Biomedical Science
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Dr James Pritchett
Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science
My profile
Biography
I work to combine my research expertise with my passion for teaching and public engagement. My research aims to understand how the extracellular matrix and mechano-signalling contribute to fibrotic disease. I use my research to inform innovative undergraduate and postgraduate Biomedical teaching programmes for diverse student populations.
Academic and professional qualifications
- BSc Biochemistry, University of Leeds 2002
- PhD, Multiple roles for the chemokine SDF-1 in forebrain development, University of Manchester, 2006
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2014
- Fellow of The Higher Education Academy, 2018
- PGCert in Higher Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2018
Expert reviewer for external funding bodies
- BBSRC - Member of Pool of Experts
- British Heart Foundation
- Medical Research Council
Government and industry links
Royal Society Westminster Pairing Scheme. In December 2017 I spent a week in Westminster paired with Manchester MP Lucy Powell: https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/research/news-and-events/story/?id=6799
Prizes and awards
• Aegean Conferences Presentation Prize (Sept 2016)
• European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Registration Bursary (Feb 2014)
• 2 British Association for the Study of the Liver Presentation Prizes (Sept 2012 & June 2014)
• 2 EASL Travel Bursaries (Feb 2010, Jan 2011)
• British Heart Foundation travel grant (Oct 2008)
• BRAIN travel awards (Nov 2005, Aug 2006)
Visiting and honorary positions
Honorary Lecturer, University of Manchester
Membership of professional associations
Royal Society of Biology
British Society for Cell Biology
The Biochemical Society
British Association for the Study of the Liver
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Outreach and Engagement
I was filmed by the Royal Society of Biology during their “Ask a Biologist” Event at New Scientist Live: https://youtu.be/1WWEBV7XqAA
I was interviewed for an episode of The Neutrinos Are Mutating Podcast. I discussed the “science” behind the film Deadpool and the possibilities offered by regenerative medicine in the future: https://tnampodcast.com/regeneration/
I am working in partnership with Abraham Moss Warriors community sports club in North Manchester to develop and run an evening science club. This is funded by the Wellcome Trust and BBC Children in Need’s Curiosity Project. In summer 2018 the young scientists from the club spent a week on campus doing hands on science activities. This finished with a graduation ceremony where the children made presentations about what they had learned.
Projects
I have external funding from Guts UK. I have identified a unique research niche that builds on my existing track record in fibrosis research. My current work on cytoskeleton associated proteins in fibrosis was presented at the International Liver Congress (2020) and the British Liver Meeting (2020). I have given invited research talks including at the University of Birmingham Centre for Live rand Gastrointestinal Research (Jan 2020), the Kellgren Centre, University of Manchester (Feb 2021) and at the University of Oslo (March 2022).
- Guts UK Development Award: Decoding Yes Associated Protein 1 Driven Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation.
- Health Innovation Manchester, £10k (March 2023). Exploring the Methylome: How Differences in Gene Methylation Patterns May Inform Us About the Mechanisms Underlying the Development of Proteinuria in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus(T2D) as a Marker for Cardiovascular Disease Risk
- Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust/Manchester Met Match Funded PhD Studentship, £92k (Sept 2022): Serum miRNAs as novel biomarkers and modulators of rapidly progressing Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
- Health Innovation Manchester, £10k (March 2022) Sequencing Patient-Derived Circulating micro-RNAs to Identify Potential Biomarkers of Systemic Sclerosis
Teaching
I designed and currently lead a 2nd year unit on our IBMS and Royal Society of Biology accredited Biomedical Science degree programme: Techniques and Applications in Biomedical Science. This unit is designed to give our large and diverse student population insight into the latest tools used in biomedical research, and in clinical applications. I also teach at all levels of our undergraduate programmes, on our taught MSc in Biomedical Science and on the NHS Scientist Training Program.
Biomedical Science
With our MSc Biomedical Science course, you’ll gain the technical skills and in-depth understanding to build defences against disease, harnessing new therapy, wonder drugs and technology. &…
Supervision
I am Department Lead for the University’s Doctoral College, and supervise PhD, MRes and DClinSci research students.
