Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon
Skip to main content

Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 479 3453
Email
glen.reid@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Associate Professor, Head of Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine (Dunedin)
Department
Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine (Dunedin)
Research summary
Translational cancer research
Teaching
  • Research student supervision: 2 Summer Studentships, 2 Honours students, 1 PhD, 1 MSc candidate
  • Lecturer for PATH 201, PATH 301 and PATH 302
  • Tutor for ELM2 (Pathology and Chemical Pathology)
Memberships
  • Member, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), 2012-present
  • Member, International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig), 2011-present
  • Associate member, Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Discovery (MWC) 2018–present
  • Member, New Zealand Society for Oncology (NZSO) 2018–present

Research

My research focuses on two main areas.

Understanding the phenomenon of drug tolerance in cancer

Many melanoma and lung cancer patients frequently show dramatic responses when treated with targeted therapies (kinase inhibitors). Unfortunately, these responses are short-lived and patients relapse with resistant tumours. Together with Dr Cath Drummond, I am investigating the ability of cancer cells to shift to drug-tolerant states, allowing their initial survival – and eventual resistance – following treatment with targeted therapies. This work is funded by a Marsden project grant.

Translational research into the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare but very aggressive cancer with one of the lowest 5-year survival rates. There are no early detection markers and few effective therapies. My work focuses on the role of microRNAs in the biology of MPM and encompasses biomarker discovery and novel therapeutic approaches. This research is a continuation of the work I led in Sydney which identified tumour and blood markers and resulted in a phase I clinical trial of microRNA replacement therapy (NCT 02369198).

Research Projects

There are several research projects available, ranging from honours and master’s to PhD. Interested graduate and postgraduate students are encouraged to make contact to further discuss these projects.

  1. New nucleic acid-based drugs for cancer therapy. Level: honours / master's
  2. The impact of KRAS expression levels on the emergence of drug tolerance in lung cancer. Level: honours / master’s
  3. Manipulating microRNAs to manage mesothelioma. Level: honours / master’s
  4. Too much of a good thing? A potential role for untranslated p53 mRNA in cancer biology. Level: honours / master’s
  5. A phoenix from the ashes: The role of dying cancer cells in the emergence of drug tolerance. Level: honours / master’s
  6. Inhibiting adaptive mutability to prevent the emergence of drug resistance. Level: honours / master’s

Publications

Wang, S., Shafaei Pishabad, Z., Sarkar, D., Arun Bhandarkar, A., Sarwar, M., Jeffs, A., Reid, G., Braithwaite, A., & Mehta, S. (2026). YBX1 expression marks proliferative tumour states with context-dependent genomic instability: A pan-cancer analysis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 27(10), 4340. doi: 10.3390/ijms27104340 Journal - Research Article

Carpenter, C., Simmons, N., Davis, W. J. H., Thompson, M., van Zandwijk, N., Drummond, C. J., & Reid, G. (2026). MicroRNA mimics based on the miR-15/107 consensus sequence sensitise NSCLC cells to targeted therapy. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 27(6), 2701. doi: 10.3390/ijms27062701 Journal - Research Article

Zheng, Q., Stayner, C., Reid, G., Gimenez, G., & Eccles, M. R. (2026). PAX gene expression in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease contributes to cyst expansion and regulates a gene network associated with cyst growth. Human Molecular Genetics, 35(3), ddaf205. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddaf205 Journal - Research Article

Schelch, K., Maach, N., Hashim, N., Zitta, B., Kirchhofer, D., Timelthaler, G., … Reid, G., & Grusch, M. (2025). Inhibition of YB-1 phosphorylation enhances cisplatin activity and disrupts cell division in pleural mesothelioma. British Journal of Cancer. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1038/s41416-025-03177-0 Journal - Research Article

Reid, G., Williams, M., Cheng, Y. Y., Sarun, K., Winata, P., Kirschner, M. B., … van Zandwijk, N. (2025). Therapeutic potential of synthetic microRNA mimics based on the miR-15/107 consensus sequence. Cancer Gene Therapy. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1038/s41417-025-00885-w Journal - Research Article

Back to top