Study Management Group

The Study Management Group is responsible for the day-to-day management of the study. This group comprises the Chief Investigator, Co-investigators and the Study Managers.

Professor Carsten Flohr (Chief Investigator)

St John’s Institute of Dermatology, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London.

Manisha Baden (Study Manager)

St John’s Institute of Dermatology, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Nick Reynolds (Co-Investigator and A-STAR Bio Lead)

Royal Infirmary and University of Newcastle.

Tom Ewen (A-STAR Bio Manager)

Newcastle University

The Steering Committee (SSC)

SSC is an essential group that provides overall supervision for the study. It is comprised of study members, independent advisors, statisticians, health economists and patient representatives. The Committee meets around 2-3 times a year.

A list of the current SSC members is published below:

• Mike Ardern-Jones (Associate Professor of Dermatology), University of Southampton: Committee Chair

• Shehnaz Ahmed (BAD Director of Research and Publishing), British Association of Dermatologists

• Paula Beattie (Consultant Paediatric Dermatologist), Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow

• Sara Brown (Professor of Molecular & Genetic Dermatology), University of Edinburgh

• Tim Burton (Patient Representative), Independent Patient Representative

• Mike Cork (Professor of Dermatology), Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

• Carsten Flohr (Professor of Dermatology and Chief Investigator), King’s College London

• Ross Hearn (Consultant Dermatologist), Ninewells Hospital and Medical School

• John Ingram (Senior Lecturer and Consultant Dermatologist), Welsh Institute of Dermatology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff

• Alan Irvine (Professor of Dermatology), Trinity College Dublin

• Alice Lambert (Patient Representative), National Eczema Society

• Simon Morrison (BAD CEO), British Association of Dermatologist

• Graham Ogg (Professor of Dermatology), Oxford University

• David Prieto-Merino (Associate Professor), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Catholic University of Murcia (Spain)
  

• Nick Reynolds (Professor of Dermatology), University of Newcastle

• Mandy Wan (Research Pharmacist), Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

• Richard Warren (Professor of Dermatology and Therapeutics and Honorary Consultant Dermatologist), The University of Manchester

• Richard Woolf (Consultant Dermatologist), Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Study Funders

Collaborators:

OpenApp

OpenApp is a software company focusing on healthcare. It is providing eCRF for A*STAR.

Tim Burton – Independent Patient Representative

Tim Burton is part of the Steering Committee. An eczema patient who has had severe atopic eczema for many years. A member of the HOME initiative, the UKDCTN steering and executive committees and patient panel member of the CEBD and other PPI activities. Experience with clinical trials and studies. Not directly affiliated with any eczema organisation.

Alice Lambert (National Eczema Society)

Alice Lambert, Steering Committee patient representative

Alice is a Director of Services at the National Eczema Society, a charity registered in England, Wales and Scotland. The NES supports millions of people with information and advice about eczema and its management and treatment, which we deliver through our website, social media, publications and nurse-support helpline. We also raise awareness of the needs of those with eczema with healthcare professionals, teachers and the government.

Professor Andrea Manca – Health Economist

Andrea Manca (http://www.york.ac.uk/che/staff/research/andrea-manca/) is Professor of Health Economics and member of the Team for Economic Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment (TEEHTA), part of the Centre for Health Economics (CHE), at the University of York (UK). TEEHTA is one of the largest research groups in the world focussing on HTA in general and economic evaluation in particular. Prof. Manca has an established international reputation for his research on quantitative methods for economic evaluation to support decision making in healthcare. His specialist expertise is the development and application of statistical approaches (a) to analyse multinational healthcare cost and health outcomes data with a view to enhance their generalisability from one country to another; (b) to address the statistical challenges intrinsic to the use of individual patient data from multiple sources to derive input parameters for use in economic evaluation models, and (c) to facilitate value-based assessments of stratified and personalised medicine technologies. He currently leads a research programme on the economics of personalised medicine at the University of York (https://www.york.ac.uk/che/research/teehta/personalised- medicine) and has previously led other important programmes of methodological research supported – initially – by the Wellcome Trust and – subsequently – by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Prof. Manca has been co-applicant in several successful methodological and applied research projects funded by leading national (e.g. MRC, the NIHR) and international organisations (The European Commission). He is currently work-package leader in the H2020 project MDS-Right (https://mds-europe.eu/right) and contributes to the health economics component of the IMI2 H2020 funded project HARMONY (https://www.harmony-alliance.eu). In his career Prof. Manca has supervised a large number of research projects and has evaluated drugs, medical devices and other technologies in several clinical areas, including oncology, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic pain, mental health, gynaecology and obstetrics, COPD, and osteoporosis. Prof. Manca is currently member of the NICE Technology Appraisal Committee.

Professor Edel O’Toole – Human Genetics

Queen Mary University of London. Responsible for filaggrin genotyping for A*STAR participants.

Professor David Prieto Merino – Statistical Lead for A-STAR

David Prieto-Merino is Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and at the Catholic University of Murcia, in Spain. He also works part-time as a consultant in biostatistics. David Studied econometrics in Spain and Mathematics at the Open University, he holds a Masters in Computing and Information systems and a PhD in epidemiology. David has been analysing biomedical data and developing biostatistical methods for more than 20 years. His research areas include clinical trials,  risk prediction models, pharmacoepidemiology and Bayesian methods. He is currently studying methods for statistical analysis of complex databases such as metabolomics, genomics, proteomics, and electronic medical records.

Eczema Outreach Support

Magali Redding forms part of the Steering Committee as a patient representative on behalf of Eczema Outreach Support. Magali is the founding CEO of EOS and mum of a child with eczema.

Mandy Wan – Pharmacist

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Patient & Public Involvement

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) provides patients, their carers and the public with a real opportunity to influence service delivery by creating a culture where NHS professionals and clinical researchers are actively listening and responding to the views of patients. Patients, carers, and the public are essential to our work. PPI are our greatest strength, and we could not do our work without their help.

From the start of the A-STAR project, we have therefore engaged with a number of patient representatives to ensure the study met the needs of patients. Currently, three patient representatives sit on the Study Steering Committee and have for instance assisted with the development of all patient-facing material. Our Collaborators are: Tim Burton (independent patient representative), Alice Lambert (National Eczema Society) and Magali Redding (Eczema Outreach Support).

If you wish to get involved please do get in touch with the Study Co-ordinating Centre.

Pharmaceutical Support

ASTAR is supported by Abbvie, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Sanofi.