Research outputs
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Journal articles
Jokl, E., Mullan, A.F., Simpson, K., Birchall, L., Pearmain, L., Martin, K., Pritchett, J., Raza, S., Shah, R., Hodson, N.W., Williams, C.J., Camacho, E., Zeef, L., Donaldson, I., Athwal, V.S., Hanley, N.A., Piper Hanley, K. (2023) 'PAK1-dependent mechanotransduction enables myofibroblast nuclear adaptation and chromatin organization during fibrosis.' Cell Reports, 42(11)
Jokl, E., Llewellyn, J., Simpson, K., Adegboye, O., Pritchett, J., Zeef, L., Donaldson, I., Athwal, V.S., Purssell, H., Street, O., Bennett, L., Guha, I.N., Hanley, N.A., Meng, Q.J., Piper Hanley, K. (2023) 'Circadian disruption primes myofibroblasts for accelerated activation as a mechanism underpinning fibrotic progression in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.' Cells, 12(12) pp. 1582-1582.
Verran, J., Illingworth, S., Pritchett, J., Redfern, J. (2023) 'Co-development, co-delivery, and evaluation of a Medical Writing module at master’s level.' Medical Writing, 32(1) pp. 92-98.
Silvagnoli, L.M., Shepherd, C., Pritchett, J., Gardner, J. (2022) 'Optimizing Readability and Format of Plain Language Summaries for Medical Research Articles: Cross-sectional Survey Study.' Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(1)
Pilkington, J.J., Davies, T.W., Schaff, O., Alexander, M.Y., Pritchett, J., Wilkinson, F.L., Sheen, A.J. (2021) 'Systemic biomarkers currently implicated in the formation of abdominal wall hernia: A systematic review of the literature.' American Journal of Surgery, 222(1) pp. 56-66.
Raza, S., Jokl, E., Pritchett, J., Martin, K., Su, K., Simpson, K., Birchall, L., Mullan, A.F., Athwal, V.S., Doherty, D.T., Zeef, L., Henderson, N.C., Kalra, P.A., Hanley, N.A., Hanley, K.P. (2021) 'SOX9 is required for kidney fibrosis and activates NAV3 to drive renal myofibroblast function.' Science Signaling, 14(672)
Redfern, J., Ratova, M., Dean, A.P., Pritchett, J., Grao, M., Verran, J., Kelly, P. (2020) 'Visible light photocatalytic bismuth oxide coatings are effective at suppressing aquatic cyanobacteria and degrading free-floating genomic DNA.' Journal of Environmental Sciences, 104pp. 128-136.
Martínez Silvagnoli, L., Shepherd, C., Pritchett, J., Gardner, J. (2020) 'Optimizing Readability and Format of Plain Language Summaries for Medical Research Articles: Cross-sectional Survey Study (Preprint).'
Soydemir, S., Comella, O., Abdelmottaleb, D., Pritchett, J. (2019) 'Does Mechanocrine Signalling by Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells Offer New Opportunities for the Development of Anti-fibrotics?.' Frontiers in Medicine, 6(312) pp. 1-7.
Athwal, V.S., Pritchett, J., Martin, K., Llewellyn, J., Scott, J., Harvey, E., Zaitoun, A.M., Mullan, A.F., Zeef, L.A.H., Friedman, S.L., Irving, W.L., Hanley, N.A., Guha, I.N., Piper Hanley, K. (2018) 'SOX9 regulated matrix proteins are increased in patients serum and correlate with severity of liver fibrosis.' Scientific Reports, 8
Malic, S., Rai, S., Redfern, J., Pritchett, J., Liauw, C., Verran, J., Tosheva, L. (2018) 'Zeolite-embedded silver extends antimicrobial activity of dental acrylics.' Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 173pp. 52-57.
Athwal, V.S., Pritchett, J., Llewellyn, J., Martin, K., Camacho, E., Raza, S.M.A., Phythian‐Adams, A., Birchall, L.J., Mullan, A.F., Su, K., Pearmain, L., Dolman, G., Zaitoun, A.M., Friedman, S.L., MacDonald, A., Irving, W.L., Guha, I.N., Hanley, N.A., Piper Hanley, K. (2017) 'SOX9 predicts progression toward cirrhosis in patients while its loss protects against liver fibrosis.' EMBO Molecular Medicine, 9(12) pp. 1696-1710.
