The building blocks of a life
By Kate Hoving
Ima Hosseinzadeh, Ph.D. student at William & Mary’s Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), may be a long way from her native Iran, but in the labs and on the research vessels in Gloucester, Virginia, she is right at home.
She worked hard to get here, and she capitalizes on every moment and opportunity.
A daughter of commercial manager and a fashion designer, Ima didn’t start life thinking she would become a marine biologist, examining microscopic organisms at the mouth of the York River, but through careful consideration and analysis by her, her parents and mentors, she found her calling. And with her characteristic determination and intellectual curiosity, she has persisted in pursuing that calling, despite logistical, geopolitical and bureaucratic obstacles.
Ima grew up and went to university in Tehran in a very different environment from the one she inhabits now. “I’m from the capital city of Iran, which is very crowded, with heavy traffic and pollution. We have some days in the year – not many, but some days -- that schools are closed because of the air pollution.”
When considering potential undergraduate majors, an educational consultant advised her to consider pursuing engineering, natural resources. Of those, the field that appealed to her was natural resources-fisheries, and she started her studies at the Tehran Azad university, thinking she would ultimately start an aquaculture business with her parents, focusing on sturgeon, a fish that is prevalent in the Caspian Sea, north of Tehran, and known (and over-fished) for its high quality caviar “Beluga Caviar”.
Her education proceeded as planned, but during her master's program, Ima took a class in limnology [the study of the biological, chemical, and physical features of lakes and other bodies of fresh water]. She found the professor and the class captivating. “In our lab we were looking with the microscope at different phytoplankton and zooplankton, and I became fascinated by how these tiny, microscopic organisms—impossible to see with the naked eye—form the foundation of the marine food web. Their role is important not only for ocean life but also for the entire planet, as they drive nutrient cycles and support ecosystems that affect life far beyond the oceans”.
Phytoplankton are, indeed, amazing little creatures that on the one hand are food for ocean animals. But as if that weren’t enough, they utilize photosynthesis (taking in light energy and carbon dioxide from the air) to make food for themselves. Through that process, they release oxygen into the ocean, freshwaters and atmosphere. Basically, more than half of the oxygen on earth is produced by phytoplankton.
And once she had discover the magic of phytoplankton, the sturgeon never had a chance. "I'm a phytoplankton person."
Or to put it another way, whereas most of us might look at a glass on a shelf in a lab and see just some murky, green water, Ima can look at that same beaker and see something extraordinary—the microorganisms that are the building blocks of life.
The path to William & Mary and a career
It had always been Ima’s dream to pursue a PhD, and she was accepted into a program in Tehran Iran, “but I changed my mind at the last minute.”
She and her parents had been looking ahead at jobs that would be available to her in her field.
“My parents were always supportive and genuinely cared about what I wanted to be, trying to help me find a career in something I truly loved. Although in Iran, the most secure and prosperous paths are often in fields like medicine, civil engineering, and computers—not in marine science—they believed in my passion and encouraged me to follow my interests, which meant so much, especially since it’s not as common in our culture.”
To have the best opportunities in marine science, she would have to explore programs abroad. She had the intellect and the education to get accepted in any program, but as an Iranian citizen, getting a student visa could be a challenge.
“At first, I wanted to go to Canada, because it would be easier to get a visa; many Iranians go to Canada.” But as she began researching universities, she learned that even in Canada, her career options were limited. “It's more difficult to find positions for bachelor’s or even master's programs, much less PhD programs.”
Her next thought was Scandinavia. But obstacles kept arising – whether from the lack of programs and positions available or in the difficulties in securing a visa.
At that point, she realized she needed to focus all her efforts on one country, and that needed to be the U.S.
As always, her parents were fully committed to supporting her choices. “My parents always encouraged me to follow my dreams, even if it took me to the farthest parts of the world. I now understand how lucky I am; talking with others has shown me that many parents, especially for daughters, not just in Iran but from various countries, often aren’t as supportive of their children moving abroad. It’s a unique kind of support that’s meant so much in my journey .”
She discovered the Batten School had everything she was looking for: comprehensive and interdisciplinary research opportunities (Coastal & Ocean Processes, Ecosystem Health, and Natural Resources); a highly regarded Ph.D. program; state-of-the-art facilities; and the unique combination of scholarly research and education with regional, national and global advisory services.
But finding the right program with the best career potential was just the first hurdle. She still needed to be accepted and get a visa.
Because the U.S. doesn’t have an embassy in Iran, Ima had three options for her visa application: Turkey, Dubai or Armenia. She went to Armenia because she could get the earliest appointment there, but even so, it took months.
“It's not as simple as just requesting an appointment—you need to secure a visa and spend a lot of time online, hoping an appointment becomes available. And when it does, you have to act fast to grab it before someone else does,” Ima explains. “I started searching for an appointment from October 2021 until January, and finally found one for May 2022 in January 2022. Not all appointment dates work for students, though, since they need to schedule it around the time they receive their admission and I-20 forms (which can be different in any university), and not too close to the program start date, as background checks can take months, sometimes even a few years. This delay can cause students to lose their spot at schools, making it extremely difficult to find the right appointment date. Sadly, these challenges often discourage professors, who understand these obstacles, from accepting students from Iran.
