Dr Phillip (Pip) LR Nicolson MA MB BChir (Cantab) PhD FRCP FRCPath

Dr Pip Nicolson

Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
Associate Clinical Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine (Haematology)

Contact details

Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Pip is clinical academic with a clinical interest in haemostasis, thrombosis and immunohaematology. He has a laboratory research interest in the role of platelets in venous thrombosis and thromboinflammation. He is passionate about efficient clinical research in these areas.

Qualifications

  • Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) 2025
  • Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists, 2020
  • PhD, University of Birmingham, 2019
  • Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) 2011
  • MA (Natural Sciences), University of Cambridge, 2009
  • MB BChir, University of Cambridge, 2008
  • BA (Natural Sciences), University of Cambridge, 2005

Biography

He works in the Birmingham Platelet Group, the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit and in the department of Haematology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. He is chair of the UK-wide research network HaemTRIAL and also set up and led the HaemSTAR network between 2017 and 2023. He was awarded the BSH-NIHR Researcher of the year award in 2019 and the Royal College of Pathologists Furness Prize for science communication in 2021 for his work with this group. He is a drummer and keen cyclist, regularly participating in domestic and international sportives and century rides.

Teaching

  • Medical and Dental Sciences (Haematology)
  • 4th year MSci (Co-lead for the Clinical Haematology Module)

Postgraduate supervision

  • Supervisor to PhD students
  • Supervisor to MRes students
  • Supervisor to Intercalating medical students
  • Personal Academic Tutor to Medical Students

Research

  • Investigating the role of platelet ITAM receptors in human venous thrombosis and thromboinflammation.
  • Investigating the role of the platelet FcɣRIIA in Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Syndromes such as HIT & VITT.
  • Changing the non-malignant haematology research landscape using mass participation clinical studies mediated via HaemSTAR & HaemTRIAL

Current grants

  • 2026-2027  £158,194 (Co-CI with Steve Watson) Recludix Pharma. BTK Inhibition & Platelet Biology
  • 2026-2030  £2,302,834 (Co-CI with Justin Clark) NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme. FLOW: Focussing on LOWering blood loss in anticoagulated women with heavy menstrual bleeding (NIHR510091)
  • 2026-2029  £649,000 (Co-CI with Julie Rayes) Effect Of Long Term BTK Inhibition On Progressive Organ Damage In Sickle Cell Mice (Sanofi)
  • 2026-2028  £82,000 (Sponsor) BHP Clinical Academic Research Partnership (CARP) (For Abhi Chauhan)
  • 2026-2031  £740,346.35 (Sponsor) BHF Intermediate Research Fellowship (For Sam Montague FS/26/25317) Stop the clot: targeting platelets and neutrophils in Platelet Factor 4 associated Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis (PITT)
  • 2026-2028  £269,261 (Co-CI with Julie Rayes) BHF CRTF (For Eman Hassan FS/CRTF/25/24837). Does combination of anti-oxidant with tyrosine kinase inhibitors prevent sickle cell disease-associated thrombo-inflammation and vascular occlusion. 

Previous grants and fellowships

  • 2022-2025  £1,277,699 (Co-I) Acticor Biotech. LIBERATE: A phase IIb, randomised, double-bLInd, placeBo-controllEd tRiAl To invEstigate the safety, efficacy and mechanism of inhibiting platelet GPVI as a treatment for ST-elevation myocardial infarction
  • 2021-2024  £12,719 (PI) BHF Accelerator Award. BAT-X: Bleeding Assessment Tool In X-Linked Agammaglobulinaemia.
  • 2023  £300 (PI) NIHR BRC Public Involvement Fund. For Prevention of Portal Vein Thrombosis with Btk-inhibitors.
  • 2021-2023  £73,213 (PI) Sanofi S.A. The effect of Btk inhibition on platelet activation and Thrombosis (focussing on hepatic portal vein thrombosis).
  • 2021-2023  £370,000 (Co-I) NIHR. Understanding Mechanisms of Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia in COVID-19 and with SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines.
  • 2021-2022  £15,263 (PI) DIF Award. BAT-X: Bleeding Assessment Tool In X-Linked Agammaglobulinaemia.
  • 2022  £23,101 (Co-I) Wellcome Trust Translational Discovery Fund. Stability, PK and efficacy studies on a humanised CLEC-2 Fab
  • 2021  £163,000 (PI) Principia Biopharma. The effect of Btk inhibition on platelet activation and Thrombosis (focussing on hepatic portal vein thrombosis).
  • 2021  £2,500 (PI) BHF Accelerator Award. Investigating Mechanisms of VITT.
  • 2020-2021  £207,500 (PI) Principia Biopharma. The effect of Btk inhibition on platelet activation and Thrombosis (focussing on hepatic portal vein thrombosis).
  • 2019-2021  £70,500 (PI). Novartis pharmaceuticals. Selective Btk inhibition and platelet biology.
  • 2019  £7,100 (PI) MRC Proximity to Discovery Grant. Study of the effects of the Btk inhibitor PRN473 on platelet activation via CLEC-2
  • 2019  £2,000 (PI). BSHT Summer Studentship. Repurposing Btk inhibitors as novel antiplatelet agents
  • 2018-2019  £43,400 (Co-I) Rigel pharmaceuticals. Targeting GPVI and CLEC-2 with fostamatinib as a novel antithrombotic strategy.
  • 2017-2018  £105,931 (Named Fellow) BHF Clinical Research Training Fellowship. Selectively targeting the platelet CLEC-2 signalling pathway in venous thrombosis.
  • 2015-2017  £48,000 (Named Fellow) ITM Starter Fellowship. Establishing the mechanisms by which the novel anti-blood cancer drug ibrutinib causes bleeding.

