The University of Sheffield
The School of Clinical Dentistry

Professor Paula M Farthing (BSc, BDS, FDSRCS, PhD, FRCPath, FHEA)

Head of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology

Tel:    0114 271 7951
Fax:    0114 271 7894
Email:  p.farthing@sheffield.ac.uk

Administrative Roles

Director of Learning and Teaching, School of Clinical Dentistry
Chair Curriculum Implementation Group
Head of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology

University Administrative Role

Faculty Learning & Teaching Committee

National Administrative Roles

Associate Editor Journal of Oral Surgery

Assistant Treasurer, British Society for Oral & Dental Research
President of Oral Pathology & Medicine Group, British Society for Oral & Dental Research

British Society for Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology Teachers' Group
Examiner FRCPath Royal College Pathologists
External Examiner University of Birmingham

Research Interests

Diagnostic Oral Pathology

Mucosal Immunology

My main research interest lies in the mechanisms lymphocytes use to migrate from the peripheral blood into the oral mucosa and skin and into the overlying epithelium. These processes are controlled by cell adhesion molecules and chemokines, some of which are site specific. These mechanisms have important implications for the development of inflammatory and immune mediated muco-cutaneous disease and also immune defence in the oral mucosa and skin. Cancer cells also utilise similar mechanisms to invade and to spread to the lymph nodes in the neck from the oral cavity

Recently Published Papers

Jenkinson SE, Whawell. S., Swales BM, Corps EM, Kilshaw PJ, Farthing PM The αE(CD103)β7 integrin interacts with oral and skin keratinocytes in an E-cadherin-independent manner Immunol 2010 in press
Khurram SA, Whawell SA, Bingle L, Murdoch M, Farthing PM. Functional expression of the chemokine receptor XCR1 on oral epithelial cells. J. Pathol. 2010. 221(2):153-63.
Betts A, Yeoman C, Farthing PM. Oral mucosal involvement as the sole or main manifestation of linear IgA disease: case report and review of the literature. J Oral Surg.2009. 2. 198-204
Blackwood K; McKean R; Canton I; Freeman C; Franklin K; Cole D; Brook I; Farthing P; Rimmer S; Haycock J; Ryan AJ; MacNeil S, Development of biodegradable electrospun scaffolds for dermal replacement. Biomaterials 2008. 29.3091-3104
Thornhill MH, Sankar V, Xu XJ, A. Barrett W, High,Odell EW, Speight PM, Farthing PM. The Role of Histopathological Characteristics in Distinguishing Amalgam-Associated Oral Lichenoid Reactions and Oral Lichen Planus 2006 J Oral Pathol Med 35. 233-40
Hagi-Pavli E, Farthing PM, Henshaw F, Kapas S. Presentation of ICAM-1 protein at the cell surface of oral keratinocytes in the presence of adrenomedullin and corticotrophin. Cell Physiol Biochem. 2005; 15: 167-174

Research Students

Nada AlHindi