Martin, K., Pritchett, J., Llewellyn, J., Mullan, A.F., Athwal, V.S., Dobie, R., Harvey, E., Zeef, L., Farrow, S., Streuli, C., Henderson, N.C., Friedman, S.L., Hanley, N.A., Piper Hanley, K. (2016) 'PAK proteins and YAP-1 signalling downstream of integrin beta-1 in myofibroblasts promote liver fibrosis.' Nature Communications, 7
Pritchett, J., Athwal, V.S., Harvey, E., Martin, K., Llewellyn, J., Ireland, P., Nicolaides, A., Humphries, M.J., Bobola, N., Hanley, N.A., Piper Hanley, K. (2014) 'Epimorphin alters the inhibitory effects of SOX9 on Mmp13 in activated hepatic stellate cells..' PloS one, 9(6)
Pritchett, J., Harvey, E., Athwal, V., Berry, A., Rowe, C., Oakley, F., Moles, A., Mann, D.A., Bobola, N., Sharrocks, A.D., Thomson, B.J., Zaitoun, A.M., Irving, W.L., Guha, I.N., Hanley, N.A., Hanley, K.P. (2012) 'Osteopontin is a novel downstream target of SOX9 with diagnostic implications for progression of liver fibrosis in humans.' Hepatology, 56(3) pp. 1108-1116.
Pritchett, J., Athwal, V., Roberts, N., Hanley, N.A., Hanley, K.P. (2011) 'Understanding the role of SOX9 in acquired diseases: Lessons from development.' Trends in Molecular Medicine, 17(3) pp. 166-174.
Clarke, C.J., Forman, S., Pritchett, J., Ohanian, V., Ohanian, J. (2008) 'Phospholipase C-δ
1 modulates sustained contraction of rat mesenteric small arteries in response to noradrenaline, but not endothelin-1.' American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 295(2)Liapi, A., Pritchett, J., Jones, O., Fujii, N., Parnavelas, J.G., Nadarajah, B. (2007) 'Stromal-derived factor 1 signalling regulates radial and tangential migration in the developing cerebral cortex.' Developmental Neuroscience, 30(1-3) pp. 117-131.
Pritchett, J., Wright, C., Zeef, L., Nadarajah, B. (2007) 'Stromal derived factor-1 exerts differential regulation on distinct cortical cell populations in vitro.' BMC Developmental Biology, 7
Parkin, S.L., Pritchett, J.P., Grimsditch, D.C., Bruckdorfer, K.R., Sahota, P.K., Lloyd, A., Overend, P., Benson, G.M. (2004) 'Circulating levels of the chemokines JE and KC in female C3H apolipoprotein-E-deficient and C57BL apolipoprotein-E-deficient mice as potential markers of atherosclerosis development.' Biochemical Society Transactions, 32(1) pp. 128-130.
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Conference papers
Gardner, J., Silvagnoli, L.M.I., Shepherd, C., Pritchett, J. (2019) 'Evaluation of plain-language summaries (PLSs): optimizing readability and format.' 35. TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, pp. 36-36.
Scott, J., Jokl, E., Pritchett, J., Jones, A., Barry, P., Hanley, K.P., Athwal, V. (2019) 'Fibroscan improves diagnosis of cystic fibrosis related liver disease.' In International Liver Congress / 54th Annual Meeting of the European-Association-for-the-Study-of-the-Liver (EASL). 70. Vienna, AUSTRIA, 10/4/2019 - 14/4/2019. ELSEVIER, pp. E122-E123.
Athwal, V., Pritchett, J., Scott, J., Martin, K., Irving, W., Guha, N., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2019) 'SOX9 regulates extracellular matrix proteins in liver fibrosis that correlate with severity of fibrosis.' In International Liver Congress / 54th Annual Meeting of the European-Association-for-the-Study-of-the-Liver (EASL). 70. Vienna, AUSTRIA, 10/4/2019 - 14/4/2019. ELSEVIER, pp. E57-E57.
