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Headshot of Dr Nikhil Awatade, smiling, wearing glasses and a dark jumper
Senior Research Assistant
Affiliation Hunter Medical Research Institute · University of Newcastle
BiomarkersCardio-OncologyCardiotoxicity
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Dr Nikhil Awatade

Nikhil is a translational biomedical scientist with over a decade of experience in cell biology, stem-cell research, organoid technologies and functional assay development. His research focuses on understanding disease mechanisms and advancing precision medicine through patient-derived cellular models, high-content imaging, electrophysiology and drug-discovery platforms.

He completed his PhD in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, and went on to establish a personalised-medicine and drug-screening platform for cystic fibrosis patients in Australia. His work has developed advanced human in vitro models, including patient-derived intestinal and airway organoids, primary epithelial cultures and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), combining stem-cell technologies with molecular, biochemical and functional assays to investigate disease mechanisms, therapeutic responses and drug modes of action.

More recently, Nikhil has joined the field of cardio-oncology, integrating his expertise in disease modelling, stem-cell biology and translational research to address the cardiovascular complications of cancer therapies. His particular interest lies in developing physiologically relevant human cardiac models to investigate mechanisms of cardiotoxicity, identify predictive biomarkers, and support the development of safer, more effective cancer treatments.

Drawing on his experience in assay development, high-throughput microscopy, calcium imaging, electrophysiology and cellular phenotyping, he is establishing robust functional assays using human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and other advanced cardiac models. These platforms allow the assessment of cardiac function, drug-induced toxicity and patient-specific responses to therapy, advancing precision-medicine approaches in cardio-oncology.

His long-term goal is to bridge fundamental biological research with clinical application by developing innovative, human-relevant models that improve therapeutic decision-making and patient outcomes in both cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Research Interests

