Dr Sam Siljee, MBChB

Dr Siljee has a long-standing research relationship with the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, after completing a summer studentship with us in 2014. He returned in 2020 to undertake full-time research as a PhD student on the Victoria University of Wellington Doctoral Scholarship. Sam finds our tissue bank and laboratory facilities as an excellent resource for studying the biology of lung cancer. His research focuses on the tumour suppressor gene p53 and early changes in lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Sam is exploring the biological basis of lung cancer. He does this through sophisticated in-vitro (outside of a living organism) models, mimicking the airway lining as in the human body. He is investigating the effects of p53, also known as the guardian of the genome, in bringing about cancerous changes in the model. The tools he uses to uncover these changes include specialised microscopy and cutting-edge techniques to explore the protein landscape of these in-vitro models of diseased and healthy lung tissue.

Sam is dedicated to developing the use of specialised techniques to model healthy and diseased tissue. He is also interested in expanding workflows in cataloguing the protein landscape of these models and creating a customised analysis pipeline to handle these large data sets.

After graduating with a medical degree from the University of Otago, New Zealand, Sam worked for two years as a house surgeon before working as a research officer at the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute. Currently, he is studying towards his PhD at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, funded by the Victoria University of Wellington Doctoral Scholarship. He has published several papers and has secured two grants for a project investigating keloid disorder.

Sam enjoys woodworking, swimming, and cycling. He is always ready for a game of Netrunner and has a bookshelf full of other board games.