Dr. Athar Aziz
School of Science, Engineering and Environment
Current positions
Lecturer in Biomedicine
Biography
I am passionate father, brother, teacher and learner that makes me a human and a researcher. I studied Biomedical Sciences/Medical Technology at Shaikh Zayed Post Graduate Medical Institute, Lahore, Pakistan and worked as Biomedical Scientist/Medical Technologist in various departments of diagnostic pathology labs for about 3 years. I did Masters in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Heidelberg University, in Germany and after that I got a French ministerial (MENRT mobility) fellowship to do PhD in one of the best immunology institutes in world (CIML) in Marseille France.
I worked on macrophages differentiation and transcription factors controlling the macrophages cell fate choice. After that I joined the haematology department at Cambridge University (Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge) as a Research Associate and developed an in vitro model system to analyse consequences of loss of expression of Del20q imprinted genes cluster. Having worked in different countries I have gathered knowledge of different cultures and languages. My passion for life is to be able to help the needy and ill.
Areas of research
Stem Cells, Ageing, Cancer, Drug Repositioning, Epigenetics
I am involved in teaching Haematology, and Clinical Genetics in addition to teaching and leading Clinical Immunology module to undergraduate programmes. At Post-Graduate level I am teaching in Immunology and Medical Biotechnology modules in addition to leading the disorders of blood module in MSc Biomedical Sciences programme.
My long standing research interest is in transcription regulation in haematopoietic cells controlling the cell fate choices and leukaemia initiating ‘events’. In this context my group is studying tumour microenvironment and cross talk between tumour and non-tumour cells in microenvironment.
One major line of research has taken us to study the role of essential elements in particular ‘calcium ion’ in cell fate choices and cancer development. Since cancer cases are often seen in elderly, we have stared a project on defining age at cellular level using novel systems of ants.
Qualifications
- BSc Medical Technology (BioMedical Sciences) 1998
- MSc Molecular and Cellular Biology 2004
- PhD Immunology 2008
- PGC Higher Education Teaching and Learning 2015
Memberships
- Fellow of Higher Education Academy: 2015
- French Society of Haematology 2007
- British Society of Cell Biology 2013