Dr Hadeel Hassan has dedicated her career to improving outcomes for children with cancer – a journey that began in the north of England and has taken her all the way to Canada.
Hadeel studied medicine at Manchester Medical School from 2005 to 2010. She went on to complete a part-time MSc at Hull York Medical School between 2014 and 2016, while working as a paediatric doctor. From 2016 to 2020, she completed a PhD at the University of Leeds, funded by Candlelighters.
Her PhD fellowship had two main areas of focus.
“During my fellowship I completed a PhD which included two parts. The first part focused on validating a classification tool looking at certain outcomes in paediatric oncology. The tool is useful for guiding where further research should be focused on i.e. should research focus on the side effects of chemotherapy or research focusing on curing cancers.
The second part investigated the use of probiotics to reduce and prevent infection and mucositis (a chemotherapy complication affecting the gut).”
During this time, Hadeel also gained clinical experience on wards 31–33 and in haematology and oncology clinics.
Completing her PhD led to what she describes as a “once in a lifetime opportunity”, a fellowship in haematology and oncology at the SickKids Hospital in Toronto, which she began in July 2021.
“I’m currently in the second year of a clinical research fellowship in artificial intelligence in pediatric oncology at SickKids in Toronto, Canada where I get to experience hot summers and cold winters! Alongside my AI-focused work, I’ve continued to build on the supportive care research I began during my PhD, which was generously funded by Candlelighters. That foundational support played a pivotal role in launching my academic career and continues to shape the clinical questions I pursue” Hadeel reflects.
Over the past year, she has led a machine learning study predicting hospital readmissions in children with cancer, contributed to several publications and is currently working on a systematic review on AI in healthcare.
Outside of work, Hadeel enjoys running and powerlifting! She has completed several marathons, including her first in 2017, which she ran to raise funds for Candlelighters.
Looking ahead, Hadeel is preparing grant applications and planning the next stage of her career, with a continued focus on integrating data science and supportive care to improve outcomes for children with cancer.
“I remain deeply grateful to Candlelighters and the Leeds Paediatric Haematology and Oncology team for their support during my PhD. The training, mentorship, and protected research time I received during that period laid the groundwork for the work I’m doing today.”
