Professor Steve P. Watson

Professor Steve P. Watson

Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
Professor in Cardiovascular Sciences and Cellular Pharmacology
Head of the Birmingham Platelet Group

Contact details

Address
Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
IBR Building
College of Medicine and Health
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Steve Watson is an Emeritus British Heart Foundation Professor in Cardiovascular Sciences and Cellular Pharmacology.

Steve is Head of the Birmingham Platelet Group which consists of more than 40 researchers (>10 PIs) investigating haemostatic and non-haemostatic functions of platelets in health and disease. 

Steve’s research interests focus on mechanisms of platelet activation by tyrosine kinase-linked receptors (notably CLEC-2, FcgammaRIIA, GPVI and PEAR1) and in developing novel antiplatelet agents that target these receptors in thrombi-inflammatory disease.   

COMPARE logoSteve is the founding Co-Director of The Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors (COMPARE), a unique collaboration between the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham that brings together leading researchers to develop novel methods for visualising single membrane proteins and to use these to identify new approaches for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. 

Steve is a member of the grant funding panels: Heart Research UK and The Barts Charity.

Steve is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2002) and was the 2006 winner of the Nature/Nesta mid-career award for creative mentoring.

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7846-7423

Qualifications

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

Biography

Steve trained in the Universities of Leeds and Cambridge before undertaking postdoctoral studies in Burroughs Wellcome, North Carolina. He moved to the Department of Pharmacology 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.

Teaching

  • Steve Watson and Graham Wallace are the co-Directors of the Wellcome Trust 4 Year Programme on Mechanisms of Inflammatory Disease

Postgraduate supervision

Steve currently supervises 1 PhD student.

Steve currently has openings for self-funded PhD students in the areas of

(i) platelet surface receptors and their signalling pathways and
(ii) the role of platelets in inflammatory processes.

Please e-mail Professor Watson directly.

Research

Steve undertakes a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying platelet activation by tyrosine kinase linked glycoprotein receptors. Steve’s research focuses on the collagen receptor, GPVI, the podoplanin receptor, CLEC-2, the low affinity immune receptor, FcgammaRIIA, and the proteoglycan receptor PEAR1.

Steve uses advanced microscopy (FCS and single molecule), molecular modelling (ODE and agent-based), crystallography, cell line studies and protein phosphorylation to study the mechanisms of receptor activation.

Steve has developed a series of high affinity antibodies and nanobodies that block CLEC-2 and GPVI and is aiming to translate these to early phase clinical trial in thrombo-inflammatory diseases.  Steve is working with Pip Nicolson and Mark Thomas in repurposing inhibitors of Syk and Btk as novel antiplatelets in thrombosis and thrombo-inflammatory disorders.  

With Pip Nicolson, Steve is also investigating the mechanisms of the thrombosis in patients with vaccine-induced immune thrombosis and thrombocytopenia.

Steve’s research is funded by the BBSRC, British Heart Foundation, MRC, NIHR and Wellcome Trust.  

Other activities

  • Steve is the Lead of the BHF Accelerator Grant which was award in recognition of the world-leading research in thrombo-inflammation and atrial fibrillation. The grant is used to support early career researchers transitioning to independence, interdisciplinary research and early phase translation projects
  • Steve is the co-lead with Dipak Kotecha of the Biomedical Research Centre theme on thrombo-inflammation
  • Steve is a co-PI on the Liberate Phase II trial studying the GPVI-blocker glenzocimab in acute coronary syndromes (leads: Jon Townend and Mark Thomas)

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Cheung, HYF, Tantiwong, C, Kale, D, Gibbins, JM, Watson, SP, Heemskerk, JWM, Sickmann, A, Ahrends, R & Dunster, JL 2025, 'A computational framework for the investigation of phosphoinositide regulation', PLoS Computational Biology, vol. 21, no. 9, e1013477. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013477

Lamerton, R, Martin, EM, Perry, J, Cunningham, A, Watson, S & Frelinger III, AL 2025, 'A minimal valency of four is required for robust activation of platelets by multivalent nanobodies to GPVI, CLEC-2 and PEAR1', Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpth.2025.103196

Perez-Toledo, M, Beristain-Covarrubias, N, Pillaye, J, Persaud, R, Marcial Juarez, E, Jossi, S, Hitchcock, J, Alshayea, A, Channell, W, Wiersma, N, Lamerton, R, Kavanagh, D, Carestia, A, Horsnell, W, Henderson, IR, Mackman, N, Clark, AR, Jenne, CN, Rayes, J, Watson, S & Cunningham, A 2025, 'Discrete and conserved inflammatory signatures drive thrombosis in different organs after Salmonella infection', Nature Communications, vol. 16, 2356. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57466-6

