Nabeel Merali MBBS

Dr. Nabeel Merali is an ST5 trainee in Liver and Pancreatic Surgery at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and has started a PhD at the University of Surrey in October 2021 for 3 years looking into the influence of the microbiome (trillions of microbes including bacteria, fungi, and viruses in our bodies) on Pancreatic Cancer. His research is funded by BRIGHT charity.

More than 10,000 people are diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer each year in the UK and their prognosis is dismal. Bacteria present in the gastrointestinal tract and within the tumor itself can influence the response of the immune system against cancer and also the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Nabeel’s project aims to find the “good bacteria” in the tumors and bile-fluid associated with longer patient survival. We will use these data to develop “biomarkers” able to diagnose and stratify the disease and discover new mechanisms of the immune response that can be exploited to create better treatments and ultimately improve patient outcomes and survival. For example, perhaps pro-biotics or anti-biotics could be used alongside standard chemotherapy to improve the anti-cancer treatment effect.