Rate My Professor Mehrdad Nikfarjam

Professor Mehrdad Nikfarjam is a Professor in the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne, affiliated with Austin Hospital. He serves as a Liver, Pancreas and Biliary Surgeon, Senior Lecturer in the Cancer Biology Research Group, Head of the Pancreatic Cancer Biology Research Group, and Director of Pancreatic Surgery. Nikfarjam completed his MBBS (Hons) at Monash University in 1997, PhD in Hepatobiliary Sciences at Monash University and the University of Melbourne from 2002 to 2005, MD at the University of Pennsylvania in 2007, and became FRACS in 2006. His training encompassed roles as Advanced Surgical Trainee at Alfred and Austin Hospitals from 2001 to 2006, and Senior Advanced Trainee (Chief Resident) on the Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic unit at Austin Hospital in 2006-2007. He held clinical fellowships in the USA at Massachusetts General Hospital (2007), Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (2007-2008), and University Hospitals Case Medical Center (2008-2009), focusing on pancreas, liver, foregut, advanced laparoscopy, and endoscopy. Career appointments at the University of Melbourne include Fellow/Lecturer (2006), Lecturer/Consultant (2009-2012), Senior Lecturer/Consultant (2012-2016), Associate Professor/Consultant (2017-2021), and Professor/Consultant Surgeon since 2022 in the Hepatobiliary/Transplant Unit.

Nikfarjam's research specializes in pancreatic cancer biology, investigating signaling mechanisms downstream of K-ras mutations such as P21-activated kinases (PAKs), vasculogenic mimicry, stromal modulation, and therapeutic interventions including PAK inhibitors combined with gemcitabine. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including 'A novel PAK4 inhibitor suppresses pancreatic cancer growth and enhances the inhibitory effect of gemcitabine' (2022), 'Pressurized Pulse Irrigation with Saline Reduces Surgical-site Infections following Major Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery: Randomized Controlled Trial' (2013), 'Knockout of PAK1 and PAK4 suppresses tumour growth associated with vasculogenic mimicry inhibition through EphA2–VE-cadherin–MCAM pathway' (2026), and contributions to multicenter studies like PanCO and PURPLE registries. He has received the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2022 for service to medicine in pancreatic cancer, various travelling fellowships from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Austhos, founded the Pancare Foundation in 2011, and directs the Australasian Pancreatic Club. As a high-volume surgeon performing over 50 major pancreatic and liver resections annually, he has pioneered techniques like laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy in Victoria and enhanced recovery pathways.