Staff Profile

Personal Summary

From basic science research, I have moved my research interest focus to the next stage to facilitate gaining evidence to change clinical practice as quickly as possible. I primarily work with NIHR portfolio clinical trial studies.

Qualifications

 PGCert 2015 Clinical Research, Newcastle University, UK

 PhD 2006 Molecular Cancer Biology, Newcastle University, UK

 BSc 1999 (Hons) Biochemistry, University of Sussex, UK

Areas of expertise

Clinical Trial Management (NIHR funded)

Translational Clinical Trial Management (assay development, clinical and biological validation and clinical utility)

Biomarker Discovery (companion/predictive in terms of treatment/disease outcomes, personalised medicine)

Urology based research specialising in molecular biology of hormone escape in Cancer

Previous Positions

2006-2020 Research Associate - Urological Cancer, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, UK

2002- 2005 BBSRC (GSK Case) PhD Student - Institute for Cell & Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, UK

2001-2002 Research Assistant - Dept. of Fetal Medicine, Birmingham Women's Hospital, UK

1999-2001 Graduate Pharmaceutical Scientific Researcher - Roche, Welwyn Garden City, UK

1997-1998 Industrial Studentship Placement - Home Office Forensic Science Service, Birmingham, UK

Membership/Committees

UK CRC registered Clinical Trials Units Network

UK TMN Trial Managers Network

UK NCRI Clinical Trials Pathology Advisory Group (CT-PAG)

Faculty of Medical Science Newcastle University Ethics committee member

Current Studies

1) NIHR HTA ASCEnD (Aripiprazole/sertraline combination: clinical and cost-effectiveness in comparison with quetiapine for the treatment of bipolar depression). Pragmatic, Open label, Randomised controlled trial with 9 month internal pilot phase. ISRCTN: 63917405.

Previous Studies

1) NIHR HTA CONFORM-OH (Control, Fludrocortisone or Midodrine for the treatment of Orthostatic Hypotension: A Randomised Controlled Trial). Pragmatic, open label, randomised, prospective, superiority, multi-arm, multi-stage clinical trial with a 10-month internal pilot, phase IV. ISRCTN: 87213295.

2) NIHR HTA PREMISE (Prostate Resection versus Minimally Invasive Surgery Evaluation Trial). Multi-arm, multi-centre, non-inferiority randomised controlled trial, with six-month internal pilot. ness of three minimally invasive treatments (MITS) compared to transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) for treatment of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) due to enlarged prostate). ISRCTN: 50571778 

3) NIHR HTA NAIROS surgery ENT intervention trial (Nasal AIRway Obstruction Study). Multi-site, pragmatic, randomised phase III trial: ISRCTN: 16168569.

4) Lead applicant for NIHR RfPB VARIANT advanced prostate cancer treatment biomarker trial (multi-site, biomarker guided, randomised feasibility funder reference: PB-PG-0816-20043).

5) Lead on translational arm (PHOTO-T) for HTA NIHR bladder cancer surgery intervention PHOTO trial (multi-site, pragmatic, randomised controlled phase III trial: ISRCTN 84013636). 

6) Commercial (Sanofi) advanced prostate cancer chemotherapy treatment response trial (single-site, pragmatic, observational trial CSP 102842).

Previous Funding 

Clinical Trials:

NIHR RfPB feasibility study (The Prostate Cancer Androgen Receptor Splice Variant 7 Biomarker Trial (The VARIANT trial) - A multicentre feasibility study of biomarker-guided personalised treatment in advanced prostate cancer - £276,230.00) awarded to Dr. E. L. Clark/ Mr R Heer (June 2018 - Sept 2020).

