• PhD Biochemistry/Cell Biology
• MRes Biological Sciences
• BSc (Hons) Genetics

Vivek Dhir qualified with a BSc (Hons) in Genetics and a Mres in biological sciences from the University of Manchester in 1999 and 2000 respectively. He went on to study for a PhD in Biochemistry and Cellular Biology at Imperial College, University of London, receiving this is 2004.

Subsequently Dr Dhir joined the Centre for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Birmingham in 2004. Since then he has progressed and in 2011 secured a post as Lecturer in Molecular Endocrinology.

Dr Dhir is an active member of the Society for Endocrinology and locally sits on the School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine Postgraduate studies annual review Committee and acts as a personal mentor to PhD students.

Teaching Programmes
• BMedSci
     o Module Coordinator “Molecular Medicine”
     o Module Co-coordinator “Endocrinology and Reproduction”
• MBChB
• Mres

Dr Dhir is interested in supervising doctoral research students in the following areas:

• The role of sulphation in disorders of the adrenal and liver
• Intracellular trafficking of steroids

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Dr Dhir on the contact details above, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email: dr@contacts.bham.ac.uk or call +44 (0)121 414 5005.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings..

RESEARCH THEMES

Pre receptor steroid metabolism, Sulphation and steroid hormone metabolism, translational steroid physiology, healthy aging, intracellular trafficking.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND

The conjugation of a sulphate group (sulphation) to small molecules has an integral and essential role in living organisms. In mammalian physiology, the sulphation system is important for detoxifying drugs, food additives, and toxins from intestinal bacteria or the environment. In humans, defects to the sulphation pathway result in a broad range of clinical phenotypes ranging from neurological disorders, severe bone phenotypes and disorders of androgen synthesis. Critically, sulphation is dependent upon provision of the universal sulphate donor 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) by PAPS synthase (PAPSS).

RESEARCH FOCUS

Sulphation

Dr Dhir’s research focuses primarily on the involvement of the sulphation pathway in regulating sex steroids such as Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) synthesised in the adrenal gland. Vivek has a major interest in the molecular mechanisms by which PAPSS regulates sulphation and to examine underlying cellular events that control conversion of DHEA to its sulphate ester DHEAS. The aim is to establish a link between these mechanisms and the clinical manifestations observed in patients with disorders related to deficiencies in sulphation. This work will be extended to study the links between these deficiencies and drug detoxification in the liver in which sulphation plays an important role.

Steroid Trafficking 

Intracellular movement of steroids is of great interest since defects in such processes can be linked to clinical manifestation of hormone disease. Dr Dhir is interested in studying the intracellular movement of steroid hormones with the aim to identify the important components of the cellular trafficking machinery that are required for hormone function. In particular, Vivek works alongside physicists to develop powerful microscopy based tools for such studies.

Member of the Society for Endocrinology

Idkowiak J, Lavery GG, Dhir V, Barrett TG, Stewart PM, Krone N, Arlt W. Premature adrenarche: novel lessons from early onset androgen excess. Eur J Endocrinol. 2011 Aug;165(2):189-207

Idkowiak J, Malunowicz EM, Dhir V, Reisch N, Szarras-Czapnik M, Holmes DM, Shackleton CHL, Davies JD, Hughes IA, Krone N and Arlt W. Concomitant mutations in the P450 oxidoreductase and androgen receptor 2 genes presenting with 46,XY disordered sex development and androgenization at adrenarcheJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010 Jul;95(7):3418-27

Parajes S, Loidi L, Reisch N, Dhir V, Rose IT, Hampel R, Quinkler M, Conway GS, Castro-Feijóo L, Araujo-Vilar D, Pombo M, Dominguez F, Cole TR, Kirk JM, Kaminsky E, Rumsby G, Arlt W, Krone N. Functional Consequences of Seven Novel Mutations in the CYP11B1 Gene - Four Mutations Associated with Non-Classic and Three Mutations Causing Classic 11β-Hydroxylase Deficiency. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Feb;95(2):779-88. 2010 Feb;95(2):779-88

Dhir V, Noordam C, McNelis JC, Schlereth F, Hanley NA, Krone N, Smeitink JA, Smeets R, Sweep FC, Claahsen-van der Grinten HL, Arlt W. Inactivating PAPSS2 Mutations in a Patient with Premature Pubarche. N Engl J Med. 2009, 360(22):2310-8

Dhir V, Reisch N, Bleicken CM, Lebl J, Kamrath C, Schwarz H, Grotzinger J, Sippell WG, Riepe FG, Arlt W, Krone N. Steroid 17α Hydroxylase deficiency: Functional Characterization of four mutants (A174E, V178D, R440C, L465P) in the CYP17A1 gene. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009, 94(8):3058-64

Bleicken C, Loidi L, Dhir V, Parajes S, Quinteiro C, Dominguez F, Grötzinger J, SippellGW, RiepeFG, ArltW and Krone N. Functional characterization of three CYP21A2 sequence variants (p.A265V, p.W302S, p.D322G) employing a yeast co-expression system.. Hum Mutat. 2009, 30(2):E443-50.

Dhir V, Ivison HE, Krone N, Shackleton CH, Doherty AJ, Stewart PM and Arlt W. Differential inhibition of CYP17A1 and CYP21A2 activities by the P450 oxidoreductase mutant A287P. Mol Endocrinol. 2007, 21(8):1958-68

Plumb DA, Dhir V, Mironov A, Ferrara L, Poulsom R, Kadler KE, Thornton DJ, Briggs MD, Boot-Handford RP. Collagen XXVII is developmentally regulated and forms thin fibrillar structures distinct from those of classical vertebrate fibrillar collagens. J Biol Chem. 2007, 282(17):12791-5.