Dr. Dedhar received his BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University in Aberdeen, Scotland, and his PhD from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada in 1984. He carried out a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti at the Burnham Institute, in La Jolla, California, USA.
Dr. Dedhar is a Distinguished Scientist at the BC Cancer and Full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UBC.
Dr. Dedhar has received several awards, including the Distinguished Scholar award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR), the Terry Fox Cancer Research Scientist award of the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC), UBC Distinguished Medical Research lecturer Award, the Canadian Cancer Society Robert L Noble Prize (2013) for “Outstanding achievement in Cancer Research”, as well as the 2018 UBC Killam Research Prize. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2018
Dr. Dedhar has pioneered a large body of work in the cellular and molecular biology of cell-extracellular matrix interactions. He is the discoverer of Integrin-Linked Kinase (ILK) which is an essential protein involved in the regulation of Integrin function and Integrin-mediated signal transduction. ILK deregulation plays a major role in cancer progression, kidney disease, inflammatory diseases, myelination disorders, and neurodegeneration. Mutations in the ILK gene have been associated with cardiomyopathy and cardiac disease. ILK is currently under investigation as a therapeutic target for these diseases.
Dr. Dedhar’s more recent work has involved establishing novel mouse models of cancer metastasis. These models have led to significant insights into the roles of tumour microenvironment and hypoxic stress as driving forces for metastatic potential. Dr. Dedhar’s research in this area has led to the identification of Carbonic Anhydrase IX (CAIX) as a therapeutic target in aggressive forms of breast cancer, brain cancer (glioblastoma) and pancreatic cancer. He has pioneered the development of a new inhibitor of CAIX, which has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial and is currently being evaluated in PhaseIb/II clinical trials
Dr. Dedhar is co-founder of SignalChem Lifesciences Corp (SLC), a Biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics targeting Protein kinases, Tumor Hypoxia and Metabolism. Dr. Dedhar is an author of over 220 peer- reviewed papers and review articles, and an inventor on 24 patents.
University of British Columbia
Current Appointment
Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UBC
Training
B. Sc. Hons, Biochemistry, University of Aberdeen, Scotland
M.Sc., Pathology, UBC
Ph. D, Pathology, UBC
Post-doctoral Fellow, La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, La Jolla California, U.S.A
Awards and Distinctions
- Nobel Forum Lecture, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, 1995
- National Cancer Institute Terry Fox Cancer Scientist Award, 1996
- Distinguished Scholar, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR), 2001.
- Robert L. Noble Prize, Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI), 2013
- UBC Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Medical Research Lectureship Award, 2016
- Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, 2018
- UBC Killam Research Prize in Applied Science, Medicine, Sciences, 2018.