Basic Science:

PCUK PhD post (Characterising novel phosphatase enzymes important in regulating androgen receptor function in the progression of castrate resistant prostate cancer - £100.3K) awarded to Dr. E. L. Clark/Prof. C. N. Robson (Sept 2013-Sept 2016) 

JGWP technical support post (Assessing the role of RNA helicase p68 (Ddx5) in the deregulation of microRNAs and progression of Prostate Cancer - £52K) awarded to Dr. E. L. Clark/Prof. C. N. Robson (May 2012-May 2013)

Prostate Action project grant (Assessing RNA helicase p68 (Ddx5) as a biomarker in the deregulation of microRNAs in Prostate Cancer - £99,987) awarded to Dr. E. L. Clark/Prof. C. N. Robson (Jan 2012-Oct 2013)

PCRF project grant (Pharmacological perturbation of p68 - an important androgen receptor transcriptional co-regulator in prostate cancer - £99,941) awarded to Dr. E. L. Clark/Prof. C. N. Robson (Jan 2008- Dec 2011)

Industrial Relevance

Postgraduate Teaching

Past students:

Alex Lloyd MRes (2017 - 2018)

Emma Smith MRes (2016 - 2017)

Andrew Evans MRes (2015 - 2016)

James Grey PhD (2014 - 2016)

Victoria Shuttleworth UG (2011 - 2012)

Jake Clayton MRes (2010 - 2011)

Christiana Hadjimichael MRes (2007-2008)

