Dr Jonathan Griffin
MBChB (Hons) FRCPath PhD
School of Medicine and Population Health
Senior Clinical Lecturer in Histopathology
Honorary Consultant Histopathologist
Full contact details
School of Medicine and Population Health
The Medical School
Beech Hill Road
Sheffield
S10 2RX
- Profile
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For enquiries please contact - SMPH-West-Operational@sheffield.ac.uk
I am a Senior Clinical Lecturer in Histopathology at University of Sheffield and Honorary Consultant Histopathologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. I completed my primary medical degree at University of Leeds then pursued general and vascular surgery training in England, Scotland and New Zealand. In 2015 I started histopathology training in Sheffield.
I was awarded a Pathological Society/CRUK pre-doctoral fellowship in 2016. This led to a Jean Shanks Foundation/ Pathological Society Clinical PhD Fellowship (2019-2022) where I investigated the roles of R-loops in androgen signalling and prostate cancer under the supervision of Professor Sherif El-Khamisy and Professor Jim Catto. Following this I secured an NIHR Clinical Lectureship in Histopathology. I started my current role in September 2025.
My research interests include digital and molecular pathology, and their use in the discovery, development and validation of biomarkers principally in urological cancers.
- Qualifications
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- MBChB (Hons)
- FRCPath
- PhD
- Research interests
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My clinical and research interests are in urological (bladder, prostate, kidney and testis) and endocrine (thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal gland) pathology. I am interested in developing tissue biomarkers to better guide treatment in cancer affecting these organs. I am also interested in how we implement novel technologies such as digital pathology and AI in routine NHS pathology practice.
I am lead pathologist for the GUSTO and INVEST bladder cancer trials. In the phase 2 GUSTO RCT (https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR128103) we are investigating if gene expression subtyping of muscle invasive bladder cancer can be used to better select patients for neoadjuvant chemo and immunotherapy. This could improve outcomes and reduce treatment side effects. I run the subtyping laboratory for this trial and lead translational sample collection and analysis. We are collecting paired pre- and post- treatment tissue, digital pathology slides and plasma for circulating tumour markers. The subtyping laboratory is based in an NHS Histopathology laboratory and is the only facility in the UK performing bladder cancer subtyping. The laboratory team received an Achievement Award from the Royal College of Pathologists in recognition of this work.
INVEST is a phase 1 trial investigating immunotherapy given locally into the bladder rather than intravenously. This approach may reduce immunotherapy side and offer an alternative to established therapies such as intravesical BCG. Within INVEST I run the associated translational research programme, investigating markers of response in the tumour and its microenvironment. I also collaborate with the YCR-funded EVIDENT project, investigating ex-vivo drug profiling of tumours.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Pathologist-like explainable AI for interpretable Gleason grading in prostate cancer. Nature Communications, 16(1). View this article in WRRO
- Variation in cystectomy pathology reporting practice—results from an international survey of 212 pathologists. Virchows Archiv, 485, 879-888. View this article in WRRO
- Verification of molecular subtyping of bladder cancer in the GUSTO clinical trial. The Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research, 10(2). View this article in WRRO
- Hypoxia-induced SETX links replication stress with the unfolded protein response. Nature Communications, 12(1). View this article in WRRO
- Digital pathology for intraoperative frozen section diagnosis of thoracic specimens: an evaluation of a system using remote sampling and whole slide imaging diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 73(8), 503-506.
- Digital pathology in clinical use: where are we now and what is holding us back?. Histopathology, 70(1), 134-145.
All publications
Journal articles
- Pathologist-like explainable AI for interpretable Gleason grading in prostate cancer. Nature Communications, 16(1). View this article in WRRO
- Subtypes and Sequencing in Bladder Cancer: Powering Personalised Treatment or Extraneous Information?. European Urology, 88(5), 482-483.
- A phase Ib window of opportunity study of atezolizumab administered intravesically or direct injection in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer: Results of the single dose cohorts.. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 43(5_suppl), 773-773.
- Real-word outcomes for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: screened patients for the BRAVO trial. BJU International, 135(2), 329-338. View this article in WRRO
- Variation in cystectomy pathology reporting practice—results from an international survey of 212 pathologists. Virchows Archiv, 485, 879-888. View this article in WRRO
- Coeliac disease and microscopic colitis: the largest study assessing prognosis and risk of hospital admission. Nutrients, 16(13). View this article in WRRO
- Use of gene expression patterns to identify unique molecular subtypes in muscle invasive bladder cancer: GUSTO.. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 42(16_suppl), TPS4621-TPS4621.
- Gene of the month: the uroplakins. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 77(5), 291-296.
- Verification of molecular subtyping of bladder cancer in the GUSTO clinical trial. The Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research, 10(2). View this article in WRRO
- INVEST: A phase Ib window of opportunity study of atezolizumab administered either intravesically or direct tumour injection in patients with bladder cancer prior to radical cystectomy.. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 42(4_suppl), TPS710-TPS710.
- Digital pathology: a crucial piece of the rural and remote cancer care puzzle. Rural and Remote Health, 23(4). View this article in WRRO
- Gene of the month: GATA3. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 76(12), 793-797. View this article in WRRO
- Analysis of the distal urinary tract in larval and adult zebrafish reveals homology to the human system. Disease Models & Mechanisms, 16(7). View this article in WRRO
- Acute haemorrhage from a large renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma: diagnostic and management considerations in a teenage patient with a rare cancer. BMJ Case Reports, 16(5), e252351-e252351.
- TIME for a Change? Multimarker Assessment of the Tumour Immune Microenvironment and Metastatic Site Biopsy to Improve Immunotherapy Response Prediction in Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer. European Urology, 83(2), 143-144.
