Dr Siân Lax BSc (Hons), PhD

Dr Siân Lax

Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
Clinical Trial Facilitator

Contact details

Address
Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU)
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Siân Lax’s current role is within the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) where she acts as the first point of contact for clinical investigators wishing to work with the CRCTU.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Biochemistry, 2004
  • BSc (Hons) in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 2001

Biography

As the Clinical Trial Facilitator, Siân, manages the CRCTU New Business process and provides assistance in obtaining research grants and contributes to writing clinical trial essential documents, publications and reports.

Before working at the CRCTU, Siân was a post-doctoral research fellow working in Professor Steve Watson’s Platelet Group, understanding the role of the platelet receptor CLEC-2 in regulating the severity of acute lung injury using in vivo models of lung inflammation and injury. Her previous post-doctoral work involved elucidating the in vivo role of hormones in lung injury and the role of mesenchymal stromal cells in lymphoid tissues following infection. Siân obtained her PhD from University of Birmingham in 2004 researching the function of Rho-kinase II in regulated keratinocyte differentiation.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Bhaskaran, D, Savage, J, Patel, A, Collinson, F, Mant, R, Boele, F, Brazil, L, Meade, S, Buckle, P, Lax, S, Billingham, L & Short, S 2024, 'A randomised phase II trial of temozolomide with or without cannabinoids in patients with recurrent glioblastoma (ARISTOCRAT): Protocol for a multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial', BMC Cancer, vol. 24, 83. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-11792-4

Kong, A, Kirkham, AJ, Savage, JS, Mant, R, Lax, S, Good, J, Forster, MD, Sacco, JJ, Schipani, S, Harrington, KJ, Yap, C & Mehanna, H 2024, 'Results and lessons learnt from the WISTERIA phase I trial combining AZD1775 with cisplatin pre- or post-operatively in head and neck cancer', BJC Reports, vol. 2, no. 1, 6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44276-023-00026-6

Hirschfield, G, Arndtz, K, Kirkham, A, Chen, Y-Y, Fox, R, Rowe, A, Douglas-Pugh, J, Thorburn, D, Barnes, E, Aithal, GP, Hull, D, Bhandal, K, Olsen, K, Woodward, P, Lax, S, Newsome, P, Smith, D, Kallio, A, Adams, D, Homer, V & Weston, C 2024, 'Vascular adhesion protein-1 blockade in primary sclerosing cholangitis: open-label, multi-centre, single arm, phase II trial', Hepatology Communications, vol. 8, no. 5, e0426. https://doi.org/10.1097/HC9.0000000000000426

Fernando, IN, Lax, S, Bowden, SJ, Ahmed, I, Steven, JH, Churn, M, Brunt, AM, Agrawal, RK, Canney, P, Stevens, A & Rea, DW 2023, 'Detailed Sub-study Analysis of the SECRAB Trial: Quality of Life, Cosmesis and Chemotherapy Dose Intensity', Clinical Oncology, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 397-407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clon.2023.03.007

Stapley, R, Smith, C, Haining, E, Bacon, A, Lax, S, Pisareva, V, Pisarev, A, Watson, S, Khan, A & Morgan, N 2021, 'Heterozygous mutation SLFN14 K208N in mice mediates species-specific differences in platelet and erythroid lineage commitment: SLFN14 mediates lineage commitment in mice', Blood Advances, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 377–390. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002404

Haining, E, Lowe, K, Wichaiyo, S, Kataru, RP, Nagy, Z, Kavanagh, D, Lax, S, Di, Y, Nieswandt, B, Ho-Tin-Noé, B, Mehrara, BJ, Senis, Y, Rayes, J & Watson, S 2021, 'Lymphatic blood filling in CLEC-2-deficient mouse models', Platelets, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 352-367. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537104.2020.1734784

Chimen, M, Evryviadou, A, Box, CL, Harrison, MJ, Hazeldine, J, Dib, LH, Kuravi, SJ, Payne, H, Price, JMJ, Kavanagh, D, Iqbal, AJ, Lax, S, Kalia, N, Brill, A, Thomas, SG, Belli, A, Crombie, N, Adams, RA, Evans, S-A, Deckmyn, H, Lord, JM, Harrison, P, Watson, SP, Nash, GB & Rainger, GE 2020, 'Appropriation of GPIbα from platelet-derived extracellular vesicles supports monocyte recruitment in systemic inflammation', Haematologica, vol. 105, no. 5, pp. 1248-1261. https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2018.215145

Wichaiyo, S, Lax-Williams, S, Montague, S, Li, Z, Grygielska, B, Pike, J, Haining, E, Brill, A, Watson, S & Rayes, J 2019, 'Platelet glycoprotein VI and C-type lectin-like receptor 2 deficiency accelerates wound healing by impairing vascular integrity in mice', Haematologica, vol. 104, no. 8, pp. 1648-1660. https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2018.208363

Lax, S, Rayes, J, Thickett, DR & Watson, SP 2017, 'Effect of anti-podoplanin antibody administration during lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury in mice', BMJ Open Respiratory Research, vol. 4, no. 1, e000257. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2017-000257

Lax, S, Rayes, J, Wichaiyo, S, Haining, EJ, Lowe, K, Grygielska, B, Laloo, R, Flodby, P, Borok, Z, Crandall, ED, Thickett, DR & Watson, SP 2017, 'Platelet CLEC-2 protects against lung injury via effects of its ligand podoplanin on inflammatory alveolar macrophages in the mouse', American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology, vol. 313, no. 6, pp. L1016-L1029. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplung.00023.2017

Rayes, J, Lax, S, Wichaiyo, S, Watson, S, Di, Y, Lombard, S, Grygielska, B, Smith, S, Skordilis, K & Watson, S 2017, 'The podoplanin-CLEC-2 axis inhibits inflammation in sepsis', Nature Communications, vol. 8, 2239. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02402-6

Parekh, D, Patel, JM, Scott, A, Lax, S, Dancer, RCA, D'Souza, V, Greenwood, H, Fraser, WD, Gao, F, Sapey, E, Perkins, GD & Thickett, DR 2017, 'Vitamin D deficiency in human and murine sepsis', Critical care medicine, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 282-289. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000002095

Hitchcock, JR, Cook, CN, Bobat, S, Ross, EA, Flores-Langarica, A, Lowe, KL, Khan, M, Dominguez Medina, C, Lax, S, Carvalho-Gaspar, M, Hubscher, S, Rainger, G, Cobbold, M, Buckley, CD, Mitchell, TJ, Mitchell, A, Jones, N, Van Rooijen, N, Kirchhofer, D, Henderson, IR, Adams, DH, Watson, SP & Cunningham, AF 2015, 'Inflammation drives thrombosis after Salmonella infection via CLEC-2 on platelets', Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 125, no. 12, pp. 4429–4446. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI79070

Letter

Fernando, IN, Lax, S & Ahmed, I 2020, 'Response to Gultekin et al. regarding SECRAB trial toxicity', Radiotherapy and Oncology, vol. 147, pp. 233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2020.01.019

Rayes, J, Jadoui, S, Lax, S, Gros, A, Wichaiyo, S, Ollivier, V, Denis, CV, Ware, J, Nieswandt, B, Jandrot-Perrus, M, Watson, SP & Ho-Tin-Noé, B 2018, 'The contribution of platelet glycoprotein receptors to inflammatory bleeding prevention is stimulus and organ dependent', Haematologica, vol. 103, no. 6, pp. e256-e258. https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2017.182162

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