroscientific approach to them, I commenced an MSc in Neuroscience at King’s College London in September 2018. I have recently completed this second master’s degree, with merit. Next, receiving eminent support from Haamee institute, I am going to embark on a PhD programme in the field of Psychological Medicine at King’s College London, or alternatively a D Phil in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. Both have been defined based on my original research ideas within the scope of my academic interest. Hopefully, I could contribute effectively in the cognitive neuroscientific study of emotional disorders in adolescence, and clinical implications of fostering wisdom in early-treatment and/or prevention of them, in my beloved country, Iran.