Dr Mahan Azad
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Researcher biography
I am a molecular biologist and cancer researcher at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), University of Queensland, investigating Inflammation and its link to metabolism as well therapeutic strategies against metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) one of the most treatment-resistant and lethal cancers.
My work combines cell biology and immunology to understand how pancreatic tumours build protective barriers, evade the immune system, and spread to distant organs. I focus on dismantling these mechanisms to identify new therapeutic vulnerabilities.
Current research areas include:
- PAR2 signalling, tumour immunometabolism, and desmoplastic remodelling
- Cyclic peptide design, intracellular delivery, and fluorescence-based uptake characterisation
- Protease-driven epithelial signalling and stromal-immune crosstalk
I work within Professor David Fairlie's group, using confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, and metabolic tracing to bridge molecular mechanism with drug design. My broader interests span cancer-associated fibrosis, metabolic reprogramming, and the development of multi-targeted compounds for cancers with high unmet clinical need.
Journal Articles
Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Faiz, Sadia, Kaya, Busra, Wijesinghe, Tharushi P., Suleymanoglu, Mediha, Azad, Mahan Gholam, Richardson, Vera, Zahoor, Ameer Fawad, Kalinowski, Danuta, Lewis, William, Bernhardt, Paul V., Anjum, Rukhsana and Richardson, Des R. (2026). Implementing the design cues of dissociation dynamics and transmetalation in gallium( iii ) complexes to promote the anti-proliferative activity of ligands targeting intracellular iron( ii ) trafficking. Chemical Science, 17 (13), 6546-6563. doi: 10.1039/d5sc06084b
Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Maya, Busra, Akinware, Adedoyin, Azad, Mahan Gholam and Richardson, Des R. (2026). Leading artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery platforms: 2025 landscape and global outlook. Pharmacological Reviews, 78 (1) 100102, 1-28. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmr.2025.100102
Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Azad, Mahan Gholam, Richardson, Vera, Kaya, Busra and Richardson, Des R. (2025). Artificial intelligence-assisted drug discovery in 2025: Faster, but is it better? The robots are coming, look out!. Pharmacological Reviews, 78 (1) 100103, 100103. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmr.2025.100103
Deng, Zhao, Azad, Mahan Gholam and Richardson, Des R. (2025). Thiosemicarbazones down-regulate N-Myc expression in neuroblastoma cells via transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. Pharmacological Research, 221 107967, 1-27. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2025.107967
Kaya, Busra, Laurencia, Devina, Ayoub, Maseeha Farha, Azad, Mahan Gholam, Dharmasivam, Mahendiran and Richardson, Des R. (2025). Metal-based antibody, nanobody, and peptide conjugates: potential for breast cancer therapy. Pharmacological Reviews, 77 (6) 100087, 1-37. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmr.2025.100087
Azad, Mahan Gholam, Russell, Tiffany M., Gu, Xuanling, Zhao, Xiao, Richardson, Vera, Wijesinghe, Tharushi P., Babu, Golap, Guo, Xinnong, Kaya, Busra, Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Deng, Zhao and Richardson, Des R. (2025). NDRG1 and its family members: more than just metastasis suppressor proteins and targets of thiosemicarbazones. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 301 (7) 110230, 1-30. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2025.110230
Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Zhang, Stanley, Zhao, Xiao, Richardson, Vera, Wijesinghe, Tharushi P., Suleymanoglu, Mediha, Gholam Azad, Mahan, Bernhardt, Paul V., Kaya, Busra and Richardson, Des R. (2025). Advantages of novel anti-cancer selenosemicarbazones: preferential reactivity of their Fe(III), Cu(II), and Zn(II) complexes with key physiological reductants/ligands versus isosteric thiosemicarbazones. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 68 (9), 9594-9622. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c00374
Kaya, Busra, Smith, Henry, Chen, Yanbing, Azad, Mahan Gholam, Russell, Tiffany M., Richardson, Vera, Dharmasivam, Mahendiran and Richardson, Des R. (2024). Innovative N-acridine thiosemicarbazones and their Zn(II) complexes transmetallate with Cu(II): redox activity and suppression of detrimental oxy-myoglobin oxidation. Inorganic Chemistry, 63 (43), 20840-20858. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c03642
Kaya, Busra, Gholam Azad, Mahan, Suleymanoglu, Mediha, Harmer, Jeffrey R., Wijesinghe, Tharushi P., Richardson, Vera, Zhao, Xiao, Bernhardt, Paul V., Dharmasivam, Mahendiran and Richardson, Des R. (2024). Isosteric replacement of sulfur to selenium in a thiosemicarbazone: promotion of Zn(II) complex dissociation and transmetalation to augment anticancer efficacy. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 67 (14), 12155-12183. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00884
Gholam Azad, Mahan, Hussaini, Mohammed, Russell, Tiffany M., Richardson, Vera, Kaya, Busra, Dharmasivam, Mahendiran and Richardson, Des R. (2024). Multi-modal mechanisms of the metastasis suppressor, NDRG1: Inhibition of WNT/β-catenin signaling by stabilization of protein kinase Cα. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 300 (7) 107417, 1-22. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107417
