Professor Steve P. Watson

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BHF Professor in Cardiovascular Sciences and Cellular Pharmacology

Cardiovascular and Respiratory Sciences

Contact details

Telephone +44 (0) 121 414 6514

Email s.p.watson@bham.ac.uk

School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
Institute of Biomedical Research
College of Medical and Dental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

About

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 mentorin

Steve Watson is a leading member of the NIHR SRMRC.  Find out more about the work of the research centre on the SRMRC website.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences 2002
  • PhD Pharmacology 1983
  • BSc Pharmacology (1st) 1980

Biography

Steve originally trained in the Universities of Leeds and Cambridge before undertaking postdoctoral studies in Burroughs Wellcome, North Carolina. He moved to the Pharmacology Department in the University of Oxford in 1985 where he was supported by series of competitive fellowships, including a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. He moved to a British Heart Foundation Professorship in Birmingham in 2004.

Steve is currently an editor / senior editor on 9 journals including Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Journal of Biological Chemistry and Biochemical Journal. Steve was a member of panel 1: Cardiovascular Sciences in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise and is a former member of the British Heart Foundation Project Grants Committee.

Steve was awarded an Investigator Recognition Award in 2007 by the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis for contributions to Haemostasis.

Teaching

  • 3rd Year BMedSci: lectures and dissertations
  • Tutor groupleader

Postgraduate supervision

  • PhD students
  • MRes Graduate Course: lectures and dissertations

Research

We use a multidisciplinary approach that ranges from in vitro functional and biochemical assays, to cell biology based studies on immortalised and primary cell lines, and studies in mutant mice and patients with bleeding disorders. The work is divided into five main themes:

Signalling events that underlie platelet activation by glycoprotein receptors, with special emphasis on the collagen ITAM receptor, GPVI, the ITAM-like receptor, CLEC-2 and the major platelet integrin IIb3.

The role of actin polymerisation in thrombus formation and signalling by platelet glycoprotein receptors.

The molecular basis of mild bleeding in patients with suspected defects in platelet function.

The events that underlie megakaryocytopoiesis and platelet formation.

The physiological and pathological role of platelets in a variety of cellular processes, including lymphangiogenesis, angiogenesis, inflammatory events, and major organ dysfunction (kidney, liver and lung)

Other activities

Chair of the Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences

Publications

 

Unsworth, A., Smith, H., Gissen, P., Watson, S.P. and Pears, C. (2011) Submaximal inhibition of protein kinase C restores ADP-induced dense granule secretion in platelets in the presence of Ca2+.  J. Biol. Chem. 286:21073-21082

Thomas, S. J., Calaminus, S.D.J., Machesky, L.M. and Watson, S.P. (2011) G-protein coupled receptor regulation of the formin  FHOD1 through Rho Kinase in platelets. J. Thromb. Haemost. 9, 1648-1651

Chagraoui, H., Kassouf, M., Banerjee, S., Goardon, N., Clark, K., Atzberger, A., Pearce, A.C., Skoda, R.C., Ferguson, D.J.P., Watson, S.P. Vyas, P., Porcher, C. (2011).  SCL-mediated regulation of the cell cycle regulator p21 is critical for murine megakaryopoiesis Blood 118:723-735

Ross, E.A., Coughlan, R.E., Flores-Langarica, A., Bobat, S.,  Marshall, J.L., Hussain, K., Charlesworth, J., Abhyankar, N.,  Hitchcock, J., Gil, C., López-Macías, C.,  Henderson, I.R., Khan, M., Watson, S.P.,  MacLennan, I.C.M., Buckley, C.D. & Cunningham, A.F. (2011) CD31 is required on CD4+ T cells to promote T cell survival during Salmonella infection J. Immunol 187;1553-1565

Nisar, S., Daly, M.E., Federici, A.B., Artoni, A., Mumford, A., Watson, S.P., Mundell, S. (2011)  An intact PDZ-motif is essential for correct P2Y12 purinoceptor traffic in human platelets.  Blood 118:5641-5651

Jones, M.L., Murden, S.L., Bem, D., Mundell, S.J., Gissen, P., Daly, M.E., Watson, S.P., Mumford, A.D. (2012).  Rapid genetic diagnosis of heritable platelet function disorders using next generation sequencing: proof-of-principle with Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. J. Thromb. Haemost. In press

Jarvis, G.E., Bihan, D., Hamaia, S., Pugh, N., Ghevaert, C.J., Pearce, A.C., Hughes, C.E., Watson, S.P., Ware, J., Rudd, C.E., Farndale, R.W. (2012).  A role for ADAP in collagen-induced platelet activation mediated via integrin α2β1.  J. Thromb. Haemost. In press

Davies, A., Lewis, D.J., Watson, S.P., Thomas, S.G., Pikramenou, Z. (2012)  pH Controlled delivery of luminescent europium coated nanoparticles into platelets. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. in press

Finney, B.A., Schweighoffer, E., Navarro-Núñez, L., Bénézech, C., Barone, F., Hughes, C.E., Langhan, S., Lowe, K.L., Pollitt, A.Y., Mauro-Sa, D., Sheardown, S., Nash, G.B., Smither, N., Reis e Sousa, C., Tybulewicz, V.L.J. and Watson, S.P. (2012)  CLEC-2 and Syk in the megakaryocytic/platelet lineage are essential for development. Blood in press

Kerrigan, A.M., Navarro-Nuñez, L., Pyz, E., Finney, B.A., Willment, J.A., Watson, S.P. and Brown, G.D. (2012) Podoplanin-expressing inflammatory macrophages activate murine platelets via CLEC-2.  J. Thromb. Haemost. In press

Expertise

Platelet activation in health and disease; platelet surface receptors and their signalling pathways, tyrosine kinase linked receptors; the platelet cytoskeleton; patients with platelet-bleeding disorders; taking antiplatelet drugs

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