- Professor Emeritus and Former Founding Director of RI-INBRE
- Phone: 401.874.5036
- Email: zshaikh@uri.edu
- Office Location: Avedisian Hall, 7 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI 02881
Biography
Dr. Shaikh’s research concentrated mainly on metal toxicology, with emphasis on the mechanisms by which metals cause nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. His laboratory also investigated the biomarkers of renal dysfunction in both occupationally- and environmentally-exposed populations in the United States and Japan. His research in more recent years shifted to investigating the role of cadmium in breast cancer progression.
Dr. Shaikh chaired the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and later the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy from 1985 to 2003. He was also the Director of NIH grant-supported state-wide RI-INBRE Program from 2001 to 2018. In this capacity, he fostered the recruitment and research career development of junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students, and promoted collaborative biomedical and behavioral research among the junior and senior faculty from the University of Rhode Island, Brown University and five primarily undergraduate institutions.
Research
Toxicity of metals; nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity; breast cancer
Education
Postdoctoral Fellow, Toxicology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 1973-74
Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Health, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK, 1972-73
Ph.D., Biochemistry, Dalhousie University, Canada, 1972
M.Sc., Biochemistry, University of Karachi, Pakistan, 1967
B.Sc., Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Pakistan, 1965
Selected Publications
Song, X, Wei, Z, Shaikh, ZA. Requirement of ERα and basal activities of EGFR and Src kinase in Cd-induced activation of MAPK/ERK pathway in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol., 287:26-34 (2015).
Wei, Z, Song, X, Shaikh, ZA. Cadmium promotes the proliferation of triple-negative breast cancer cells through EGFR-mediated cell cycle regulation. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol., 289:98-108 (2015).
Wei, Z, Shaikh, ZA. Cadmium stimulates metastasis-associated phenotype in triple-negative breast cancer cells through integrins and β-catenin signaling. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol., 328:70-80 (2017).
Wei Z, Shan Z, Shaikh ZA. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast epithelial cells treated with cadmium and the role of Snail. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 344:46-55 (2018).
Shan Z, Wei Z, Shaikh ZA. Suppression of ferroportin expression by cadmium stimulates proliferation, EMT, and migration in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 356:36-43 (2018).