Dr Charbel Darido is an experienced cellular and molecular biologist and has broad training in epidermal biology and carcinogenesis. Dr Darido was appointed to a Group Leader position within the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Program at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to establish a comprehensive vibrant research laboratory in head and neck cancer. This is the only fundamental lab-based research program in this area at Peter Mac.

Dr Darido’s research focuses on the biology of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). He is internationally recognised for his work developing pre-clinical human and animal models of SCC and applying them to investigate initiating lesions driving this disease and identify novel druggable therapeutic targets. He is recognised for his pioneering research aimed at unravelling the complexity of the intracellular signalling circuitries by which loss of transcription factors promote oncogenic addiction, thereby leading to malignant transformation and cancer cell growth and spread. His ultimate goal is to translate molecular insights into new strategies of preventing and treating SCC, which causes significant mortality and morbidity worldwide.