Objectives of Research:
Keloid disease (KD) is one of the most aggressive forms of abnormal skin scarring in humans. Most forms of KD cause hugely disfiguring and symptomatic lesions in affected individuals with little hope of successful treatment as it is highly recurrent. The sufferers of KD face serious aesthetic, physical, psychological and social consequences that may culminate in substantial emotional and financial costs. Keloids comprise a diverse group of unsightly prominent scars that are persistent and chronically active. Keloid scars tend to recur following surgical excision and other treatment modalities making them a difficult medical challenge and a frustrating ailment for sufferers.

The rate of occurrence of keloid disease is reported to be higher in the Black population. The increased familial clustering in keloid disease, its increased prevalence in certain races and in identical twins suggests a strong genetic predisposition to keloid formation. Understanding the genetic basis of keloid disease may provide future prognostic and diagnostic advice to patients and help to develop novel therapeutic regimes for treatment of skin fibrosis.

The objective of this study is to recruit patients with familial keloids and other affected and unaffected family members. This will allow us to determine the inheritance mode and to conduct genetic studies (linkage analysis). The genetic linkage analysis will help identify sequences on the human genome that may be responsible for keloid scarring. The potential benefits of identifying the sequences will be of great scientific and clinical importance.

Potential Benefits of Research to Patients:
The potential beneficial outcome of this study is to further our understanding of the pathogenesis of keloid disease. The scientific data collected if successfully analysed will potentially facilitate clinical applications that will benefit scarred patients.

1. The ability to identify individuals at risk of pathological keloid scarring pre-operatively with a blood test on the basis of the presence/absence of candidate susceptibility gene polymorphisms.

2. The ability to offer prophylactic therapy to those identified to be at risk of forming keloid scars.

3. The ability to develop effective treatment based on exact pathogenesis of disease in order to treat patients with existing keloid scars.

Educational History and Qualifications:
I am originally from the Sudan but underwent my primary education in London. I studied medicine at the University of Karachi in Pakistan. I completed my basic surgical training in Manchester. I have worked as a trainee in Plastic Surgery at the Booth hall Hospital for Children and Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester. I have also worked as a Plastic Surgery Trainee at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. I am a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In October 2006 I was awarded the first Aesthetic Research Fellowship by the Healing Foundation at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. I am currently enrolled at the University of Manchester in a MD programme.