Nabeel Shah recognized with Donnelly Centre Research Thesis Prize
Syed Nabeel Haider Shah, a PhD graduate of the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, has been recognized with the 2024 Donnelly Centre Research Thesis Prize.
The annual prize recognizes the quality, originality and significance of a PhD graduate’s work.
Shah’s research examined newly identified RNA binding proteins, two of which were found to have potential roles in cancer development and treatment. One of the proteins was found to be able to enhance the ability of cancer cells to develop into tumours, while the other was found to perform the reverse role by suppressing growth of tumour cells.
“Nabeel has had an extraordinary PhD career,” said his supervisor Jack Greenblatt, University Professor in the department of molecular genetics. “He published 25 peer-reviewed papers from research he conducted over the course of his studies, with lead authorship on 12 of them – and he continues to publish papers from his thesis work. Nabeel made the most of his PhD by contributing significantly and widely across biomedicine.”
Shah credits Greenblatt for being a supportive adviser who provided guidance while allowing him to work independently to develop research projects. “I believe if I was a PhD student in any other lab, it wouldn’t have been possible for me to accomplish as much as I did,” said Shah.