  • Cardio-oncology
  • Stem-cell biology and iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes
  • Organoid technologies and patient-derived disease models
  • Functional assay development (calcium imaging, electrophysiology, high-content microscopy)
  • Cardiotoxicity mechanisms and predictive biomarkers
  • Precision medicine and drug discovery
Google Scholar · ORCID
  1. Pathinayake PS, Brown AC, Awatade NT, Hansbro PM, Baines KJ, Kim RY, Bartlett NW, Horvat JC, Wark PAB (2026) Resolving endoplasmic reticulum-protein misfolding restores corticosteroid sensitivity in experimental models of severe asthma. Allergy. doi:10.1111/all.70353
  2. Paudel KR, Hegarty KJ, Shrestha J, Budden KF, Awatade NT, Sadaf T, Malyla V, Waters S, Papagianis PC, Bourke JE, Wark PA, Hansbro PM (2026) Innovative methodologies for elucidating bushfire smoke-induced pathophysiological mechanism. Science of the Total Environment 181645.
  3. Chen Y, Hoefel GA, Pathinayake PS, Reid A, Pillar AL, Kelly C, Ying TH, Ali A, Kim RY, Hansbro PM, Brody SL, Foster PS, Horvat JC, Riveros C, Awatade NT, Wark PAB, Kaiko GE (2025) Inflammation-induced loss of CFTR-expressing airway ionocytes in non-eosinophilic asthma. Respirology. doi:10.1111/resp.14833
  4. Awatade NT, Reid AT, Nichol KS, Budden FK, Veerati PC, Pathinayake PS, Grainge CL, Hansbro PM, Wark PAB (2023) Comparison of commercially available differentiation media on cell morphology, function, and anti-viral responses in conditionally reprogrammed human bronchial epithelial cells. Sci Rep 13, 11200, 1-11. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-37828-0
  5. Awatade NT, Wark PAB, Chan ASL, Mamun SAA, Esa NYYM, Matsunaga K, Rhee CK, Hansbro PM, Sohal SS and on behalf of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR) COPD Assembly (2023) The Complex association between COPD and COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Medicine 12 (11): 3791. doi:10.3390/jcm12113791
  6. Pathinayake PS, Awatade NT, Wark PAB (2023) Type 2 immunity and its impact on COVID-19 infection in the airway. Viruses, 15(2):402. doi:10.3390/v15020402
  7. Wong SL*, Awatade NT*, Astore MA*, Allan KM, Carnell MJ, Slapetova I, Chen P, Capraro A, Whan RM, Griffith R, Ooi KC, Kuyucak S, Jaffe A, and Waters SA (2022) Molecular dynamics and functional characterisation of I37R-CFTR lasso mutation provides insights into channel gating activity. iScience 25 (1): 103710, 1-21. (Shared *1st co-authorship) doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.103710
  8. Wong SL*, Awatade NT*, Astore MA*, Allan KM, Carnell MJ, Slapetova I, Chen P, Setiadi J, Fawcett LK, Widger J, Whan RM, Griffith R, Ooi KC, Kuyucak S, Jaffe A, and Waters SA (2021) In silico analysis and In vitro characterization of matched nasal epithelial and intestinal organoids reveals R352Q-CFTR to cause conductance defect rescuable by CFTR potentiators. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology 67(1): 99-111. (Shared *1st co-authorship) doi:10.1165/rcmb.2021-0337OC
  9. Awatade NT*, Wong SL*, Capraro A, Pandzic E, Slapetova I, Zhong L, Turgutoglu N, Fawcett LK, Whan RM, Jaffe A, Waters SA (2021) Significant functional differences despite morphological and molecular similarity in fully differentiated matched Conditionally Reprogrammed (CRC) and feeder free dual SMAD-inhibited expanded human nasal epithelial cells. J Cyst Fibros. 20(2): 364-371. (Shared *1st co-authorship) doi:10.1016/j.jcf.2020.12.019
  10. Hewson CK*, Capraro A*, Wong SL, Pandzic E, Bentotage BSM, Awatade NT, Zhong L, Hart-Smith G, Whan RM, Thomas SR, Jaffe A, Bridge WJ, Waters SA (2020) Novel Antioxidant Therapy with the immediate precursor to glutathione, γ-glutamylcysteine (GGC), ameliorates LPS-induced cellular stress in an in vitro cystic fibrosis model. Antioxidants 9(12):1204, 1-19. (*1st co-authorship) doi:10.3390/antiox9121204
  11. Hagemeijer MC, Vonk AM, Awatade NT, Silva IAL, Tischer C, Hilsenstein V, Beekman JM, Amaral MD and Botelho HM (2020) An open-source high-content analysis workflow for CFTR function measurements using the forskolin-induced swelling assay. Bioinformatics 36(24): 5686-94. doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa1073
  12. Awatade NT*, Ramalho S*, Felício V, Silva IAL, Botelho HM, De Poel E, Vonk A, Beekman JM, Farinha CM, Amaral MD (2019) R560S: a class II CFTR mutation that is not rescued by current modulators. J Cyst Fibros 18(2): 182-189. (Shared *1st co-authorship) doi:10.1016/j.jcf.2018.07.001
  13. Awatade NT*, Wong SL*, Hewson CK, Fawcett LK, Kicic A, Jaffe A, Waters SA (2018) Human primary epithelial cell models: Promising Tools in the Era of Cystic Fibrosis Personalized Medicine. Front Pharmacol. 9:1429, 1-11. (Shared *1st co-authorship) doi:10.3389/fphar.2018.01429
  14. Awatade NT, Uliyakina I, Farinha CM, Clarke LA, Mendes K, Solé A, Pastor J, Ramos MM, Amaral MD (2015) Measurements of Functional Responses in Human Primary Lung Cells as a Basis for Personalised Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis. E-Biomedicine 2(2): 147-153. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2014.12.005 Press release "Personalized Medicine: Researchers test new investigational drug for patients with Cystic Fibrosis". Comunicados de Imprensa, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade de Lisboa. Read the press release
  15. Clarke LA, Awatade NT, Felício V, Calucho M, Pereira L, Azevedo P, Cavaco J, Barreto C, Bertuzzo C, Gartner S, Beekman J & Amaral MD (2018) The Effect of PTC Mutations on CFTR mRNA Abundance: A Basis For Read-Through Therapies in Cystic Fibrosis. Hum Mutat. 40(3): 326-334. doi:10.1002/humu.23692
  16. Lérias JR*, Pinto MC*, Botelho HM, Awatade NT, Quaresma M, Wanitchakool P, Schreiber R, Pepperkok P, Kunzelmann K, Amaral MD (2017) A Novel Microscopy-Based Assay Identifies Extended Synaptotagmin-1 (ESYT1) as a Regulator of Anoctamin 1 Traffic. BBA - Mol Cell Res 1865(2): 421-431. (*1st co-authorship) doi:10.1016/j.bbamcr.2017.11.009
  17. Liu J, Bihler H, Farinha CM, Awatade NT, Romão AM, Mercadante D, Cheng Y, Musisi I, Jantarajit W, Wang Y, Cai Z, Amaral MD, Mense M, Sheppard DN (2017) Partial rescue of F508del-CFTR channel gating with modest improvement of protein processing, but not stability by a dual-acting small molecule. Br J Pharmacol 175(7): 1017-38. doi:10.1111/bph.14141
  18. Pereira JFS, Awatade NT, Loureiro CA, Matos P, Amaral MD, Jordan P (2016) The third dimension: new developments in cell culture models for colorectal research. Cell Mol Life Sci 73: 3971-3989. doi:10.1007/s00018-016-2258-2
  19. Srivastava JK*, Awatade NT*, Bhat HR, Kmit A, Mendes K, Ramos M, Amaral MD, Singh UP (2015) Pharmacological evaluation of Hybrid thiazolidin-4-one-1,3,5-triazines for NF-κB, biofilm and CFTR activity. RSC Adv 5: 88710. (Shared *1st co-authorship) doi:10.1039/c5ra09250g
  20. Botelho HM, Uliyakina I, Awatade NT, Proença MC, Tischer C, Sirianant L, Kunzelmann K, Pepperkok P, Amaral MD (2015) Protein Traffic Disorders: an Effective High-Throughput Fluorescence Microscopy Pipeline for Drug Discovery. Sci Rep 5: 9038, 1-8. doi:10.1038/srep09038
  21. Damle MC, Bajaj AO, Saudagar AY, Awatade NT, Makwana RK, Deshpande PB (2008) A Validated High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic Method for Simultaneous Estimation of Aspirin and Clopidogrel in Pharmaceutical Dosage Form. Journal of Analytical Chemistry 12; 7(II). Read the article