Staff in the Bladder Cancer Research Centre

Director and theme leads

Professor Richard T Bryan MBChB PhD MRCS FAcadTM

Director of the Bladder Cancer Research Centre

Rik Bryan is a former clinical urologist who became a full-time bladder cancer research academic at the University of Birmingham in 2009. He subsequently established a dedicated bladder cancer research laboratory group - initially focusing on urinary biomarkers and proteomics, the group expanded and worked with other University of Birmingham academics to incorporate genomics & bioinformatics, novel therapeutics, and bio-medical engineering, all within an ethos of translation and clinical research.

Rik is also the Chief Investigator of the Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme (BCPP), the SELENIB clinical trial, and POUT-T, and his particular interests are biomarkers, and novel agents, technologies and pathways (both molecular pathways and patient pathways!). As a full-time academic, Rik teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students including clinical and non-clinical Masters and PhD students.

Dr Douglas G Ward PhD

Theme Lead - Biomarkers & Proteomics

Doug Ward is a Senior Research Fellow leading the laboratory research into biomarkers at the BCRC. His group’s research spans all aspects of tissue and liquid biopsy biomarkers - from initial candidate discovery though to validation and translation into clinical use.

Doug spent the early part of his career using biophysical techniques to investigate protein structure and function. This led to an interest in mass spectrometry-based proteomics which evolved into utilising proteomic technologies to study bladder cancer, and the resultant identification of prognostic protein biomarkers. Next generation sequencing has now become a key technology for DNA and RNA-based biomarker research and his group have recently developed and validated a test based on targeted sequencing of urine DNA for the non-invasive detection of bladder cancer.

Dr Roland Arnold PhD

Theme Lead – Genomics & Bioinformatics

Roland Arnold is a specialist in the analysis of molecular alterations in cancer, and leads the Bioinformatics for Cancer and Disease Group in the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences. He is a bioinformatician (computational biologist) by training and expert in the analysis of the ‘big data’ generated by modern high-throughput biological studies, such as cancer genome sequencing to detect mutations and other aberrations in tumour DNA, and especially events at the RNA level.

His work spans a wide range of research questions, including changes in gene splicing, novel methods to interpret gene expression patterns, and tailor-made analyses that integrate different biological data-types. Since his move from Oxford to Birmingham in 2017, he has been collaborating with the Bladder Cancer Group to understand and analyse patient-derived genomic data from the Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme in order to identify biomarker candidates for disease detection and stratification.

He regularly supervises students at the Masters and PhD level, working on exciting genomics and bioinformatic projects. He also collaborates with different biologists and medical scientists to develop new insights into different cancer types (with a focus on urothelial/bladder and colorectal cancers), and to understand the basic biology of gene splicing.

Dr Farhat Khanim PhD

Theme Lead – Novel Therapeutics

Farhat Khanim is a translational cancer biologist using drug repurposing to identify novel, low toxicity and affordable therapies for rare diseases and diseases of unmet need. Her major research areas are haematological cancers of the elderly, urological cancers and paediatric cancer in low-middle income countries (LMICs) in Africa. Farhat’s research encompasses the full spectrum of translational research from in vitro drug screening, preclinical mechanism of action studies using a range of molecular, cellular and biochemical approaches, through to clinical trials in the UK and Africa.

Farhat is also Director for Research for the Department of Biomedical Sciences. As a full-time academic, Farhat teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students including clinical and non-clinical Masters and PhD students.

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Professor Duncan Shepherd BEng PhD CEng FIMechE SFHEA

Theme Lead – Bio-medical Engineering

Duncan Shepherd is Professor of Bio-medical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research is in the application of mechanical engineering to medicine. He works closely with surgeons and clinicians to ensure that his research has the potential for translation, and also works in collaboration with the medical device industry.

Duncan’s research is split into two main areas:
1) design of medical devices;
2) mechanical testing of biomaterials and medical devices.

His research on the design of medical devices has included: joint replacement implants for the fingers and wrist; closing the sternum; surgical instruments for bladder tumours; surgical instruments for minimally invasive hip surgery; surgical instruments for spinal surgery.

His research on the mechanical testing of biomaterials and medical devices has included: mechanical properties of polymers; mechanical properties of articular cartilage; testing fracture fixation devices; testing a range of spinal implants.

Mr Keval Patel FRCS(Urol), MSEd(Master of Surgical Education), PhD. Consultant Urological Surgeon and Robotic Surgeon and Honorary Senior Research Fellow

Theme Lead – Clinical Research & Clinical Trials

Keval Patel read Medicine at Imperial College in 2005. He undertook his basic surgical training in the South of England, during which time he was awarded a Masters of Surgical Education with Merit from Imperial College, London. He was appointed as an academic higher surgical trainee in urology in the East of England deanery. He was awarded research training fellowships from the Royal College of Surgeons, the Addenbrookes charitable trust and Cancer Research UK to undergo a period of research training at the University of Cambridge where he was awarded a PHD in oncology in 2017.

In 2021 he was appointed as a Consultant Uro-oncologist and Robotic Surgeon with a focus on pelvic cancer at University Hospitals Birmingham and holds an Honorary Senior Clinical Research Fellow role at the University of Birmingham. His research interests lie in translational research in urological cancers, particularly the use of biomarkers to better risk stratify patients so that they receive the right treatments without delay.