Chauhan, A., Lalor, T., Watson, S., Adams, D., Farrah, T.E., Anand, A., Kimmitt, R., Mills, N.L., Webb, D.J., Dhaun, N., Kalla, R., Adams, A., Vatn, S., Bonfliglio, F., Nimmo, E., Kennedy, N., Ventham, N., Vatn, M., Ricanek, P., Halfvarson, J., Soderhollm, J., Pierik, M., Torkvist, L., Gomollon, F., Gut, I., Jahnsen, J., Satsangi, J., Body, R., Almashali, M., McDowell, G., Taylor, P., Lacey, A., Rees, A., Dayan, C., Lazarus, J., Nelson, S., Okosieme, O., Corcoran, D., Young, R., Ciadella, P., McCartney, P., Bajrangee, A., Hennigan, B., Collison, D., Carrick, D., Shaukat, A., Good, R., Watkins, S., McEntegart, M., Watt, J., Welsh, P., Sattar, N., McConnachie, A., Oldroyd, K., Berry, C., Parks, T., Auckland, K., Mentzer, A.J., Kado, J., Mirabel, M.M., Kauwe, J.K., Robson, K.J., Mittal, B., Steer, A.C., Hill, A.V.S., Akbar, M., Forrester, M., Virlan, A.T., Gilmour, A., Wallace, C., Paterson, C., Reid, D., Siebert, S., Porter, D., Liversidge, J., McInnes, I., Goodyear, C., Athwal, V., Pritchett, J., Zaitoun, A., Irving, W., Guha, I.N., Hanley, N.A., Hanley, K.P., Briggs, T., Reynolds, J., Rice, G., Bondet, V., Bruce, E., Crow, Y., Duffy, D., Parker, B., Bruce, I., Martin, K., Pritchett, J., Aoibheann Mullan, M., Llewellyn, J., Athwal, V., Zeef, L., Farrow, S., Streuli, C., Henderson, N., Friedman, S., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2018) 'Scientific Business Abstracts of the 112th Annual Meeting of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland..' 111. pp. 920-924.
Chauhan, A., Lalor, T., Watson, S., Adams, D., Farrah, T.E., Anand, A., Kimmitt, R., Mills, N.L., Webb, D.J., Dhaun, N., Kalla, R., Adams, A., Vatn, S., Bonfliglio, F., Nimmo, E., Kennedy, N., Ventham, N., Vatn, M., Ricanek, P., Halfvarson, J., Soderhollm, J., Pierik, M., Torkvist, L., Gomollon, F., Gut, I., Jahnsen, J., Satsangi, J., Body, R., Almashali, M., McDowell, G., Taylor, P., Lacey, A., Rees, A., Dayan, C., Lazarus, J., Nelson, S., Okosieme, O., Corcoran, D., Young, R., Ciadella, P., McCartney, P., Bajrangee, A., Hennigan, B., Collison, D., Carrick, D., Shaukat, A., Good, R., Watkins, S., McEntegart, M., Watt, J., Welsh, P., Sattar, N., McConnachie, A., Oldroyd, K., Berry, C., Parks, T., Auckland, K., Mentzer, A.J., Kado, J., Mirabel, M.M., Kauwe, J.K., Robson, K.J., Mittal, B., Steer, A.C., Hill, A.V.S., Akbar, M., Forrester, M., Virlan, A.T., Gilmour, A., Wallace, C., Paterson, C., Reid, D., Siebert, S., Porter, D., Liversidge, J., McInnes, I., Goodyear, C., Athwal, V., Pritchett, J., Zaitoun, A., Irving, W., Guha, I.N., Hanley, N.A., Hanley, K.P., Briggs, T., Reynolds, J., Rice, G., Bondet, V., Bruce, E., Crow, Y., Duffy, D., Parker, B., Bruce, I., Martin, K., Aoibheann Mullan, M., Llewellyn, J., Zeef, L., Farrow, S. (2018) 'Scientific Business Abstracts of the 112th Annual Meeting of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland.' 111. pp. 920-924.
