Biography
Professor Pradeep Tanwar is an NHMRC RD Wright Biomedical Fellow. He is the Director and a founding member of the University of Newcastle Global Centre for Gynaecological Diseases.
He was originally trained in Veterinary Medicine and then obtained his Ph.D. in Reproductive Biology from the University of New England, NSW. After completing his Ph.D., he undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in gynaecological diseases at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
His team is developing cutting-edge, novel technologies for improving outcomes for women's reproductive disorders. In the last five years, his research has made significant contributions to our understanding of the pathogenesis of endometriosis and ovarian/endometrial cancers; this has been reported in top international journals and led to seven patents.
His work is widely covered by the media, including Technology Network USA, ABC 7.30, and SBS News. In addition, his patented solutions are helping companies to develop better over-the-counter medical products for managing gynecological diseases. Prof Tanwar has received >20 awards (e.g., Australia's Society of Reproductive Biology Robinson Mid-Career Research Excellence Award 2022, Mercy Perinatal Mid-Career Women Health Medal 2021) and >30 invitations to present plenary/keynote lectures on the international stage, including World Congress in Reproductive Biology 2022 Plenary.
What are your research interests?
My work investigates what goes wrong with the female reproductive organs in pathologies, specifically endometriosis and gynaecological cancers, and how we can fix it.
Gynaecological cancers have an average 5-year survival rate of just 45% worldwide. These types of cancer constitute the highest mortality of all cancers affecting women - 70% of patients relapse due to chemo resistance. Gynaecological diseases such as endometriosis occur mainly in young women with no definite therapeutic treatments.
My research interests are specifically directed towards preventing these diseases in the first place, improving survival rates of these cancers by uncovering next generation therapeutic strategies and to improve quality of life of affected patients by designing chemotherapy reduction strategies.
Why did you get into research?
As a child I was fascinated by nature and patterns - coral forests in our oceans, petals of a flower. I pursued qualifications in veterinary medicine and obtained my PhD focusing on understanding molecular patterns constituting basic biology. While at Harvard University in Boston my research led to work in molecular patterns and how diseases interrupt these.
These experiences ignited my passion for discovering disease prevention and treatment strategies. Current-day science gives you the ability and opportunity to invest your inquisitiveness and create healthcare of tomorrow. This keeps me going as a scientist.
What would be the ultimate goal for your research?
To develop prevention strategies for reproductive tract cancers and diseases, as well targeted therapies that lead to improved prognosis and new chemotherapy dose-reduction strategies for improved quality of life for women suffering endometriosis, ovarian uterine and other gynecological cancers.
Future Focus
My focus has been to answer fundamental questions on how the ovary and uterus function and to combine this knowledge with what goes wrong, leading to gynaecological diseases, including cancers in these organs. In the near future we will be accumulating compelling scientific rationale to modify, improve and replace current prevention and treatment strategies.
Specialised/Technical Skills
- Transgenic preclinical models
- Xenograft avatar models
- 3D Cell Culture models
- Organ culture
- Routine Molecular Biology expression and functional assays
- Histopathology
- Proteomic profiling
Affiliations
- Hunter Cancer Research Alliance
- Australian Research Council
- Cancer Council, NSW
- National Health and Medical Research Council
