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Cancer is one of the biggest medical challenges of our time—but what actually is it? In this Subject Spotlight, Dr. Shafiq Ahmed, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sunderland, breaks down the science behind cancer, brain tumours, and how rogue cells spread. If you're curious about medicine, biology, or the science behind diseases, this series is a must-watch!
Dr Shafiq AhmedUniversity of SunderlandMedicine
All episodes
1. What is cancer?
2. How cancer cells break the rules
3. The deadliest brain tumour – a case study
4. Who gets cancer, and why? Breast cancer in the modern age
About the university
University of Sunderland
The University of Sunderland is a top 50 UK university (Guardian University Guide 2024) and a global institution which offers life-changing opportunities for over 20,000 students across its four campuses in Sunderland, London and Hong Kong. With over 300 undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses, placement opportunities and the option to study full or part-time, there’s something for everyone at Sunderland. The University of Sunderland has also received five stars for teaching, inclusiveness, employability and facilities in the QS World University Rankings 2023 and is in the top 10 UK universities for social inclusion (The Times Good University Guide 2024).
University of Sunderland profile →Meet the academic
Dr Shafiq Ahmed
Dr Shafiq Ahmed is Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology at the University of Sunderland. He joined the School of Medicine as a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology in 2021, having held the position of a Senior lecturer in Biochemistry in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences since 2016. Shafiq graduated from Queen Mary (University of London) in 2001 with a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and completed his PhD in 2005 from the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, University of Newcastle, where he developed small molecule inhibitors targeting protein-protein interaction for the treatment of cancers. He then undertook postdoctoral research at the University of York, investigating basal signalling pathways to identify drug development targets in cancers, and contributed to the undergraduate teaching programme. Shafiq moved to CRUK Beatson Institute, Glasgow, in 2011 as a postdoctoral researcher and then relocated to the Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow. Shafiq’s primary research interest is on glioblastomas; an incurable brain tumour. The aim of his laboratory is to identify signalling pathways that can be targeted for the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of glioblastomas.
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