Shivan Sivakumar

Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rate of any cancer and this prognosis has not changed in decades. The numerous challenges to improving treatment include the deep-seated location of the organ itself, causing late symptomatology and difficult access for diagnosis and intervention, late diagnosis, undruggable oncogene, complex microenvironment causing poor drug penetrance and poor therapeutic efficacy and early metastatic potential. 

I have an interest in developing novel therapeutic strategies for this recalcitrant disease. I study the biology of the human disease with a particular focus on the complex tumour microenvironment. I am also involved in a unique collaboration with colleagues in Oxford to study comparative pancreas pathology to help illuminate therapeutic strategies for this disease. I also see patients in a dedicated HPB research clinic where we recruit patients for dedicated translational studies.

Shivan studied medicine at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) with an intercalated pharmacology degree and graduated in 2008. Shivan went on to complete an academic foundation programme in Leeds with Heike Grabsch and Phil Quirke. Shivan studied for a PhD in Cambridge, starting with Dave Tuveson (until he left) and finishing with Kathryn Lilley. Shivan completed his core medical training in Rhyl, Wales, and Leeds, with a short post-doc with Florian Markowetz in Cambridge.

Shivan undertook medical oncology training with a combined postdoc with Mike Dustin and Mark Middleton as a clinical lecturer in Oxford in 2015. Recently, Shivan started a clinical career development fellowship (Celgene translational fellowship) in October 2019, and is also an honorary medical oncology consultant with a specialist interest in experimental pancreatic cancer medicine.