Dr Abdolrahman Shams Nateri

Abdolrahman Shams Nateri

Cancer Genetics and Stem Cell Group
Division of Pre-Clinical Oncology
University of Nottingham
Nottingham

Understanding how bowel cancer develops

Dr Abdolrahman Shams Nateri at the University of Nottingham is studying a protein called Fbw7, which is thought to protect against cancer by preventing normal cells from turning into cancer cells. His research should lead to new ways to tackle bowel cancer, one of the most common cancers in the UK.

Cancer stem cells

If a cell has a damaged version of the Fbw7 protein, or doesn’t produce enough of it, then it may be more likely to turn cancerous. Dr Shams Nateri is finding out exactly what Fbw7 does in intestinal cells, to understand how lack of the protein may lead to cancer.

In particular Dr Shams Nateri is looking at stem cells, which have the ability to generate a range of different cells in the intestine. Many researchers believe that rogue stem cells may be at the heart of several cancers. Finding out more about these special cells will increase our understanding of how the disease starts and develops.

Another important area of Dr Shams Nateri’s work involves restoring Fbw7 in cells that don’t produce enough of it, to see how this affects the development of cancer. Researchers hope that replacing the protein should provide some protection against the disease.

This exciting work will help us to understand more about how cancer develops in the intestine and bowel, and has great potential to reveal new ways to treat or even prevent the disease in the future.

icon-a-z-20x20

Visit our A-Z topic pages

 

If you want to help support more research like this, please visit our Donate Now page.