Dr Mamunur Rashid

Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
Assistant Professor

Contact details

Email: m.rashid.1@bham.ac.uk

Address: Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Mamunur Rashid is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences at the University of Birmingham. His key research focuses on bioinformatics and digital health, with a particular emphasis on human-centric innovation in AI to address healthcare access inequality. His work includes developing inclusive recommendation systems in primary care settings and leveraging AI to enhance healthcare accessibility and efficacy.

He is also an affiliated member of Department of Applied Health Research at University of Birmingham.

Qualifications

PhD in Bioinformatics and Machine Learning, Delft University of Technology, 2020
MSc in Advanced Methods of Computer Science, Queen Mary, University of London, 2008
BSc in Computer Science, University of Pune, 2006

Biography

Dr Rashid earned his PhD in 'Bioinformatics and Machine Learning' from the Delft University of Technology under the guidance of Professor Marcel Reinders. In collaboration with the Wellcome Sanger Institute the project foxed on developing an advanced data-driven predictive modelling to identify novel non-coding cancer-driving mutations. His expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) spans digital health and cancer genomics, contributing significantly to large-scale cancer target discovery projects and the development of a ground-breaking epigenetic liquid biopsy signature based on 5-hydroxymethylation for early cancer detection.

Dr Rashid's research has also led to the development of an AI-driven clinical decision support system that leverages Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to simplify primary care access for ethnic South Asian patients.

In addition to his research endeavours, Dr Rashid is committed to fostering stronger ties between academia and industry, demonstrating a profound interest in converting research findings into practical solutions that directly benefit patients.

Teaching

MSc Bioinformatics Online

Module: Statistical Machine Learning
Module: Health Data Analytics

MSc Bioinformatics & MSc Health Data Science

Statistical Machine Learning and Data Analytics
Deputy Module Lead for MSc Bioinformatics Dubai

MSc Bioinformatics - Dubai & MSc Health Data Science - Dubai

Statistical Machine Learning and Data Analytics

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Rashid actively supervises MSc students. He is always looking for interested and motivated PhD students within his preferred research areas. Please contact Dr Rashid directly via email.

Research

Dr Rashid's latest research endeavors aim to reduce global healthcare disparities with AI-driven innovations and inclusive digital interventions. He is particularly interested in developing clinical decision support systems that address historic ethnic biases in current medical datasets.

His team pioneered Bangladesh's first multilingual, AI-powered digital health platform, leveraging ASR, NLP, and health knowledge graphs to enable access to primary healthcare in native languages via mobile and web, enhancing efficiency and overcoming language barriers.

Current Research Initiatives:

LLM in Mental Health :

With the rise of Large Language Models (LLM), AI-powered mental health conversational bots have become more prevalent. Yet, the adaptation for many South Asian languages remains lacking. Our project is set to assess the support capabilities of existing LLM-based mental health bots for South Asian language speakers, with an aim to develop a refined model that surpasses the constraints of current offerings.

Inclusive Clinical Decision Support System:

The potential of AI-based clinical decision support systems to revolutionize primary care quality and enhance patient experiences is immense. This project delves into analyzing the AI-driven clinical decision support and recommendation system landscape, focusing on their proficiency in delivering precise diagnoses for ethnic South Asian patients based on their medical histories.

Other activities

Outside of academic research, Dr. Rashid closely collaborates with multiple biotech startup ecosystems in the Midlands and Cambridge.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Walker, NJ, Rashid, M, Yu, S, Bignell, H, Lumby, CK, Livi, CM, Howell, K, Morley, DJ, Morganella, S, Barrell, D, Caim, S, Gosal, W, Füllgrabe, J, Charlesworth, TJ, Vasquez, L, Ahdesmäki, M, Eizenga, J, Prabhat, P, Proutski, V, Murat-Onana, ML, Greenwood, CJ, Kirkwood, L, Maisuria-Armer, M, Li, M, Coats, E, Winfield, V, Macbean, L, Stock, T, Tomé-Fernandez, A, Chan, Y, Sheikh, N, Golder, P, Steward, M, Ost, TWB, Stewart, D, Vilella, A, Noursalehi, M, Paten, B, Lucarelli, D, Mason, J, Ridge, G, Mellad, J, Shirodkar, S, Balasubaramanian, S & Holbrook, JD 2022, 'Hydroxymethylation profile of cell-free DNA is a biomarker for early colorectal cancer', Scientific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, 16566. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20975-1

Christodoulou, E, Rashid, M, Pacini, C, Droop, A, Robertson, H, Groningen, TV, Teunisse, AFAS, Iorio, F, Jochemsen, AG, Adams, DJ & van Doorn, R 2021, 'Analysis of CRISPR-Cas9 screens identifies genetic dependencies in melanoma', Pigment cell melanoma research, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 122-131. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcmr.12919

Lo, JA, Kawakubo, M, Juneja, VR, Su, MY, Erlich, TH, Lafleur, MW, Kemeny, LV, Rashid, M, Malehmir, M, Rabi, SA, Raghavan, R, Allouche, J, Kasumova, G, Frederick, DT, Pauken, KE, Weng, QY, Pereira da silva, M, Xu, Y, Van der sande, AAJ, Silkworth, W, Roider, E, Browne, EP, Lieb, DJ, Wang, B, Garraway, LA, Wu, CJ, Flaherty, KT, Brinckerhoff, CE, Mullins, DW, Adams, DJ, Hacohen, N, Hoang, MP, Boland, GM, Freeman, GJ, Sharpe, AH, Manstein, D & Fisher, DE 2021, 'Epitope spreading toward wild-type melanocyte-lineage antigens rescues suboptimal immune checkpoint blockade responses', Science Translational Medicine, vol. 13, no. 581, eabd8636. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abd8636

Sequeira, I, Rashid, M, Tomás, IM, Williams, MJ, Graham, TA, Adams, DJ, Vigilante, A & Watt, FM 2020, 'Genomic landscape and clonal architecture of mouse oral squamous cell carcinomas dictate tumour ecology', Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 5671.