- Case of the month from the University of Sheffield, UK : expediting definitive treatment in patients with invasive bladder cancer : an MRI-guided pathway. BJU International, 129(6), 691-694. View this article in WRRO
- Defective repair of topoisomerase I induced chromosomal damage in Huntington’s disease. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 79(3). View this article in WRRO
- Geroprotectors and skeletal health : beyond the headlines. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 10. View this article in WRRO
- Gene of the month: NKX3.1. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 75(6), 361-364. View this article in WRRO
- Hypoxia-induced SETX links replication stress with the unfolded protein response. Nature Communications, 12(1). View this article in WRRO
- Occupational bladder cancer: a cross section survey of previous employments, tasks and exposures matched to cancer phenotypes. PLoS ONE, 15(10). View this article in WRRO
- A spindle cell tumour in the bladder. Diagnostic Histopathology, 26(7), 337-339.
- Prostatic-type tissue in the uterine cervix. Diagnostic Histopathology, 26(6), 298-300.
- Digital pathology for intraoperative frozen section diagnosis of thoracic specimens: an evaluation of a system using remote sampling and whole slide imaging diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 73(8), 503-506.
- Collision Tumor of Urothelial Cell Carcinoma and Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report and Review of the Contemporary Literature. Applied Immunohistochemistry & Molecular Morphology, 28(9), e82-e86.
- A challenging breast biopsy. Diagnostic Histopathology, 25(3), 120-121.
- Multicentre Post-EVAR Surveillance Evaluation Study (EVAR-SCREEN). European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, 57(4), 521-526.
- Fat clearance of upper gastrointestinal resection specimens increases lymph node yield and may result in nodal upstaging. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 72(1), 86-89.
- Devil in the Detail: Intratumour Heterogeneity and Personalised Medicine for Bladder Cancer. European Urology, 75(1), 23-24.
- EBV-associated ulceration in an immunocompromised patient. Diagnostic Histopathology, 24(7), 267-271. View this article in WRRO
- Digital pathology in clinical use: where are we now and what is holding us back?. Histopathology, 70(1), 134-145.
- A nurse-run clinic for patients with incidentally discovered small abdominal aortic aneurysms is feasible and cost-effective. Vascular, 23(2), 138-143.
- Post-operative bilateral adrenal haemorrhage: A case report. International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, 5(12), 1145-1147.
- Case Report: Cystic Adventitial Disease of the External Iliac Artery with Imaging Features of a Complicating Proximal Dissection. European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, 42(1), 132-132.
- Case Report: Cystic Adventitial Disease of the External Iliac Artery with Imaging Features of a Complicating Proximal Dissection. EJVES Extra, 21(6), e36-e38.
- A thrilling mass. New Zealand Medical Journal, 123(1327), 138-140.
- Audit of influenza vaccination in primary care.. Br J Gen Pract, 56(527), 461.
- Sinonasal alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma with PAX3::NCOA1 fusion expressing SOX10 and with nodal metastases: a double diagnostic pitfall. Journal of Clinical Pathology.
Book chapters
- Responses to cellular injuty In Cross S (Ed.), Underwood's Pathology: A Clinical Approach Elsevier
- Disorders of growth, differentiation and morphogenesis In Cross S (Ed.), Underwood's Pathology: A Clinical Approach Elsevier
- Digital pathology, Bancroft S Theory and Practice of Histological Techniques Eighth Edition (pp. 476-492).
Conference proceedings
- Spatial transcriptomics analysis of co-targeted PIM and PI3 K/mTOR in multikinase inhibitor and single kinase inhibitor combination-treated patient-derived prostate cancer explants. European Journal of Cancer, Vol. 174 (pp S64)
- Low Levels of Intra-Tumour Heterogeneity in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Vol. 249 (pp S12-S12)
- Combining Clinical and Academic Training in Pathology. JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Vol. 249 (pp S5-S5)
- Inspiring the Next Generation: The National Academic Trainees' Network. JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Vol. 249 (pp S23-S23)
- Neo-antigen Prediction in Bladder Cancer. JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Vol. 245 (pp S12-S12)
- When You See Stripes, Think Mountant Not Zebra: A Digital Pathology Critical Incident Case Report. JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Vol. 245 (pp S18-S18)
- The Role of the Pathologist in Malignancy of Unknown Origin: A Multicentre Trainee-Led Service Evaluation. JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Vol. 241 (pp S13-S13)
Preprints
- Analysis of the Distal Urinary Tract in Larval and Adult Zebrafish Reveals Unrecognized Homology to the Human System, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Pathologist-like explainable AI for interpretable Gleason grading in prostate cancer. Nature Communications, 16(1). View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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- Cath Weaver – Research Assistant
- Miriam Arrulo – Research Associate
- Jenny Down – Research Associate
- Grants
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- Cancer Research UK
- Jean Shanks Foundation/ Pathological Society
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Charity
- Yorkshire Cancer Research
- Industry funding and collaborations
- Teaching interests
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I teach medical students undertaking SSCs and Extended Clinical Placements in the histopathology department. Histopathology is linked to nearly all clinical specialities and is inherently visual. Teaching is usually based around macroscopy and dissection, and microscopy either using digital slides or at a conventional multi-header light microscope. Histopathology is also increasingly using molecular and genetic markers so provides a good platform for applying basic science to clinical practice.
- Teaching activities
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- Dentistry BDS year 2 Integrated human disease lectures
- Cancer biology and Therapeutics MSc lectures
- Academic tutor for MBChB and PhD students