Meet the Trustees
The Platelet Charity is privileged to have four trustees – each with very different professional backgrounds – able to share their experience and knowledge for the benefit of the charity and those suffering from bleeding disorders.
Professor Steve Watson
Paul Harrison
Sarah Jones
Matthew Harper
Steve Watson is a British Heart Foundation Professor in Cardiovascular Sciences and Cellular Pharmacology. Steve is head of the Birmingham Platelet Group. The group undertakes a multidisciplinary approach to the investigation of platelet function in health and disease with a special focus on platelet receptors and their signalling pathways. The work includes translational studies in patients with platelet function disorders. The group is recognised for the identification of the major signalling receptor for collagen receptor on platelets, the GPVI-FcR gamma-chain complex, and the C-type lectin receptor, which plays a key role in lymphatic development. Steve is head of the Vascular Inflammation, Thrombosis and Angiogenesis (VITA) grouping in the Section of Cardiovascular Sciences. Steve was the 2006 winner of the Nature/Nesta mid-career award for creative mentoring. Steve Watson is a leading member of the NIHR SRMRC.
Paul Harrison is currently a senior lecturer in the Medical School in the University of Birmingham. He joined the University just under four years ago. Prior to that, he spent 12 years in the Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre in Oxford holding an honorary position in the University. Prior to this, he was a lecturer at University College London. Paul holds a BSc, PhD and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists. He is internationally recognised for his work on platelet function testing, & has forged many close links with companies in this active field. He was the Secretary of the British Society for Haemostasis and Thrombosis for 6 years, and then President of the Society (he is currently past-president). He was the Chair of the Platelet Subcommittee of International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis from 2012 – 2014. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief (with Professor Steve Watson) of the journal ‘Platelets’. He is a constant speaker on the International circuit and is held in high regard by all.
Sarah Jones completed her PhD with Professor Jon Gibbins at the University of Reading, investigating novel signalling pathways in platelets, before spending time as a postdoctoral research associate at Imperial College London, the University of Leicester and the University of Manchester. In 2013, Sarah joined Manchester Metropolitan University as a Senior lecturer in Biomedical Science, where her research primarily focuses on understanding the pathways, which lead to increased risk of thrombosis in diseases associated with altered platelet and endothelial cell function e.g. Diabetes. Sarah is a reviewer for a number of publications, including: Hypertension, The Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Platelets and PLOSOne and has published nearly 30 research articles.
Matthew read natural sciences at Cambridge and stayed to complete a PhD with Stewart Sage (Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience) on the regulation of calcium signalling in platelets. He moved to Alastair Poole’s group in Bristol to work on platelet granule secretion and thrombosis. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and the Editorial Advisory Panel of the Biochemical Journal. In 2015 he was appointed to a lectureship in the Pharmacology Department. His current research focuses on the triggers of platelet death, how it is controlled, and the role that it plays in thrombosis and thrombocytopenia.