Rashid, M, van der Horst, M, Mentzel, T, Butera, F, Ferreira, I, Pance, A, Rütten, A, Luzar, B, Marusic, Z & de Saint Aubain, N 2019, 'ALPK1 hotspot mutation as a driver of human spiradenoma and spiradenocarcinoma', Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 2213.

Küsters-Vandevelde, HVN, Germans, MR, Rabbie, R, Rashid, M, Ten Broek, R, Blokx, WAM, Prinsen, CFM, Adams, DJ & Ter Laan, M 2018, 'Whole-exome sequencing of a meningeal melanocytic tumour reveals activating CYSLTR2 and EIF1AX hotspot mutations and similarities to uveal melanoma', Brain Tumor Pathology, vol. 35, pp. 127-130.

Horton, SJ, Giotopoulos, G, Yun, H, Vohra, S, Sheppard, O, Bashford-Rogers, R, Rashid, M, Clipson, A, Chan, W-I & Sasca, D 2017, 'Early loss of Crebbp confers malignant stem cell properties on lymphoid progenitors', Nature Cell Biology, vol. 19, no. 9, pp. 1093-1104.

Rabbie, R, Rashid, M, Arance, AM, Sánchez, M, Tell-Marti, G, Potrony, M, Conill, C, van Doorn, R, Dentro, S & Gruis, NA 2017, 'Genomic analysis and clinical management of adolescent cutaneous melanoma', Pigment cell melanoma research, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 307-316.

Rashid, M, Fischer, A, Wilson, CH, Tiffen, J, Rust, AG, Stevens, P, Idziaszczyk, S, Maynard, J, Williams, GT & Mustonen, V 2016, 'Adenoma development in familial adenomatous polyposis and MUTYH-associated polyposis: somatic landscape and driver genes', The Journal of pathology, vol. 238, no. 1, pp. 98-108.

Ranzani, M, Michaut, M, Alsinet, C, Grinkevich, V, Wong, K, Iyer, V, Aben, N, Del Castillo Velasco-Herrera, M, Sjoberg, M & Rashid, M 2016, 'Identification of new therapies for the treatment of BRAF/NRAS wild-type melanomas by functional screening approaches', Cancer Research, vol. 76, no. 14Supplement, pp. 4783-4783.

Perna, D, Karreth, FA, Rust, AG, Perez-Mancera, PA, Rashid, M, Iorio, F, Alifrangis, C, Arends, MJ, Bosenberg, MW & Bollag, G 2015, 'BRAF inhibitor resistance mediated by the AKT pathway in an oncogenic BRAF mouse melanoma model', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 112, no. 6, pp. E536-E545.

Ranzani, M, Alifrangis, C, Perna, D, Dutton-Regester, K, Pritchard, A, Wong, K, Rashid, M, Robles-Espinoza, CD, Hayward, NK & McDermott, U 2015, 'BRAF/NRAS wild-type melanoma, NF1 status and sensitivity to trametinib', Pigment cell melanoma research, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 117.

Westcott, PMK, Halliwill, KD, To, MD, Rashid, M, Rust, AG, Keane, TM, Delrosario, R, Jen, K-Y, Gurley, KE & Kemp, CJ 2015, 'The mutational landscapes of genetic and chemical models of Kras-driven lung cancer', Nature, vol. 517, no. 7535, pp. 489-492.

Other contribution

Din, S, Wong, K, Mueller, MF, Oniscu, A, James, H, Black, CJ, Miller, ML, Jiménez-Sánchez, A, Rabbie, R & Rashid, M 2017, AODTH-006 Hypermutation and mutational signatures in inflammatory bowel disease-associated colorectal cancers. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Preprint

Ranzani, M, Kemper, K, Michaut, M, Krijgsman, O, Aben, N, Iyer, V, Wong, K, Roumeliotis, TI, Velasco-Herrera, MDC, Nsengimana, J, Turner, G, Thompson, N, Shahrabi, A, Sjoberg, M, Rashid, M, Speak, AO, Grinkevich, V, Behan, F, Tamborero, D, Iorio, F, van Dongen, S, Bignell, GR, Alsinet, C, Chen, S, Supper, E, Dutton-Regester, K, Pritchard, A, Wong, C, Enright, A, Newton-Bishop, J, McDermott, U, Hayward, NK, Choudhary, JS, Yusa, K, Wessels, L, Garnett, MJ, Peeper, D & Adams, DJ 2017 'A screen for combination therapies in BRAF/NRAS wild type melanoma identifies nilotinib plus MEK inhibitor as a synergistic combination' bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/195354

View all publications in research portal