Dr Alice Lapthorn

Alice is a Senior Research Fellow in ARU's Fibrosis Research Group, part of the Medical Technology Research Centre (MTRC). Her research focusses on assay development to find drugs for the prevention of fibrosis. 

[email protected]

Background

Alice obtained her BSc in Biomedical Science from Queen Mary, University of London, where her final year research project investigated the role of PI3K signalling in Crohn’s & Colitis. She started her PhD in 2017 at Anglia Ruskin University, where her research focussed on using phenotypic screening to identify novel medicines to prevent hypertrophic scar formation.

Alice has continued her work in phenotypic screening and has developed phenotypic assays for several fibrotic disorders (eg intra-abdominal adhesions and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) in collaboration with Portsmouth Hospitals and Mid & South Essex NHS Trusts. Alice is still focusing on her dermatological research, with the hope to take the drug she identified in her PhD into clinical trials for prevention of hypertrophic scars.

Research interests

• Fibrosis and fibroproliferative disorders

• Phenotypic drug discovery and assay development

• Hypertrophic scarring

• Wound healing

Areas of research supervision

• Cell biology
• Pharmacology and drug discovery

Qualifications

• PhD Medical Science, Anglia Ruskin University (2021)
• BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science, Queen Mary, University of London (2017)

Memberships, editorial boards

External engagement:

• British Society for Investigative Dermatology, ECR Member (January 2022–present)
• British Pharmacological Society, ECR member since (June 2018–present)
• British Pharmacological Society Honors and Fellows Panel, ECR Representative (January 2026–December 2029)

Academic contributions:

• Member of the ARU HeMS School Research Ethics Panel (June 2023–present)
• Member of the ARU HeMS Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (September 2023–present)
• Independent Viva Chair for ARU (November 2023–present)
• Post-doctoral Representative on the ARU Research & Innovation Committee (May 2024–May 2026)
• Person Designate for ARU Chelmsford’s HTA Research License, and Chair of HeMS Human Biological Material Committee (January 2026–present)

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

Research funding:

• Guts UK Early Career Researcher Development Grant 2022 – £15,000 for 1 year (PI)
• British Skin Foundation Small Grant Award 2022 – £9,984.42 for 1 year (PI)
• European Society for Sexual Medicine Research Award 2023 – €20,000 for 1.5 years (Co-I)
• British Dupuytren’s Society Research Award 2024 – £20,000 for 3 years (Co-I)

Selected recent publications

AR. Lapthorn, M. Nelson, S. Khan, KM. Feltham, P. Dzewulski & S. Cellek. Identification of pathways that drive myofibroblast transformation in hypertrophic scars. Fibrosis: 2025; 3(4):10011. DOI: 10.70322/fibrosis.2025.10011

AR. Lapthorn, SL. Harding-Fox, KM. Feltham, MM. Ilg & S. Cellek. Discovery of novel anti-fibrotics through phenotypic screening. Drug Discovery Today: 2025; 30(9):104450. DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2025.104450

MM. Ilg, AR. Lapthorn, SL. Harding, T. Minhas, G. Koduri, SA. Bustin & S. Cellek. Development of a phenotypic screening assay to discover adjuvant treatments to prevent metastasis. Frontiers in Pharmacology: 2025; 16:1526495. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1526495

AR. Lapthorn, SL. Harding, KM. Feltham, D. Sathyananth, DC. Salisbury & S. Cellek. A review of the current landscape of anti-fibrotic medicines. Fibrosis: 2024; 2(10005). DOI: 10.70322/fibrosis.2024.10005

MM. Ilg, S. Harding, AR. Lapthorn, S. Kirvell, DJ. Ralph, SA. Bustin, G. Ball & S. Cellek. Temporal gene signature of myofibroblast transformation in Peyronie’s disease: first insights into the molecular mechanisms of irreversibility. Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2024; qdae006. DOI: 10.1093/jsxmed/qdae006 – Winner of the ISSM Journal Best Paper GOLD Prize (JSM) 2024

AR. Lapthorn, MM. Ilg, P. Dziewulski & S. Cellek. Hydroxypyridone anti-fungals selectively induce myofibroblast apoptosis in an in vitro model of hypertrophic scars. European Journal of Pharmacology. 2024; 967:176369. DOI: /10.1016/j.ejphar.2024.176369

MM. Ilg, AR. Lapthorn, DJ. Ralph, & S. Cellek. Phenotypic screening of 1,953 FDA-approved drugs reveals 26 hits with potential for repurposing for Peyronie’s disease. PLOS One. 2022; 17(12): e0277646. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277646

AR. Lapthorn, MM. Ilg, JV. Sullivan, P. Dziewulski & S. Cellek. Phenotypic screening identifies hydroxypyridone anti-fungals as novel medicines for the prevention of hypertrophic scars. European Journal of Pharmacology. 2022; 937:175374. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2022.175374

Recent presentations and conferences

Poster presentation at the British Pharmacological Society Annual Meeting, 2025 (Belfast, UK) – Shortlisted for Best Poster Prize in the Drug Discovery Category.

Poster presentation at the British Society for Investigative Dermatology Annual Meeting, 2023, 2024 & 2025 (Glasgow, Southampton and London, UK).

Recipient of the 2024/25 ARU Vice Chancellor’s Research & Innovation Award for Outstanding Early Career Researcher.

Invited speaker at the British Society of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting, 2024 (Birmingham, UK).

Poster presentation as a finalist in the STEM for Britain 2023 competition (London, UK).

Poster presentation at the European Society for Dermatological Research Annual Meeting, 2022 (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) – Recipient of Best Poster award.

Invited speaker at the British Association of Dermatologists Annual Meeting, 2022 (Glasgow, UK).

Poster presentation at the Extracellular Matrix Pharmacology Congress, 2022 (Copenhagen, Denmark).

Oral presentation at the British Society for Investigative Dermatology Annual Meeting, 2022 (Newcastle, UK) – Recipient of the BSID travel bursary and winner of Best Oral Presentation by a Post-Doctoral Scientist.