From war-torn east to Cambridge to pursue his research on cancer therapy
Growing up amidst much hardship not only within a family in dire financial straits but also in an area caught up in conflict, there were not many childhood dreams for Mohamed Iqbal Haseemdeen from Valachchenai in the east.
The passion to do something for people began coursing through his veins as an undergraduate following a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Nursing (Special Degree) at the Faculty of Health Care Sciences of the Eastern University.
And now this passion as well as the many other fields of study he embraced to help fulfil his dreams have paid dividends and 29-year-old Haseemdeen is all set to fly to the University of Cambridge in England on Tuesday.
Unveiling advanced targeted cancer therapy which will not harm normal cells is his goal and he will pursue that relentlessly at Cambridge during his doctoral studies under eminent scientist Prof. D. Wales. His studies in Cambridge are being sponsored with funding amounting to Rs. 18 million by the ATG Group of Companies under Managing Director Fazal Abdeen and Chairman John Taylor.
“The day I received this scholarship will remain etched in my memory forever,” says Haseemdeen, whose PhD research will focus on developing a novel protein to prevent hTERT gene expression in cancer cells to halt the synthesis ( production) of telomerase ( a ribonucleoprotein). hTERT is a catalytic subunit of the enzyme telomerase called Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase with the ‘h’ denoting human.
For his research, he will use artificial intelligence machine learning and computational chemistry.
Many are the people who have supported him to hold onto his dream, starting firstly with his mother, brother and some friends who had made many sacrifices for him. Humble are his folks in Oddamavadi close to the beautiful beaches of Pasekudah.
There were no prestigious national schools for Haseemdeen and up to his Ordinary Level (getting “normal results”) it was to B.T. Meeravodai Al-Hidaya Maha Vidyalayam that he went, moving to the Oddamavadi Central College bioscience stream for his Advanced Level (AL) and gaining entry to the Eastern University.
Though there weren’t many dreams in childhood, the curiosity of the innovator cum scientist gripped him even then. “Whenever I saw something new, I had lots of questions,” smiles Haseemdeen.
The innovator in him emerged during his undergraduate years. While following a programme in Computer Engineering Technology at the Open University, he developed an algorithm for a new type of 'Clinical Decision Support System' and software -- Smoking Effect Analyzer to analyze the health effect of smoking on humans. This software was demonstrated at the 2012 exhibition of the Eastern University’s Faculty of Healthcare Sciences.
It was also during this time that Haseemdeen got some insight into medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics & gynaecology, medical genetics, pharmacology, human biology, medical and surgical nursing. Then came the realization that through clinical practice he could only help a limited number of people but through innovation he could help lots more.
As he thought more and more of what he wished to do, he realized the need to be conversant in many other fields, completing a Master of Science in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the Postgraduate Institute of Science of the Peradeniya University.
He also dabbled in Protein Engineering & Design, Electronic Engineering, Computational Electromagnetic Engineering, Computational Chemistry, Machine Lear ning, Computer Programming, Nanotechnology, Electronic Processor Design, Molecular Electronics, Structural Biology, Molecular Biology and Cellular Biology.
During this time he began working on a Medical Nanorobot System Model.
At Peradeniya, he came under the powerful influence of Prof. Gamini Rajapakse and Dr. Udayana Ranatunga of the Department of Chemistry and Haseemdeen says that he simply could not have achieved what he has so far, without their support.
“They are there for me whatever time of the day or night I need their help,” he says, explaining that not only in his academic studies but also in securing funding and recommending his work, Prof. Rajapakse’s assistance has been invaluable. This is while Dr. Ranatunga was not only a “great” supervisor but like a family member.
Some of the other Peradeniya academics he remembers with appreciation are Prof. H.M.N. Bandara of the Department of Chemistry and Prof. D.N. Uduwawala and Dr. P.M. Senadeera of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Haseemdeen sees divine intervention in his life when he says that it was “by chance” that he met former Ambassador to Kuwait, S. A. C. M. Zuhyle about two years ago. Their paths crossed when Mr. Zuhyle was collecting information for a coffee- table book on ‘ The Garden University of Peradeniya’ which he was co-authoring.
A chat ended with him understanding the importance of Haseemdeen’s cancer research. It was from then on that Mr. Zuhyle introduced Haseemdeen to many influential people and also extended financial support and advice to him.
“He is like a father to me,” says Haseemdeen with emotion, adding that it was he who advised him to reach for the stars by applying to Cambridge.
Meanwhile, Haseemdeen’s single-minded focus on his research has seen him presenting his work in February this year at the University of Oxford as well as the I n t e r nat i o n a l C o n f e rence on Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine in the United Kingdom and earlier, in December 2016, at the International Cancer Care and Cure Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.