Focusing on defining the molecular pathways involved in the normal functioning of the female reproductive tract and the pathogenesis of endometrial cancer

Dr Shafiq’s grant is generously funded by the Bobbin Head Cruising Club

He is based at The University of Newcastle, where he also completed his PhD.

What is endometrial cancer?

Endometrial cancer is a type of gynaecological cancer that starts in the inner lining of the uterus and is caused by the malignant (cancer) cells forming in the tissues of the endometrium. There are some factors such as obesity and having metabolic syndrome that may increase the risk of endometrial cancer.

Dr Shafiq Syed's research

Research in endometrial cancer is far behind in terms of progression than in non-gynaecological diseases. Therefore, Dr Shafiq’s work is pivotal in laying the groundwork for endometrial cancer patient treatment, which he started during his PhD where he identified the endometrial cancer cell of origin. 

“The current research in this area and in fact the basic understanding of the normal functioning of female reproductive tract organs lags far behind the progress that we have made in non-gynaecological diseases,” he says.

“I wanted to tackle the gynaecological problems at the grass-roots level. This work, which culminated nearly after 7 years, did exactly that and thus laid the very basic foundation of my current research program.

“The Cure Cancer grant comes at a time when I need it the most and gives me an invaluable opportunity to take my work a step ahead by targeting these cells for the design of effective targeted therapy for endometrial cancer and also to investigate them further to understand the initiation progression and metastasis of endometrial cancer.”

About Dr Shafiq Syed

Dr Shafiq is currently a Lecturer at The University of Newcastle. Born in India, he originally trained in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery in 2009. After finishing his Masters in Immunology, Dr Shafiq moved to Australia in 2013, where he completed his PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Newcastle. Dr Shafiq is recently a father, with his hands full with a “talkative” toddler. He and his wife both love art and sports, Dr Shafiq even playing for his local cricket team.

“During my PhD, I was able to locate and identify the cells of origin for uterine cancer. Therefore, my research is mainly focused on these cells.”

Together, we can cure cancer.

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