Wijesinghe, Tharushi P., Kaya, Busra, Gonzálvez, Miguel A., Harmer, Jeffrey R., Gholam Azad, Mahan, Bernhardt, Paul V., Dharmasivam, Mahendiran and Richardson, Des R. (2024). Correction to “Steric blockade of oxy-myoglobin oxidation by thiosemicarbazones: structure–activity relationships of the novel PPP4pT series’’. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 67 (8), 6893-6893. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00714
Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Kaya, Busra, Wijesinghe, Tharushi P., Richardson, Vera, Harmer, Jeffrey R., Gonzalvez, Miguel A., Lewis, William, Azad, Mahan Gholam, Bernhardt, Paul V. and Richardson, Des R. (2024). Differential transmetallation of complexes of the anti-cancer thiosemicarbazone, Dp4e4mT: effects on anti-proliferative efficacy, redox activity, oxy-myoglobin and oxy-hemoglobin oxidation. Chemical Science, 15 (3), 974-990. doi: 10.1039/d3sc05723b
Kaya, Busra, Smith, Henry, Chen, Yanbing, Azad, Mahan Gholam, M. Russell, Tiffany, Richardson, Vera, Bernhardt, Paul V., Dharmasivam, Mahendiran and Richardson, Des R. (2024). Targeting lysosomes by design: novel N-acridine thiosemicarbazones that enable direct detection of intracellular drug localization and overcome P-glycoprotein (Pgp)-mediated resistance. Chemical Science, 15 (37), 15109-15124. doi: 10.1039/d4sc04339a
Wijesinghe, Tharushi P., Kaya, Busra, Gonzálvez, Miguel A., Harmer, Jeffrey R., Gholam Azad, Mahan, Bernhardt, Paul V., Dharmasivam, Mahendiran and Richardson, Des R. (2023). Steric blockade of oxy-myoglobin oxidation by thiosemicarbazones: structure–activity relationships of the novel PPP4pT series. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 66 (22), 15453-15476. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01612
Shehadeh-Tout, Faten, Milioli, Heloisa H., Roslan, Suraya, Jansson, Patric J., Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Graham, Dinny, Anderson, Robin, Wijesinghe, Tharushi, Azad, Mahan Gholam, Richardson, Des R. and Kovacevic, Zaklina (2023). Innovative thiosemicarbazones that induce multi-modal mechanisms to down-regulate estrogen-, progesterone-, androgen- and prolactin-receptors in breast cancer. Pharmacological Research, 193 106806, 1-21. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106806
Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Kaya, Busra, Wijesinghe, Tharushi, Gholam Azad, Mahan, Gonzálvez, Miguel A., Hussaini, Mohammad, Chekmarev, Jason, Bernhardt, Paul V. and Richardson, Des R. (2023). Designing tailored thiosemicarbazones with bespoke properties: the styrene moiety imparts potent activity, inhibits heme center oxidation, and results in a novel “Stealth Zinc(II) Complex”. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 66 (2), 1426-1453. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01600
Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Azad, Mahan Gholam, Afroz, Rizwana, Richardson, Vera, Jansson, Patric J. and Richardson, Des R. (2022). The thiosemicarbazone, DpC, broadly synergizes with multiple anti-cancer therapeutics and demonstrates temperature- and energy-dependent uptake by tumor cells. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subjects, 1866 (8) 130152, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2022.130152
Richardson, D. R., Azad, M Gholam, Afroz, R., Richardson, V. and Dharmasivam, M. (2022). Thiosemicarbazones reprogram pancreatic cancer bidirectional oncogenic signaling between cancer cells and stellate cells to suppress desmoplasia. Future Medicinal Chemistry, 14 (13), 1005-1017. doi: 10.4155/fmc-2022-0050
Russell, Tiffany M., Azad, Mahan Gholam and Richardson, Des R. (2021). The relationship of glutathione-s-transferase and multi-drug resistance-related protein 1 in nitric oxide (No) transport and storage. Molecules, 26 (19) 5784, 1-27. doi: 10.3390/molecules26195784
Boag, Matthew K., Ma, Linlin, Mellick, George D., Pountney, Dean L., Feng, Yunjiang, Quinn, Ronald J., Liew, Alan Wee-Chung, Dharmasivam, Mahendiran, Azad, Mahan Gholam, Afroz, Rizwana and Richardson, Des R. (2021). Calcium channels and iron metabolism: a redox catastrophe in Parkinson's disease and an innovative path to novel therapies?. Redox Biology, 47 102136, 102136. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2021.102136
Chekmarev, Jason, Azad, Mahan Gholam and Richardson, Des R. (2021). The oncogenic signaling disruptor, ndrg1: molecular and cellular mechanisms of activity. Cells, 10 (9) 2382. doi: 10.3390/cells10092382
Ma, L., Gholam Azad, M., Dharmasivam, M., Richardson, V., Quinn, R. J., Feng, Y., Pountney, D. L., Tonissen, K. F., Mellick, G. D., Yanatori, I. and Richardson, D. R. (2021). Parkinson's disease: alterations in iron and redox biology as a key to unlock therapeutic strategies. Redox Biology, 41 101896, 1-33. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2021.101896
Bae, Dong-Hun, Gholam Azad, Mahan, Kalinowski, Danuta S., Lane, Darius J.R., Jansson, Patric J. and Richardson, Des R. (2020). Ascorbate and tumor cell iron metabolism: the evolving story and its link to pathology. Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, 33 (12), 816-838. doi: 10.1089/ars.2019.7903
Conference Paper
Azad, Mahan Gholam and Richardson, Des (2025). Mechanisms of the Multi-Modal Inhibition of c-Cbl by the Metastasis Suppressor, N-myc Downstream-Regulated Gene-1 (NDRG1). AMSTERDAM: ELSEVIER. doi: 10.1016/j.jpet.2024.100558