Dr Mohamed Saad is a Postdoctoral Scientist at the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases (CiiiD), Department of Molecular and Translational Science (MTS), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (FMNHS), Monash University, Australia. Dr Saad completed his PhD studies in 2019 at Monash University, Australia, under the supervision of Professor Brendan Jenkins. Dr Saad has authored 31 publications and been awarded numerous highly-competitive scholarships, fellowships and awards, including Monash International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (MIPRS), Monash Publication Award, Hudson Postgraduate Travel Fellowship Award, Best Poster Prize at the Lorne Cancer conference, Milstein Travel Award from the International Cytokine and Interferon Society and Cancer Council Victoria (CCV) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Dr Saad was also selected as one of six Hudson Institute Emerging Leaders in 2021.

Dr Saad has presented his work at 14 national and international conferences and symposia, and has been invited to present his work at the University of Kiel, Germany (2019). Dr Saad is an active reviewer for many scientific journals including Oncogene, Molecular Therapy – Nucleic Acids, Molecular Cancer Research, Clinical and Translational Immunology, Cancers, Cytokine, Biomolecules and Cancer Medicine. Dr Saad also joined the editorial board of Frontiers in Oncology as a Review Editor in 2022. Dr Saad’s research interests include elucidating the roles of the ADAM17 protease, iRhom pseudoproteases and IL-6 cytokine signalling in dysregulated cell proliferation, inflammation and cell death.

Selected publications

• Saad MI, Weng T, Lundy J, Gearing LJ, West AC, Harpur CM, Alanazi M, Hodges C, Croagh D, Kumar B, Sagi I, Rose-John S, Jenkins BJ (2022) Blockade of the protease ADAM17 ameliorates experimental pancreatitis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 119(42):e2213744119.

• Dawson RE, Deswaerte V, West AC, Tang K, West AJ, Balic JJ, Gearing LJ, Saad MI, Yu L, Wu Y, Bhathal PS, Kumar B, Chakrabarti JT, Zavros Y, Oshima H, Klinman DM, Oshima M, Tan P, Jenkins BJ (2022) STAT3-mediated upregulation of the AIM2 DNA sensor links innate immunity with cell migration to promote epithelial tumourigenesis. Gut 71(8):1515-1531.

• Ruwanpura SM, McLeod L, Dousha LF, Seow HJ, West AC, West AJ, Weng T, Alanazi M, MacDonald M, King PT, Bardin PG, Gabay C, Klinman DM, Bozinovski S, Vlahos R, Anderson GP, Rose-John S, Saad MI, Jenkins BJ (2022) Cross-talk between IL-6 trans-signaling and AIM2 inflammasome/IL-1β axes bridge innate immunity and epithelial apoptosis to promote emphysema. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 119(36):e2201494119.

• Saad MI, McLeod L, Hodges C, Vlahos R, Rose-John S, Ruwanpura S, Jenkins BJ (2021) ADAM17 Deficiency Protects against Pulmonary Emphysema. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 64(2):183-195.

• Dawson RE, Jenkins BJ, Saad MI (2021) IL-6 family cytokines in respiratory health and disease. Cytokine 143:155520.

• Saad MI, McLeod L, Yu L, Ebi H, Ruwanpura S, Sagi I, Rose-John S, Jenkins BJ (2020) The ADAM17 protease promotes tobacco smoke carcinogen-induced lung tumorigenesis. Carcinogenesis 41(4):527-538.

• Saad MI, Alhayyani S, McLeod L, Yu L, Alanazi M, DeswaerteV, TangK,Jarade T, Smith JA, Prodanovic Z, Tate MD, BalicJJ, Watkins DN, Cain JE, Bozinovski S, Algar E, KohmotoT, Ebi H,Ferlin W, Garbers C, Ruwanpura S, Sagi I, Rose-John S, Jenkins BJ (2019) ADAM17 selectively activates the IL-6 trans-signaling/ERK MAPK axis in KRAS-addicted lung cancer. EMBO Mol. Med 11(4):e9976.

• Saad MI, Rose-John S, Jenkins BJ (2019) ADAM17: An Emerging Therapeutic Target for Lung Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 11(9):1218.

• Balic JJ, Garama DJ, Saad MI, Yu L, West AC, West AJ, Livis T, Bhathal PS, Gough DJ, Jenkins BJ (2019) Serine-Phosphorylated STAT3 Promotes Tumorigenesis via Modulation of RNA Polymerase Transcriptional Activity. Cancer Res 79(20):5272-5287.

• Saad MI, Abdelkhalek TM, Saleh MM, Kamel MA, Youssef M, Tawfik SH, Dominguez H (2015) Insights into the molecular mechanisms of diabetes-induced endothelial dysfunction: focus on oxidative stress and endothelial progenitor cells. Endocrine 50(3):537-67.