Research staff and postgraduate students

Mr Ben Abbotts MSc – BCPP Study Co-ordinator

Ben Abbotts received undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, respectively, before returning to Birmingham to work in Professor Paul Moss’s lab as part of the team investigating stem cell transplantation. As part of this work he was involved in a clinical trial aiming to elicit targeted T-cell responses in donors prior to transplantation, an experience that led him to join Mr Bryan’s team as the coordinator for the Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme, the SELENIB clinical trial, and the POUT-T study. Ben is currently supporting both internal and external studies using the BCPP database of clinical information and samples collections, as well as maintaining the appropriate regulatory approvals for the studies.

Ms Naheema Gordon – Laboratory Technician (Biomarkers and Proteomics)

Naheema has provided 10 years of technical experience and expertise within the University, providing assistance to staff and students with multiple molecular biology techniques, from proteomics and mass spectrometry to genomics and deep sequencing. Her main work is sample library preparations for Illumina and Ion torrent next-generation sequencing, performing an integral role within the Centre.

Dr Anshita Goel PhD – Postdoctoral Research Assistant (Genomics and Bioinformatics)

After completing her PhD in the functional genomics of a non-model organism, Anshita has worked on interpreting genetic events in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and, more recently, has studied the bladder transcriptome for the presence of biomarkers in the form of novel transcripts such as gene fusions and circular RNAs. With her interest in deciphering the tumour genome by identifying recurrent genetic aberrations in next-generation sequencing datasets, Anshita uses clinical phenotype data to evaluate DNA- and RNA-based features that could stratify patients by risk of disease progression.

Dr Ben Tura - Data Scientist

Ben studied Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester where he gained his undergraduate and master’s degrees. He went on to investigate the role of apoptosis in the hepatocyte at the University of Edinburgh. Following a career in innovation consultancy, Ben has recently returned to the biological sciences, retraining with a master’s degree in Bioinformatics at the University of Birmingham. His thesis considered the interplay of ageing and cancer in multiple tissues. He started his role as Data Scientist with the Bladder Cancer Research Centre in 2022 and has enjoyed working with the team to build a data warehouse with the aim of improving access to, and the value of the team’s data.

Ms Nada Humayun-Zakaria MRCS – Urology Trainee & PhD student (Biomarkers and Bioinformatics)

Nada Humayun-Zakaria underwent urology-themed core surgical training in the East Midlands. Shortly after completion of a urology clinical fellow post, she joined the University of Birmingham in 2018 to pursue a PhD in exploring potential urinary biomarkers for early detection and surveillance of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Her work involves using bioinformatics and proteomics for biomarker discovery. Her clinical interests include pelvic malignancy (specifically bladder cancer), cystoscopic examination of the bladder, and stone disease. Following completion of her PhD, she will continue her career as a clinical academic in urology.

Mr Minghao Yu - PhD student (Genomics & Bioinformatics)

Minghao Yu received undergraduate and master degrees from Sun Yat-sen University and Nanjing University correspondingly. Before he joined the University of Birmingham in 2021 to pursue a PhD degree, he worked as a business development analyst in a global biotechnology company. His current work is to use bioinformatics tools to explore a prognostic biomarker in bladder cancer and investigate immune-escape mechanisms based on DNA methylation and alternative splicing.

Mr Faisal Bin Humaid MSc - PhD student (Biomarkers and Proteomics)

Faisal Bin Humaid received the undergraduate degree in Biochemistry in 2011, following which he worked as a laboratory technician in the Sequencing Core Facility at the Dept. of Genetics at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, providing technical expertise to the first and largest Saudi Genome Project. In 2019, Faisal obtained his master degree in Bioinformatics from the University of Birmingham. Currently, he is investigating circulating tumour (ct)DNA for risk stratification, disease monitoring and precision oncology in urothelial bladder cancer as his PhD project at BCRC.

Azad Kareem Saeed MSc - PhD student (Biomarkers and Proteomics)

Azad Kareem Saeed received the undergraduate degree in veterinary medicine and surgery at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Sulaimani University. In 2011, he received an MSc degree in pathology within the same university. Before joining the PhD program at University of Birmingham, he worked as a lecturer at Sulaimani University in the field of pathology. His current work is to demonstrate the role of HAI-1 as a prognostic and therapeutic marker in bladder cancer through determining the level of HAI-1 in tissue and urine samples and correlating them to survival periods.

Ms Esra H. Tekben MSc – PhD Student (Genomics & Bioinformatics)

Esra H. Tekben received her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Biology and Medical Biochemistry, respectively. She participated in various studies and projects on cancer and stem cell in her master. After completing her master's degree in Turkey, she obtained a second master's degree in Molecular Pathology from the University of Manchester. Currently, she is doing her PhD on potential biomarker discovery for Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer at the University of Birmingham.

Ayse Nur Myumyun MSc - PhD student (Biomarkers and Proteomics)

Ayse Nur Myumyun received the undergraduate degree in Biochemistry in 2014, following that she had a Master’s Degree in Medical Biochemistry in Turkey. In 2020, Ayse obtained her second master’s degree in Cancer and molecular pathology and therapeutics from the University of Leicester. Currently, she is investigating gender differences in the molecular biology in urothelial bladder cancer as her PhD project using next generation sequencing and bioinformatic.

Key Strategic Partners

Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU), University of Birmingham
Centre for Medicines Discovery, University of Oxford
The Translational Oncology and Urology Research Team (TOUR), King’s College London
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust