2025 Platelet Society meeting – Manchester

Late breaking abstracts still accepted for poster presentation (until 2nd April 2025)

Our next Platelet Society meeting will be held in Manchester from the 23rd – 25th April 2025

As you would expect this meeting will bring together senior and junior scientists in an informal atmosphere to discuss the latest research covering a broad range of topics in platelet and megakaryocyte biology, from basic science to recent advances in clinical studies. We will have invited speakers providing state of the art lectures, a selection of oral presentations and a lively poster session.

So we hope to see you in Manchester where you can meet old friends and make new ones and help to further strengthen our fantastic platelet community.

Click on the links below to find out more about the programme, to submit an abstract and register for the meeting.

We look forward to welcoming you in Manchester in 2025!

Venue

Dalton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Meeting Organisers

Sarah Jones	Amanda Unsworth
Xenia Sawkulycz	Azziza Zaabalawi
Bismah Mateen	Beth Webb
Daisie Yates	Emily Horner
Tudor Dimofte	Jo Mitchell

Programme & Confirmed Speakers

View details of the programme by selecting each day below.

Wednesday 23rd April

23rd April – ECR meeting

Time (BST)	Activity	Title	Speaker
12:00 - 13:30	Registration & Lunch
13:30 - 14:40	Session 1 - Flash Presentations
13:30 - 13:40	Welcome	Dr Xenia Sawkulycz & Dr Amanda Unsworth
13:40 - 14:40	Flash presentations from ECRs	Chairs: Dr Amelia Drysdale & Dr Jocelyn Auger
	FP1	Platelet hyperactivity in Diabetes Mellitus patients: a potential role of platelet-derived extracellular vesicles	Chris Sennett: University of Hull
	FP2	Generation and testing of Novel PROTAC Tools For Targeting Protein Kinase Degradation in Human Platelets	Hetty Walker: University of Bristol
	FP3	Platelet-derived serotonin drives lung immunopathology in aged SARS-CoV-2 infected mice	Davide Marotta: Italy
	FP4	Cryopreservation of fluorescently labelled platelets for remote platelet function analysis	Maria Diaz Alonso: University of Reading
	FP5	Endothelial BACE1 regulates platelet activity in haemostasis and thrombosis	Beth Webb: University of Leeds
	FP6	Development of novel, small-scale blood sampling for platelet function analysis	Abhishek Sadhu: University of Reading
	FP7	Impact of the Prohibitin 1 rs2233667 variant on Megakaryocyte and Platelet Biology	Charlotte Aubin: Montreal
	FP8	Semi-automated analysis of single platelet calcium signalling dynamics using CalPeaks	Abbie Louise: University of Reading
	FP9	In vitro generation and in vivo validation of functional VEGFA-supercharged platelets for promoting cardiac repair	Aramis Khorchidian: Cambridge University
	FP10	LifeAct-encapsulated fusogenic liposomes: an innovative approach to enable dynamic imaging of the human platelet actin cytoskeleton	Yan Wu: University of Reading
	FP11	Investigating the effects of platelet microparticle derived cargo in chronic kidney disease responses	James Salt: Leeds Beckett
	FP12	Supercharged platelets as a novel therapy for reducing blood loss	Alexi Crosby: Cambridge University
14:40 - 15:00	Coffee
15:00 - 16:00	Session 2 - Welbeing	Chair: Bismah Mateen
		Workshop on Positive Psychology and Stress Management	We are wellbeing
16:00 - 17:00	Session 3 - Breakout Sessions	Dr Xenia Sawkulycz & Tudor Dimofte
	Table 1	Getting involved in Teaching	Matt Hindle
	Table 2	Taking a career break	Jocelyn Auger
	Table 3	Recruiter	Hyper Recruitment Solutions
	Table 4	Postdocs & training opportunities abroad	Beth Webb & Julia Sandrin-Gauer
17:00 - 18:00	Free Time / Hotel check in
18:00 - 20:00	ECR networking & social session	Dalton Building
20:00 - 23:00	Visit to local pub

For non-ECRs arriving on Wednesday we will be in North Bar: Circle Square, 2 Symphony Square, Manchester M1 7FT from 18.30pm onwards.

Thursday 24th April

24th April – Main meeting day 1

Time (BST)	Activity	Title	Speaker
10:30 - 11:00	Registration (inc coffee & pastries)
11:00 - 12:45	Session 1	Chairs: Dr Sarah Jones & Dr Chris Sennett
11:00 - 11:10	Welcome		Professor Mike Watkinson: Deputy Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor
11:10 - 11:50	Plenary 1		Dr Kieron South (MMU)
11:50 - 12.45	Selected oral presentations
11:50 - 12:05	OC1	Platelets of ageing mice undermine lung endothelial barrier: The role of transforming growth factor β1 and SerpinA3K	Marta Smeda (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
12:05 - 12:20	OC2	Genome-wide assessment of mouse genes linked to hemostasis and platelet multi-omics to identify novel human bleeding disorders	Johan Heemskerk (Maastricht, Netherlands)
12:20 - 12:35	OC3	Peptide Supercharged Platelets Improve Cardiac Outcomes Post-Myocardial Infarction	Jonathan Furniss (University of Bristol)
12:35 - 12:45	Flash	Sponsor Flash Presentations	Molecular Devices and Stago
12:45 - 14:30	Lunch and Posters - Even numbered posters
14:30 - 16:00	Session 2	Chairs: Dr Paul Armstrong & Tyler Horn
	Selected oral presentations
14:30 - 14:45	OC4	TRIPLE Score: GPVI and CD36 Expression Predict a Prothrombotic Platelet Function Phenotype	Dr Alex Bye (University of Reading)
14:45 - 15:00	OC5	Affimer reagents targeting fibrinogen αC-region modulate fibrin clot contractability	Dr Julia Sandrin Gauer (University of Leeds)
15:00 - 15:15	OC6	Targeted BTK Degradation in Platelets by PROTACs: Preclinical Evidence	Carl May (University of Bristol)
15:15 - 15:30	OC8	The inhibitory effects of prostacyclin on platelet activation is lost in a hypoxic environment	Sophie Leonard (Hull York Medical School)
15:30 - 15:45	OC9	Multiparameter flow cytometry allows the study of platelet hyposensitivity to PGI2 in coronary artery disease	Tudor Dimofte (University of Leeds)
15:45 - 16:15	Coffee

16:30 - 18:30	Session 3	Chair: Dr Amanda Unsworth and Prof Jon Gibbins
16:15 - 16:30	Gustav Born Award Introduction		Prof Jon Gibbins
16:30 - 17:30	Gustav Born Award	A career based on sticking together	Prof Steve Watson (University of Birmingham)
17:30 - 18:30	Drink reception
19:30 - late	Dinner @ Impossible, 36 Peter Street, Manchester. M2 5QR

Friday 25th April

25th April – Main meeting day 2

Time (BST)	Activity	Title	Speaker
08:30 - 09:00	Registration (inc coffee & pastries)
09:00 - 10:40	Session 4	Chairs: Prof Martyn Mahaut-Smith and Bismah Mateen
09:00 - 09:40	Plenary 3	The Platelet Factory: Unlocking the Secrets of Megakaryocytes in 3D	Dr Anita Eckly (UMR-S1255; Strasbourg)
09:40 - 10:40	Selected oral presentations
09:40 - 09:55	OC10	Expansion microscopy allows quantitative characterisation of structural organisation of platelet aggregates	Dr Steve Thomas (University of Birmingham)
09:55 - 10:10	OC11	Investigating the feasibility and validity of using human placental vessels for ex-vivo models of thrombosis and haemostasis	Dr Azziza Zaabalawi (Manchester Metropolitan University)
10:10 - 10:25	OC12	Optimisation of Platelet Phenomic Analysis (PPA) to understand cardiovascular disease risk in people with HIV	Dr Ami Vadgama (Imperial College London)
10:25 - 10:40	OC13	Engineering desialylation- and CD42 cleavage-resistant platelets to optimise storage and maintain lifespan and function following transfusion	Dr Amie Waller (University of Cambridge)
10:40 - 11:00	Coffee
11:00 - 12:30	Session 5	Chairs: Dr Nicola Curry and Prof Nikki Mutch
11:00 - 11.35	Plenary 4	Women’s health and inherited bleeding disorders. An overview	Dr Nicola Curry (University of Oxford)
11:35 - 11:55		Platelet function and its disorders in women	Dr Deborah Obeng-Tuudah (Royal Free London)
11:55 - 12:15		UKHCDO to improve data capture for patients	Dr Clare Brown (The Christi NHS Foundation Trust) and Dr Jayna Mistry (University of Birmingham)
12:15 - 12:30	OC14	Thrombotic response and aspirin effect in women with pre-eclampsia compared to healthy pregnancy	Isha Sabnis (University of Sheffield)
12:30 - 14:00	Lunch and Posters - Odd numbered posters
14:00 - 15:40	Session 6	Chairs: Dr Kalwant Authi and Emily Horner
14;00 - 14:40	Plenary 4	From Riches to Rags, the nuclear genome of megakaryocytes and platelets	Prof Beth Psaila (University of Oxford)
14:40 - 15:55	Selected oral presentations
14:40 - 14:55	OC15	Platelets drive the formation of a pre-metastatic lung microenvironment	Harvey Roweth (University of Reading)
14:55 - 15:10	OC16	Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Enhances Megakaryocyte Maturation and Promotes Proplatelet Formation	Imane Boukhatem (University of Montreal)
15:10 - 15:20	Platelet Society ECR working group update
15:20 - 15:25	Platelet Society Meeting 2026
15:25 - 15:40	Prizes and close of meeting