Dr Yusra Siddiqui

About me:

I am a Lecturer in Biology and a HE Lecturer with lots of international experience and an entrepreneurial background. I am the Deputy Programme Director and Senior Tutor for the new MSc in Advanced Biological Sciences and Business programme, and also the Academic Lead for Student Support (Racial Equality and Inclusion) (ALSS-REI) for Biosciences. I am also part of the University's BME network Student, Staff & Allies Steering group.

I am a cell biologist with an expertise in prostate cancer biology, RNA-Seq data analysis and genomics-based projects. I also have experience of working with various animal models including zebrafish and mice. I am an active science communicator and have widespread interests in pedagogical research.

Interests:

I am interested in pedagogical research, with focus on digital pedagogy, inclusive education, racial and social justice, and decolonisation of biosciences. During my Lecturer role at Derby, I have been actively involved in innovative media-based assessments and a collaborative project on 'Working towards a Culturally Sensitive Curriculum'. As a member of the University of Derby project steering group, I have been involved as part of a national effort by QAA Collaborative Enhancement Projects 2021-22 to generate a cross-institutional inclusive education framework and toolkit to be used by all QAA members. I have pursued these interests in my current ALSS-REI role here at Exeter, whereby I have been actively led and organised events for inclusive education, and part of the team working on International Student support in the department. I am also the programme organiser for the first peer-peer mentoring programme in the Biosciences department, known as BioBuddies. 

As a cancer biologist, I am interested in understanding the molecular events underlying prostate cancer progression. My research interests in prostate cancer started during my PhD at Bristol, whereby I investigated the role of a transcription factor called PRH (Proline-Rich Homeodomain protein) in prostate cell migration and proliferation. I worked with a range of in vitro prostate cell lines, that were normal immortalized to highly cancerous ones to understand prostate cancer development better. I also worked with 3D cultures of prostate cell lines, trying to recapitulate the in vivo environment in culture. My post-doctoral work was in melanoma progression, but it helped me develop an insight into using ex vivo angiogenesis assays and various cancer murine models. My work at IIMCB (Poland) equipped me with knowledge of analysing RNA-Seq data and familiarising myself with zebrafish as a model organism.

I am currently interested in understanding the link of prostate cancer progression to risk factors like sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a recent area to be explored. In this project, the link between Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the most common STI, is planned to be explored using human prostate cancer tissue sections from various clinical stages, both histologically and using bioinformatic approaches.

Qualifications:

2022 – Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

2015 - PhD Biochemistry - University of Bristol, UK

2010 - MPhil Biochemistry / Molecular Biology - Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan

2008 - MSc Biochemistry - PMAS- University of Arid Agriculture, Pakistan

Career:

2024 – present Lecturer in Biology, Department for BioSciences, University of Exeter

2024 - present Exeternal Examiner (MA Biosciences) - University Centre Leeds, The Open University

2023 – 2023 Visiting Lecturer, School of Health and Life Sciences, University of Roehampton

2021 – 2023 Lecturer in BioMedical Sciences, Human Sciences Research Centre, University of Derby

2019 - 2019 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan

2017 – 2017 Research Technician, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IIMCB), Poland

2015 – 2016 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

2013 – 2014 Research Assistant, University of Bristol

2009 – 2010 Research Associate, Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan

Honours and Awards:

2025 - 1 x Above and Beyond Bronze Award for Community - Leading organising BIODiversity event
2025 - 2 x Above and Beyond Bronze Award for Inclusion - Organising PGT LEGO induction, PGT conference

2024 - 3 x Above and Beyond Bronze Award for Community - Contributing to University Open Day and offer holder days

2024 - 1 x Above and Beyond Bronze Awards for Excellence by HLS Faculty - Co-leading a workshop in the Decolonising curriculum conference.