Name: Professor Sarah Coupland
Qualifications: PhD, MBBS, FRCPath, FARVO
Position: Professor and Honorary Consultant in Pathology
E-mail: s.e.coupland@liverpool.ac.uk
Address:
Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Group
Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine
Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
3rd Floor, William Henry Duncan Building
6 West Derby Street
Liverpool
L7 8TX
United Kingdom
Link to Professor Sarah Coupland Publications
Prof. Coupland is a senior Consultant Histopathologist at the Liverpool University Foundation Hospital Trusts with expertise in Ophthalmic Pathology, Haematopathology, Molecular Pathology, and Biobanking. She leads one of the 4 supraregional NHSE Eye path services, receiving ophthalmic samples from a broad geographical patch, and enabling trainees from UK & overseas to experience ocular & molecular pathology. Her service was featured in the RCPath excellence blog (www.rcpath.org/discover-pathology/news/service-spotlight-liverpool-ocular-pathology-services). Further, she is Molecular pathology lead of the NHS North West Genomic Laboratory Hub, and aims to improve equity-of-access to panel testing/whole genome sequencing for cancer patients and those with rare-inherited diseases.
Prof. Coupland is also the current (and first female) ‘George Holt Chair of Pathology’ at the University of Liverpool, and leads the world-renowned ‘Liverpool-Ocular-Oncology-Research-Group’ (www.loorg.org), comprising ~30 clinicians, scientists, and students. LOORG’s research focusses on ocular melanomas, lymphomas and other eye cancers, and employs high-resolution techniques to better understand the development/progression of these tumours, to improve patient outcome. Sarah has also hosted undergraduate and high-school summer students (e.g. Nuffield scholars), and more recently the Pathological Society’s NATM, promoting academic Pathology. As Deputy Athena Swan lead & as former of President of Women-in-Vision UK, Prof. Coupland mentored & coached female academic clinicians.
From 2014- 2019, Prof. Coupland was also Director of the successful ‘North West Cancer Research Centre @UoL’ (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/nwcrc/). This comprised ~100 scientists, financed world-class cancer research across Liverpool-Merseyside, Bangor and Lancaster; sponsored 14 PhD-studentships; supported 20 Early Career Researchers via pump-primer grants (leading to 15x return on investment); ran annual Scientific Symposia/World Cancer Days & weekly seminar series; and organised outreach events with schools/patients/public (e.g. Tate/Liverpool City Council).
Nationally Sarah has engaged with the ‘RCPath’ (academic rep. for Consultant interviews; RCPath’s Minimum Data Set reviewer); with ‘The Pathological Society’ (General & Education Subcommittees; hosted the 2019 Winter Path Soc. meeting) and with the NCRI’s ‘CM-Path’, examining implementation of molecular diagnostic tests & ‘disruptive’ technologies (e.g. digital pathology) in the NHS.
Internationally, Prof. Coupland is President of the “International Society of Ophthalmic Pathology”. She contributed significantly to the TNM/AJCC staging for Ophthalmic Cancers (7th/8th Edns), and more recently to the ‘WHO Tumours of the Eye’ volume (4th Edn). Previous posts were: Vice-President of the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) (2017-8) and ARVO Trustee in ‘Anatomy-Pathology-Oncology’; Eye-Pathology Lead for the “European Society of Pathology”; and Past-President of the European “Ophthalmic-Oncology-Group”.
Prof. Coupland has published ~300 scientific articles (H-index, 48 Scopus), written ~60 Chapters, and has given ~180 keynote lectures. She was awarded the prestigious "International Council of Ophthalmology's" Pathology prize (given out every 4 years only) & the 2019 RCPath Excellence Award (https://www.rcpath.org/discover-pathology/news/rcpath-excellence-awards-winners-announced.html).
Finally, she was included in the “Pathologist Power List 2019”: https://thepathologist.com/power-list/2019 and of 2020: https://thepathologist.com/power-list/2020/big-breakthroughs/sarah-coupland
