Dr YL Tracey Chan MBChB, MSc, MRCP, FRCPath, PhD

Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy
Honorary Senior Lecturer - Clinical Immunology Service
Consultant Haematologist, University Hospitals Birmingham

Contact details

Telephone: 0121 414 4069
Email: y.l.t.chan@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @traceychan_1

Address: Clinical Immunology Service
Medical School - University of Birmingham
Vincent Drive
Edgbaston
B15 2TT

Dr Chan is a consultant haematologist specialising in myeloma at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust. She is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Clinical Immunology Service.

Dr Chan researches and develops novel diagnostic tests and works with collaborators around the UK to translate these tests into clinically relevant pathways.

Qualifications

PhD in Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, 2018
FRCPath – Royal College of Pathologists - 2018
MRCP – Royal College of Physicians (UK) – 2008
MBChB (Hons), University of Birmingham, 2005
MSc (Dist) in Pathological Studies, University of Birmingham 2004

Biography

Dr Chan studied medicine at the University of Birmingham and completed her general and specialist haematology training inthe West Midlands. During her training, she completed an MSc in Pathological Studies and received the Intercalated MSc in Pathological Studies Prize and Wolfson Intercalated MSc Award.

She was awarded a PhD following completion of an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship, supervised by Professor Paul Moss at the University of Birmingham. Her doctoral research focused on the kinetics of NK cell reconstitution following allogeneic stem cell transplant and it’s relationship to clinical outcome, stimulating her subsequent interest in haemato-oncology diagnostics and test development.

Dr Chan is a Consultant Haematologist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust. In her clinical work, she sees patients with myeloma and related disorders in a busy tertiary department, with responsibility for both outpatient and inpatient care. She is the local PI for observational and interventional clinical trials.

She reports clinical flow cytometry samples in the Clinical Immunology Service and is responsible for developing the West Midlands Plasmacytic Disorders Integrated Diagnostic Pathway on behalf of the Midlands Integrated Reporting for Haemato-Oncology (MIRHO) Service. Dr Chan has developed and leads the flow cytometry laboratory educational meetings.

Her research is focused on developing novel tests for patients with myeloma and related disorders.

Postgraduate supervision

MSc Biosciences

Research

Dr Chan’s research is focused on the development of novel tests and diagnostic pathways for patients with myeloma and related disorders, supported with an NIHR West Midlands CRN Health and Care Research Scholarship.

She is leading a project to develop and validate a serum test that monitors disease in patients with non-measurable myeloma. The overall aim is to innovate a unique nationwide diagnostic monitoring service for this patient group that avoids the use of bone marrow biopsies and whole body imaging, which is invasive, costly and unpopular with patients. This work involves close collaboration with Myeloma UK and patient focus groups and is funded by Blood Cancer UK / Matthew Wilson Multiple Myeloma Fund.

Dr Chan has been awarded a Cancer Research Horizons Data Innovation Award, alongside Professor Alex Richter and Dr Jen Heaney, to develop an Integrated Myeloma Trials Resource. This is a collaborative endeavour with the UK wide myeloma research community to integrate samples and data from national myeloma trials for the benefit of future research.

Other activities

British Society of Haematology Haemato-Oncology Guidelines Task Force committee member, 2021-current
Member of the Trial Management Groups for current national myeloma trials – FiTNEss and RADAR – central laboratory lead

Publications

Loke J, Upasani V, Gaskell C, Fox S, Fletcher R, Thomas C, Hopkins L, Kumari A, Tang T, Yafai E, Boucher R, Homer V, Toth A, Chan YLT, Randall K, Rider T, O’Nions J, Drew V, Pillai A, Dungarwalla M, Murray D, Khan A, Wandroo F, Moore S, Krishnamurthy P, Huan YJ, Knapper S, Byrne J, Zhao R, Craddock C, Parry H, Moss P, Stanworth SJ, Lowe DM. Defective T-cell response to COVID-19 vaccination in acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. Br J Haematol. 2023 Aug;202(3):498-503.

Kinsella FAM, Inman CF, Gudger A, Chan YLT, Murray DJ, Zuo J, McIlroy G, Nagra S, Nunnick J, Holder K, Griffiths M, Craddock C, Nikolousis E, Moss P, Malladi R. Very early lineage-specific chimerism after reduced intensity stem cell transplantation is highly predictive of clinical outcome for patients with myeloid disease. Leuk Res. 2019 Aug; 83:106173.

Kinsella FAM, Zuo J, Inman CF, Pearce H, Maggs L, Eldershaw SE, Chan YLT, Nunnick J, Nagra S, Griffiths M, Craddock C, Malladi R, Moss P. Mixed chimerism established by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is maintained by host and donor T regulatory cells. Blood Advances. 2019 Mar 12;3(5):734-743.

Inman C, Eldershaw S, Croudace J, Davies N, Sharma-Oates A, Rai T, Pearce H, Sirovica M, Chan YLT, Zuo J, Nagra S, Kinsella F, Nunnick J, Amel-Kashipaz R, Craddock C, Malladi R, Moss P. Unique features and clinical importance of acute alloreactive immune responses. JCI Insight. 2018 May 17;3(10).

Chan YLT, Zuo J, Inman C, Croft W, Begum J, Croudace J, Kinsella F, Maggs L, Nagra S, Nunnick J, Abbotts B, Craddock C, Malladi R, Moss P. NK cells produce high levels of IL-10 early after allogeneic stem cell transplantation and suppress development of acute GVHD. European Journal of Immunology. 2018 Feb,48(2):316-329.

Maggs L, Kinsella F, Chan YLT, Eldershaw S, Murray D, Nunnick J, Bird J, Craddock C, Zuo J, Malladi R, Moss P. The number of CD56^dim NK cells in the graft has a major impact on risk of disease relapse following allo-HSCT. Blood Advances. 2017 August 21;1(19):1589-1597

Crowther M, Chan YLT, Garbett IK, Lim W, Vickers MA, Crowther MA. Evidence based focused review of the treatment of idiopathic warm IgG hemolytic anemia in adults. Blood 2011. 13; 118(15): 4036-40.

Chidrawar S, Khan N, Chan YLT, Nayak L, Moss PAH. Ageing is associated with a decline in peripheral blood CD56^bright NK cells. Immunity and Ageing. Nov 2006. 3:10.