Bioinformatician Dr. Sachdev Sidhu appointed Associate Investigator at OICR

Dr. Sachdev Sidhu

OICR has recruited Dr. Sachdev Sidhu, an expert in cell signalling proteins, as an Associate Investigator.

Sidhu relocated to Ontario from California earlier this year. For the past decade he has worked for Genentech, a biotechnology company, in its department of Protein Engineering. He started as a postdoctoral fellow at Genentech in the laboratory of Dr. James A. Wells and hired as a scientist and later promoted to senior scientist. He has a PhD in Biochemistry from Simon Fraser University.

Sidhu’s work focuses on the interactions among proteins in the body that affect cells’ development and function. Improper regulation of signalling proteins is associated with the rise and progression of cancer, as well as other diseases. Biologists like Sidhu are trying to find out how protein networks operate and use this knowledge to create new therapies for cancer.

Specifically, the Sidhu lab uses combinatorial libraries to develop synthetic peptides, proteins and antibodies that can be used to track and modulate signalling proteins. These synthetic substances are invaluable tools for elucidating the function of proteins in normal and diseased states and may even be used as cancer therapeutics.

Sidhu has also been appointed an associate professor in the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research. His laboratory is located at the University of Toronto in the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomedical Research.