Di Buduo, CA, Abbonante, V, Malara, A, Balduini, A, Waller, AK, Watson, SP, Martin, EM, Bridge, L, Gibbins, J, Hers, I, Masson, C, Eckly, A, Poulter, NS, Martínez-García, B, Aguila, S, Gresele, P, Momi, S, Amstrong, P, Rondina, M, Troitiño, S, García, Á, Bastida, JM, Quilez, AM, Fuentes, AS, Rivera, J, Torres-Ruiz, R, Ojeda-Walczuk, P, Morgan, NV, Morena, BDL, Ramaekers, K, Tran, M, De Wispelaere, K, Freson, K, Bergmeier, W, Greinacher, A, He, F, Oh, S, Di Paola, J, Semple, JW, Lozano, ML, Llamas, P & Ward, C 2025, 'Illustrated capsules from the Advanced Course in Platelet Research', Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 9, no. 2, 102715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpth.2025.102715

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

Xu, R-G, Tiede, C, Calabrese, AN, Cheah, LT, Adams, TL, Gauer, JS, Hindle, MS, Webb, BA, Yates, DM, Slater, A, Duval, C, Naseem, KM, Herr, AB, Tomlinson, DC, Watson, SP & Ariëns, RAS 2024, 'Affimer reagents as tool molecules to modulate platelet GPVI-ligand interactions and specifically bind GPVI dimer', Blood Advances, vol. 8, no. 15, pp. 3917-3928. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2024012689

Bourne, JH, Perrella, G, El-Awaisi, J, Terry, LV, Tinkova, V, Hogg, RL, Gant, P, Grygielska, B, Kalia, N, Kavanagh, D, Brill, A, Dimitrov, JD, Watson, SP & Rayes, J 2024, 'Hydroxychloroquine inhibits hemolysis-induced arterial thrombosis ex vivo and improves lung perfusion in hemin-treated mice', Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 2018-2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtha.2024.04.008

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

Lamerton, R, Montague, S, Perez-Toledo, M, Watson, S & Cunningham, A 2024, 'Platelet aggregation responses to Salmonella Typhimurium are determined by host anti-Salmonella antibody levels', Platelets, vol. 35, no. 1, 2437241. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537104.2024.2437241

Wang, X, Slater, A, Lee, SC, Harrison, N, Pollock, NL, Bakker, SE, Navarro, S, Nieswandt, B, Dafforn, TR, García, Á, Watson, SP & Tomlinson, MG 2024, 'Purification and characterisation of the platelet-activating GPVI/FcRγ complex in SMALPs', Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, vol. 754, 109944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2024.109944

Smith, C, Campos, J, Brown, H, Ivanova, V-S, Harbi, M, Garcia Quintanilla, L, Jossi, S, Perez-Toledo, M, Rookes, K, Brill, A, Theodore, L, Owens, T, LaStant, J, Foulke, MC, Mukai, S, Francesco, M, Storek, M, Hicks, A, Langrish, C, Nunn, PA, Cunningham, A, Chauhan, A, Thomas, MR, Watson, S & Nicolson, P 2024, 'Selective Btk inhibition by PRN1008/PRN473 blocks human CLEC-2 & PRN473 reduces venous thrombosis formation in mice', Blood Advances. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2024012713

Martin, E, Clark, J, Montague, S, Moran, LA, Di, Y, Bull, LJ, Whittle, L, Raka, F, Buka, R, Zafar, I, Kardeby, C, Slater, A & Watson, S 2024, 'Trivalent nanobody-based ligands mediate powerful activation of GPVI, CLEC-2 and PEAR1 in human platelets whereas FcγRIIA requires a tetravalent ligand', Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 271-285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtha.2023.09.026

Alenazy, FO, Harbi, MH, Kavanagh, DP, Price, J, Brady, P, Hargreaves, O, Harrison, P, Slater, A, Tiwari, A, Nicolson, PLR, Connolly, DL, Kirchhof, P, Kalia, N, Jandrot-Perrus, M, Mangin, PH, Watson, SP & Thomas, MR 2023, 'Amplified inhibition of atherosclerotic plaque-induced platelet activation by glenzocimab with dual antiplatelet therapy', Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH, vol. 21, no. 11, pp. 3236-3251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtha.2023.07.018

Schönichen, C, Montague, SJ, Brouns, SLN, Burston, JJ, Cosemans, JMEM, Jurk, K, Kehrel, BE, Koenen, RR, Ní Áinle, F, O'Donnell, VB, Soehnlein, O, Watson, SP, Kuijpers, MJE, Heemskerk, JWM & Nagy, M 2023, 'Antagonistic Roles of Human Platelet Integrin αIIbβ3 and Chemokines in Regulating Neutrophil Activation and Fate on Arterial Thrombi Under Flow', Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.122.318767

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