Pourmotabbed, associate professor of biochemistry, conducts research on arthritis and cancer invasion at the University of Tennessee where she has taught since 1989. Pourmotabbed says she first discovered her love of teaching while a student at UMBC. "UMBC has such great teachers," she says. "As part of my chemistry lab, I worked as a teacher's assistant and it was then I realized how much I liked teaching."

Pourmotabbed first came to UMBC in 1981 after graduating with honors with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. A native of Iran, she says UMBC's friendly atmosphere helped her to adjust to her first year in the Ph.D. program.

"Everyone was so friendly," says Pourmotabbed. "It was only three years that I had been in the United States, but everyone was so nice that I didn't feel out of place at all."

Some of her fondest memories were of working with other students in the chemistry lab under the direction of her mentor, Donald J. Creighton, chemistry and biochemistry professor. She recalls many a late night when she and other students were conducting experiments and studying for exams.

Pourmotabbed credits Creighton's teaching style with preparing her for the arduous work of researching and enabling her to go on to become a nationally recognized scientist.

"Dr. Creighton would come in and quiz us," she says. "He always forced us to think about the experiments we had to do even before we did them. That focus on the thought process has really helped me in my research because it forced me to think about every single aspect."

At the University of Tennessee, Pourmotabbed is working with sets of enzymes involved in arthritis and cancer invasion. She describes her work as trying to figure out how the enzymes function and their role in tumor metastasis.

The levels of certain enzymes rise during metastasis or arthritis, and Pourmotabbed is trying to develop a mutated version of those enzymes. Her work has led to a model of how the enzymes function at a basic chemical level. Pourmotabbed said she hopes her research will one day aid in the development of gene therapy to retard arthritis and metastasis.

Her research is supported by the National Institutes of Health and she has served on several committees including the University of Tennessee Cancer Center and Oral Cancer Research Center. Her résumé boasts the publication of numerous articles in scientific journals and lecture presentations.

Pourmotabbed credits the support she received from UMBC's stellar biochemistry department, and most especially Creighton with helping to prepare her for her career.

"One thing that affected me a great deal was when I passed my oral exams," she says. "Dr. Creighton came down and put his hand on my shoulder and said he was proud of me. That affected me a lot."

Pourmotabbed's esteem for Creighton is obviously reciprocated. Earlier this year Creighton nominated his former student for the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award.

"Tayebeh was the best graduate student that I have worked with in the last 23 years," says Creighton. "Her graduate work resulted in a total of four major publications in top scientific journals in the area of biochemistry."

Creighton goes on to add, "On a personal level, Tayebeh is both well spoken and charming. She continues to show an intense interest in UMBC as it continues to develop into an outstanding institution of higher learning."

Pourmotabbed, whose nickname "Fruz" is Iranian for a person who lights up the room like sunshine, says she is thrilled to be honored by the university, which has played such an important role in her life.

"I was really surprised and excited when I found out I was being named the Distinguished Alumna," she says. "It's a great honor that I didn't expect at all."

Lisa Respers works as the arts and entertainment writer for the Howard County Bureau of The Baltimore Sun. She has worked as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times and written for Time, People and The Source.