• Articles

  • Carrie S, Fouweather T, Homer T, O'Hara J, Rousseau N, Rooshenas L, Bray A, Stocken DD, Ternent L, Rennie K, Clark E, Waugh N, Steel AJ, Dooley J, Drinnan M, Hamilton D, Lloyd K, Oluboyede Y, Wilson C, Gardiner Q, Kara N, Khwaja S, Leong SC, Maini S, Morrison J, Nix P, Wilson JA, Teare MD. Effectiveness of septoplasty compared to medical management in adults with obstruction associated with a deviated nasal septum: the NAIROS RCT. Health Technology Assessment 2024, 28(10).
  • Wyatt NJ, Watson H, Anderson CA, Kennedy NA, Raine T, Ahmad T, Allerton D, Bardgett M, Clark E, Clewes D, Martin CC, Doona M, Doyle JA, Frith K, Hancock H, Hart A, Hildreth V, Irving PM, Iqbal S, Kennedy C, King A, Lawrence S, Lees CW, Lees R, Letchford L, Liddle T, Lindsay JO, Maier RH, Mansfield JC, Marchesi JR, McGregor N, McIntyre RE, Ostermayer J, Osunnuyi T, Powell N, Prescott NJ, Satsangi J, Sharma S, Shrestha T, Speight A, Strickland M, Wason JMS, Whelan K, Wood R, Young GR, Zhang X, Parkes M, Stewart CJ, Jostins-Dean L, Lamb CA. Defining predictors of responsiveness to advanced therapies in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis: Protocol for the IBD-RESPONSE and nested CD-metaRESPONSE prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study in precision medicine. BMJ Open 2024, 14(4).
  • Gravestock P, Clark E, Morton M, Sharma S, Fisher H, Walker J, Wood R, Hancock H, Waugh N, Cooper A, Maier R, Marshall J, Chandler R, Bahl A, Crabb S, Jain S, Pedley I, Jones R, Staffurth J, Heer R. Using the AR-V7 biomarker to determine treatment in metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer, a feasibility randomised control trial, conclusions from the VARIANT trial. NIHR Open Research 2023, 2, 49.
  • Yu G, Rice S, Heer R, Lewis R, Vadiveloo T, Mariappan P, Penegar S, Clark E, Tandogdu Z, Hall E, Vale L. Photodynamic Diagnosis-guided Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumour in Participants with a First Suspected Diagnosis of Intermediate- or High-risk Non–muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: Cost-effectiveness Analysis Alongside a Randomised Controlled Trial. European Urology Open Science 2023, 53, 67-77.
  • Carrie S, O'Hara J, Fouweather T, Homer T, Rousseau N, Rooshenas L, Bray A, Stocken DD, Ternent L, Rennie K, Clark E, Waugh N, Steel AJ, Dooley J, Drinnan M, Hamilton D, Lloyd K, Oluboyede Y, Wilson C, Gardiner Q, Kara N, Khwaja S, Leong SC, Maini S, Morrison J, Nix P, Wilson JA, Teare MD. Clinical effectiveness of septoplasty versus medical management for nasal airways obstruction: multicentre, open label, randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2023, 383, e075445.
  • Clark E, Morton M, Sharma S, Fisher H, Howel D, Walker J, Wood R, Hancock H, Maier R, Marshall J, Bahl A, Crabb S, Jain S, Pedley I, Jones R, Staffurth J, Heer R. Prostate cancer androgen receptor splice variant 7 biomarker study - A multicentre randomised feasibility trial of biomarker-guided personalised treatment in patients with advanced prostate cancer (the VARIANT trial) study protocol. BMJ Open 2019, 9(12), e034708.
  • Tandogdu Z, Lewis R, Duncan A, Penegar S, McDonald A, Vale L, Shen J, Kelly JD, Pickard R, N Dow J, Ramsay C, Mostafid H, Mariappan P, Nabi G, Creswell J, Lazarowicz H, McGrath J, Taylor E, Clark E, Maclennan G, Norrie J, Hall E, Heer R. Photodynamic versus white light-guided treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: A study protocol for a randomised trial of clinical and cost-effectiveness. BMJ Open 2019, 9(9), e022268.
  • Grey J, Jones D, Wilson L, Nakjang S, Clayton J, Temperley R, Clark E, Gaughan L, Robson C. Differential regulation of the androgen receptor by protein phosphatase regulatory subunits. Oncotarget 2018, 9(3), 3922-3935.
  • Clark EL, Hadjimichael C, Temperley R, Barnard A, Fuller-Pace FV, Robson CN. p68/DdX5 Supports β-Catenin & RNAP II during Androgen Receptor Mediated Transcription in Prostate Cancer. PLoS One 2013, 8(1), e54150.
  • Rajan P, Dalgliesh C, Bourgeois CF, Heiner M, Emami K, Clark EL, Bindereif A, Stevenin J, Robson CN, Leung HY, Elliott DJ. Proteomic identification of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L as a novel component of SLM/Sam68 Nuclear Bodies. BMC Cell Biology 2009, 10(1), 82.
  • Clark EL, Coulson AC, Dalgliesh C, Rajan P, Nicol SM, Fleming S, Heer R, Gaughan L, Leung HY, Elliott DJ, Fuller-Pace FV, Robson CN. The RNA helicase p68 is a novel androgen receptor coactivator involved in splicing and is overexpressed in prostate cancer. Cancer Research 2008, 68(19), 7938-7946.
  • Clark EL, Fuller-Pace FV, Elliott DJ, Robson CN. Coupling transcription to RNA processing via the p68 DEAD box RNA helicase androgen receptor co-activator in prostate cancer. Biochemical Society Transactions 2008, 36(3), 546-547.
  • Kilby MD, Barber K, Hobbs E, Franklyn JA. Thyroid hormone action in the placenta. Placenta 2005, 26(2-3), 105-113.
  • Chan S, Kachilele S, Hobbs E, Bulmer JN, Boelaert K, McCabe C, Driver P, Bradwell A, Kester M, Visser T, Franklyn J, Kilby M. Placental iodothyronine deiodinase expression in normal and growth-restricted human pregnancies. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2003, 88(9), 4488-4495.

• Authored Book

  • Clark EL. Topoisomerase IIa human genomic binding sites. Newcastle upon Tyne: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2006.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

  • McComb CM, Clark EL, Padget K, Harvey J, Morris NJ, Austin CA. Bioinformatic analysis of topoisomerase II binding sites. In: 30th Annual Meeting of the United Kingdom Environmental Mutagen Society. 2007, University of Cardiff, UK: Mutagenesis: Oxford University Press.