Research Groups 

Other activities

  • Founder of HaemTRIAL: Haematology Trials, Research, Innovation & Learning.
  • Founder and President of HaemSTAR: Haematology Specialist Training, Audit & Research.
  • Reviewer for the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CE14)

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Crossette-Thambiah, C, Rajakaruna, I, Odho, Z, Doyle, AJ, Breen, KA, Laffan, M, Arachchillage, DJ & HaemSTAR Study Collaborators 2026, 'Anticoagulation, recurrent thrombosis, and major bleeding in antiphospholipid syndrome: UK multicenter observational study', Blood Advances, vol. 10, no. 9, pp. 3264-3275. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2025019447

HaemSTAR Collaborators, Nicolson, PLR & Buka, RJ 2026, 'A UK-wide analysis of the use of reversal agents in 198 patients on direct oralanticoagulants prior to urgent procedures', Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpth.2026.106632

HaemSTAR Collaborators 2025, 'A UK-wide analysis of 2265 patients receiving a reversal agent for direct oral anticoagulant-associated bleeding', Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtha.2025.11.003

Hassan, E, Sutton, D, Buka, R, Lowe, G, Nandra, T, Jacob, N, Rose, L, Alhamdi, Y, HaemSTAR Collaborators & Nicolson, P 2025, 'Disparities in menstrual bleeding management during acute venous thromboembolism treatment: A review of UK practice and a call for clinical studies', Thrombosis Research, vol. 247, 109258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.thromres.2025.109258.

HaemSTAR Collaborators 2025, 'Physician Survey on the Management of Pulmonary Embolism in Pregnancy: Need for Guidance and Training', EJHaem, vol. 6, no. 4, e70113. https://doi.org/10.1002/jha2.70113

El-awaisi, J, Perrella, G, Mayer, N, Tinkova, V, Simon, CJ, Grygielska, B, Watson, SP, Dimitrov, JD, Brill, A, Hassan, E, Nicolson, PLR, Kavanagh, D, Kalia, N & Rayes, J 2025, 'Spleen tyrosine kinase inhibition mitigates hemin-induced thromboinflammation in an organ-specific manner in sickle cell mice', Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.32207

Nicolson, PLR, Abrams, ST, Amirthalingam, G, Brown, K, Buka, RJ, Caulfield, MJ, Gardner, J, Goldblatt, D, Lovatt, C, Montague, SJ, Naisbitt, D, Parker, AL, Pavord, S, Ramsay, ME, Sterne, JAC, Sudlow, CLM, Toh, C-H, Watson, SP, Wang, G, Wood, AM, Whiteley, W & Pirmohamed, M 2025, 'Understanding Mechanisms of Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia with Adenoviral SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines: A Comprehensive Synopsis', Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation, vol. 12, no. 7, pp. 1-36. https://doi.org/10.3310/FFSS9010

Nicolson, PLR, Belete, M, Hawes, R, Fowler, N & Toh, C-H 2024, 'Alternative routes into clinical research: a guide for early career doctors', BMJ, vol. 385, e076414. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-076414

Gardner, J, Abrams, ST, Toh, C-H, Parker, AL, Lovatt, C, Nicolson, PLR, Watson, SP, Grice, S, Hering, L, Pirmohamed, M & Naisbitt, DJ 2024, 'Identification of cross reactive T cell responses in adenovirus based COVID 19 vaccines', NPJ vaccines, vol. 9, no. 1, 99. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-024-00895-z

Comment/debate

Buka, R, Nicolson, P & Sutton, D 2024, 'Enoxaparin is not an oral factor Xa inhibitor. Response to Sutton et al. real-world clinical outcomes among US veterans with oral factor Xa inhibitor–related major bleeding treated with andexanet alfa or 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate', Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis, vol. 57, pp. 739-741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11239-024-02948-5

Letter

Ker, YW, Ghataure, A, Montague, SJ, Nicolson, PLR & Buka, RJ 2026, 'A systematic review of vaccine-induced immune thrombosis and thrombocytopenia triggered by non-adenoviral vector vaccination: ultra-rare or non-existent?', Haematologica. https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2025.300357

Nicolson, P, Montague, S, Buka, R, Calvert, A, Sheppard, J-A, Zhang, Y, Wang, JJ, Sharman, J, Hassan, E, Harrison, J, Lawrence, E, El-Dalil, P, Parekh, D, Osman, H, Gordon, T, Nazy, I, Warkentin, T & Lester, W 2025, 'Anti-PF4 mediated thrombocytopenia and thrombosis associated with acute cytomegalovirus infection displays both HIT-like and VITT-like characteristics', British Journal of Haematology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.20092

Nicolson, PLR, Asif, M, Buka, RJ, Dyer, P, Hassan, E, Harrison, CN, Maybury, BD & Doyle, AJ 2025, 'Common themes and uncertainties in management of secondary polycythaemia: an international clinician survey of practice', EJHaem, vol. 6, no. 6, e70171. https://doi.org/10.1002/jha2.70171

Hassan, E, Fratter, C, Lester, W, Percy, C, Saad, W, Alkhedir, A, Motwani, J, Bagnell, P, Nicolson, PLR, Morgan, NV, Potluri, S & Lowe, G 2025, 'The diagnostic utility of genetic testing in inherited thrombocytopenia: regional multicenter tertiary experience', Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 9, no. 3, 102869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpth.2025.102869

HaemSTAR Collaborators 2025, 'Venesection and resolution of erythrocytosis are not associated with reduced thrombotic risk in secondary and idiopathic polycythaemia: Results from a dual centre, 5‐year retrospective study', British Journal of Haematology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.20235

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