Developmental Endocrinology Research Group
The Developmental Endocrinology Research Group which is led by Professor Syed Faisal Ahmed consists of a group of investigators who are currently based at the QEUH & RHC Glasgow campus of the School of Medicine. The research activity in the group aims to understand the link between early life disorders of endocrine function and long-term outcome and most of their work is focussed in the fields of sex and skeletal development. Their work has been funded through a number of sources including CSO, EU, MRC, GCHC, industry and overseas governments. The group achieves its mission of performing translational research that is of clinical importance by relying on strong research partnerships with a wide range of experts in the field of clinical biochemistry, e-science, molecular genetics, imaging and molecular and cell biology that exist in Glasgow and beyond. The group also has a strong track record in developing registries for rare conditions and this work is performed through the Office for Rare Conditions Registries.
Research Contacts
Professor Syed Faisal Ahmed
Professor Syed Faisal Ahmed was appointed to the Samson Gemmell Chair of Child Health at the University of Glasgow in 2012. He leads the Developmental Endocrinology Research Group which has a focus on understanding disorders of endocrine function that present in early life.
Dr Salma Ali
Dr Salma Ali graduated from The University of Glasgow in 2008 and commenced her paediatric training in the West of Scotland. In 2018, Salma began a Clinical Research Fellow post within the Developmental Endocrinology Research Group in Glasgow. She is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Glasgow, under the supervision of Professor Faisal Ahmed. Her research interests include the use of routinely collected clinical data for the assessment of outcomes in rare endocrine conditions such as DSD and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. She aims to pursue a career in Paediatric Endocrinology.
Dr Malika Alimussina
Dr Malika Alimussina graduated from the Astana Medical University, Kazakhstan in 2006 and undertook most of her clinical training in Paediatric Endocrinology in Kazakhstan.
From 2012 - 2017, Malika worked as a Paediatric Endocrinologist at the National Research Centre for Maternal and Child Health and Republican Diagnostic Center in Astana which serve as the clinical training sites for Nazarbayev University School of Medicine. In 2015, Malika was awarded a Clinical Fellowship from the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and spent four months attached to the paediatric endocrine department at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow.
Research Project Summary
For her PhD research project, Malika will focus on studies of longterm outcome and aetiology in boys with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD). This project will include an assessment of the prevalence of endocrine and genetic abnormalities in XY DSD children with detailed assessment of the underlying genetic abnormality through an extended panel of XY DSD genes and particular focus on bone health. She will also investigate the effect of androgens on gene expression in this group. These studies will dovetail with other clinical and research activities in the Developmental Endocrinology Research Group.
Dr S Ching Chen
Dr S Ching Chen is a specialty consultant paediatrician with a particular interest in diabetes and bone. Ching is based in Paediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology at Forth Valley Royal Hospital . She graduated from the University of Glasgow and undertook her paediatric training predominantly in the west of Scotland. In 2013 she was awarded the Clinical Research Fellowship by the Yorkhill Children's Charity, renamed Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity, and completed her MD at the University of Glasgow, under the supervision of Professor Syed Faisal Ahmed.
Research Project Summary
As part of her MD, Ching undertook a translational research project looking at the bone health of children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. She spent a year in the Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology (IMCSB) under the supervision of Dr Stephen Yarwood, to study the effects of metformin on mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into bone and fat. Her clinical study explored the feasibility of MRI as a tool for assessing bone health in healthy children and the assessment of bone microarchitecture and marrow adiposity in children with established, as well as newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Dr Angela Lucas Herald
Dr Angela Lucas Herald graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2010 and since then, has been a paediatric academic trainee in the West of Scotland. In 2014, Angela was appointed as Clinical Lecturer in Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Glasgow and later completed her PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences in 2020, after a Clinical Research Fellowship funded by the British Heart Foundation. She is currently a Grid Specialist Trainee in Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes and holds a National Education Scotland/Chief Scientist Office Clinical Lecturer position at the University of Glasgow. Her research focuses on Differences of Sex Development and accelerated vascular ageing in children. She is heavily involved in medical education and regularly teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students. She is on the Project Management Committee of the International Disorders of Sex Development Registry and is the Digital Information Officer for the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology. She is also the co-founder of the Back to Work programme for paediatric trainees returning to clinical practice after a period of leave in Scotland.