William & Mary sent the good news of her acceptance with an offer letter in March. It said they would send her I-20 [Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status] in June, which is the standard turnaround time.
The problem was that she needed it for her embassy interview in May. And with some universities, that might have meant the end of road, but not W&M.
“I told them I couldn’t change the appointment, but Linda Schaffner, Dean of Academic Affairs at VIMSresponded right away, telling me, ‘It's totally fine. We will send you your I-20 sooner so you can go to the embassy for your interview.’”
It all fell into place: Ima got her I-20 in time, she received her visa, and she headed to Virginia.
A new environment: Opportunities and challenges
Ima arrived at William & Mary in August 2022.
In Iran, Ima had concentrated on phytoplankton physiology, but here, her focus is more on ecology, examining the interaction between phytoplankton and shellfish, specifically oysters.
Because her research involves both phytoplankton and shellfish, although doctoral candidates usually have just one advisor, Ima has two: Assistant Professor Nicole Millette (the phytoplankton expert) and Bill Walton, Acuff Professor of Marine Science and Shellfish Aquaculture Program Coordinator. She welcomes the atypical arrangement.
“I have two different ideas, two different labs and a broader range of colleagues.”
Ima works mostly in the lab in Chesapeake Bay Hall, but you will also find her in the algae room in the new Acuff Center for Aquaculture where they grow the phytoplankton for shellfish.
Oysters are filter feeders, and their survival depends on phytoplankton. But she is looking at how that may change with different variables. She is also looking into whether local farmers can use the local phytoplankton species as a food for their shellfish.
“The lab uses filtered York River water, and they filter it very well. But I believe there will be some differences and changes over time that affect their nutritional value like fatty acid, the C:N:P [carbon-to-nitrogen-to-phosphorus], and other different parameters that are important for the oyster’s diet.”
Ima is not only in the labs. The Batten School has provided ample opportunities for fieldwork as well.
“I went to the field right after I arrived here, looking at how chlorophyll-a concentration, phytoplankton composition and abundances can be varied in oyster bags. We explore the differences, because although oysters are a filter feeder, there's some research that suggests they are also a selective feeder. In other words, they filter, but they have preferences.” Ima is identifying the different treatments and the species to which the oysters are attracted.
Scientific observations: inside and outside of the lab
Along with her insights into oysters and phytoplankton, Ima has been able to observe differences between her life and work at W&M and her work and life in Iran.
“There are very big differences [between Iran and the U.S.]. Doing my research here I can feel that. And when I talk to other Iranian students, they have the same feeling.”
That is why Ima has added a new goal in addition to earning her Ph.D. She wants to write a book about Iranian women in science.
“It's hard to be scientist in Iran — not only for women, of course — but for women, it's worse.” They have fewer options, few opportunities and less available funding.
“For my master's program, my parents and I paid most of the funding I needed for my research. The tuition, fees, even my chemicals. It is so expensive.” There is some minor government support for education, but getting it is a long process — up to a year — and if you do get it, it doesn’t cover everything.
“I have a friend, who is a pharmacist. She's working on research at one of the best schools in Iran, and she mentioned that while her program has enough funding, it's not just about money, you can't simply order the equipment or supplies you need. I’ve experienced the same challenges myself, due to sanctions and political restrictions, the necessary resources are rarely available, making it almost impossible to find everything required for research. And it's getting worse over time, making scientific progress even more challenging.” As there are fewer and fewer opportunities for young scholars in Iran, they – like Ima — are increasingly moving to other countries for study and work.
She was home in January 2024 for a brief visit and was shocked to see how in the less than two years she has been away, life has become harder for the Iranian people. “It's getting worse and worse, even since I came here. Inflation is much worse, and the sanctions are so hard on ordinary people.”
Ima was at W&M during the protests in Iran associated with the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. The large-scale protests have subsided, but the reasons behind them have not gone away. And even with recent elections, Ima has little hope that anything will change, especially for women.
“The feeling I have about my country is that it is stuck. Just stuck. The government won’t let the country breathe.”
And that makes her even more determined to write her book, to show what she has seen and learned since she left Iran. “This should be written down somewhere so people understand the obstacles that a woman scientist can face in Iran—challenges that students here might never even imagine. It could help them appreciate the freedom they have to follow their dreams without those barriers.”
Not long ago, after she had returned from a research cruise, a friend asked her how it had gone.
“I told them it was great. It was awesome.”
They were incredulous, she remembers. “You’re the first person to say that.”
Ima was confused and thought maybe they were referring to some other cruise where there might have been some disruption or problems.
They responded, "It’s not easy being on a research cruise. It’s stressful. Didn’t you find it hard?”
To Ima their question was immaterial. “I told them it was an awesome experience, because it was what I had always wanted to do, and I was grateful I could do it. And I also appreciate that there are so many people who can’t.”