Dr Avril Mason
Dr Avril Mason took up the post of Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist in 2013 after completing her clinical and research training in Glasgow. Dr Mason's clinical focus includes Turner Syndrome and she is the clinical lead for the paediatric complex bone service in Glasgow and the lead clinical contact for children with primary osteoporosis. Dr Mason is currently involved in clinical research in Turner Syndrome and also assessment of pubertal disorders/hypogonadism.
Research Project Summary
- Utility of urinary gonadotrophin for evaluation of pubertal disorders
- Blood pressure management in Turner Syndrome
Mr Martin McMillan
Martin McMillan is the Developmental Endocrinology Research team manager and supports the team of clinical research fellows and postgraduate research students in a variety of technical and analytical roles. Martin also supports the group with biochemical analysis by the demonstration of techniques and analysis of samples including ELISA assays for growth and bone markers, gonadotrophins, Luminex cytokine assays and sample storage. Martin is a member of the DSD diagnostic service for disorders of sex development, a multidisciplinary team concerned with the molecular genetic and biochemical care of patients referred for sex development anomalies. Other studies Martin supports are the Urinary gonadotrophin study which looks at patients referred for LHRH investigation or GNRH antagonist injections to investigate the relationship between urinalysis and blood sampling. Martin also oversees the Scottish Audit of atypical genitalia, which is a screen of newborn infants referred for sex karyotyping due to atypical genitalia. Martin is also part of the IDSD project management group, which meets monthly to discuss improvements, updates and implementation of their International DSD website.
Dr Martina Rodie
Martina Rodie is a Consultant Neonatologist in the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow and an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. She is currently the Clinical Lead for the Scottish Differences of Sex Development Managed Clinical Network. She was awarded her PhD from the University of Glasgow in 2017. Her research interests include differences of sex development, congenital anomalies and rare diseases. She has been working with The Office for Rare Conditions since its inception in 2017.
Dr M Guftar Shaikh
Dr M Guftar Shaikh graduated from the University of Aberdeen. He started his specialist paediatric training and undertook his MD research at the Birmingham Children's Hospital, before moving to Manchester Children's Hospital to complete his paediatric endocrine/diabetes training. He took up his current consultant post at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill in 2008. He is the clinical lead for the endocrine service and is primarily involved in clinical services. His research / clinical interests include late effects of childhood cancer, pathological obesity and Prader Willi syndrome, as well as transition of endocrine care from paediatrics to adult services.
Dr Sheila Shepherd
Dr Sheila Shepherd (PhD) has been employed within Greater Glasgow & Clyde National Health Service as the paediatric bone densitometrist for the past ten years. During this time, she has gained extensive knowledge of primary and secondary osteoporosis in childhood and adolescence. She has a special interest in how the impact of illness, especially during critical periods, can affect bone health. Recent research interests include vertebral fracture assessment during childhood, bone health in adolescent eating disorders and the clinical application of peripheral quantitative tomography for assessing bone health during childhood.
Dr Jarod Wong
Dr Jarod Wong was appointed to the position of Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Endocrinology in 2015. He graduated from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and undertook most of his clinical and research training in Paediatric Endocrinology in Glasgow. Dr Wong was a Fellow in Paediatric Endocrinology at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia from 2010 - 2013. His ongoing clinical and translational research focuses on the theme of growth and skeletal development in childhood onset chronic disease, especially in groups of children with chronic inflammation such as inflammatory bowel disease and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Dr Wong is also co-ordinator of the Postgraduate Certificate in Child Health at the University of Glasgow.
Research Project Summary
- Bone microarchitecture and marrow adiposity in adults with childhood onset Crohn's disease
- Bone protective therapies in experimental models of chronic inflammation
- Bisphosphonates therapy in children with chronic disease