Clausi, V., Shepherd, C., Gardner, J., Pritchett, J., Berrie, A. (2018) 'Do corresponding authors value the support of professional medical writers?.' 34. TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, pp. 33-33.
Athwal, V.S., Pritchett, J., Zaitoun, A., Irving, W., Guha, I.N., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2017) 'SOX9 predicts progression of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C.' In 68th Annual Meeting of the American-Association-for-the-Study-of-Liver-Diseases (AASLD) / Liver Meeting. 66. Washington, DC, 20/10/2017 - 24/10/2017. WILEY, pp. 239A-239A.
Pritchett, J., Llewellyn, J., Athwal, V.S., Martin, K., Harvey, E., Friedman, S.L., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2017) 'YAP Regulated SOX9 Expression Promotes Liver Fibrosis..' In 68th Annual Meeting of the American-Association-for-the-Study-of-Liver-Diseases (AASLD) / Liver Meeting. 66. Washington, DC, 20/10/2017 - 24/10/2017. WILEY, pp. 209A-210A.
Martin, K., Pritchett, J., Harvey, E., Athwal, V., Llewellyn, J., Streuli, C., Zeef, L., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2014) 'INTEGRIN beta 1 REGULATES HEPATIC STELLATE CELL ACTIVATION VIA THE ACTIN MYOSIN CYTOSKELETON.' In 49th Annual International Liver Congress of the European-Association-for-the-Study-of-the-Liver. 60. London, ENGLAND, 9/4/2014 - 13/4/2014. ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, pp. S276-S276.
Martin, K., Pritchett, J., Harvey, E., Athwal, V., Llewellyn, J., Streuli, C., Zeef, L., Hanley, N., Piper Hanley, K. (2014) 'P621 INTEGREN β1 REGULATES HEPATIC STELLATE CELL ACTIVATION VIA THE ACTIN MYOSIN CYTOSKELETON.' 60. Elsevier BV, pp. S276-S276.
Pritchett, J.P., Martin, K., Llewellyn, J., Henderson, D., Athwal, V., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2014) 'MECHANOSENSITIVE SIGNALLING VIA Yap/Taz DURING HEPATIC STELLATE CELL ACTIVATION.' In 49th Annual International Liver Congress of the European-Association-for-the-Study-of-the-Liver. 60. London, ENGLAND, 9/4/2014 - 13/4/2014. ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, pp. S274-S275.
Pritchett, J.P., Martin, K., Llewellyn, J., Henderson, D., Athwal, V., Hanley, N., Piper Hanley, K. (2014) 'P617 MECHANOSENSITIVE SIGNALLING VIA Yap/Taz DURING HEPATIC STELLATE CELL ACTIVATION.' 60. Elsevier BV, pp. S274-S275.
Martin, K., Pritchett, J., Harvey, E., Athwal, V., Streuli, C., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2013) 'UNDERSTANDING INTEGRIN SIGNALLING DURING LIVER FIBROSIS PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO THEIR MODULATION AS A THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY TO TREAT THE DISEASE.' In International Liver Congress / 48th Annual Meeting of the European-Association-for-the-Study-of-the-Liver (EASL). 58. Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, 24/4/2013 - 28/4/2013. ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, pp. S458-S458.
Martin, K., Pritchett, J., Harvey, E., Athwal, V., Streuli, C., Hanley, N., Piper Hanley, K. (2013) '1123 UNDERSTANDING INTEGRIN SIGNALLING DURING LIVER FIBROSIS PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO THEIR MODULATION AS A THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY TO TREAT THE DISEASE.' 58. Elsevier BV, pp. S458-S458.
Athwal, V., Pritchett, J., Harvey, E., Ireland, P., Martin, K., Dolman, G.E., Irving, W., Guha, I.N., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2012) 'Identification of SOX9 extracellular matrix targets in liver fibrosis provides insight into novel biomarkers of disease.' In 63rd Annual Meeting of the American-Association-for-the-Study-of-Liver-Diseases (AASLD). 56. Boston, MA, 9/11/2012 - 13/11/2012. WILEY-BLACKWELL, pp. 262A-262A.
Pritchett, J., Athwal, V., Harvey, E., Martin, K., Ireland, P., Nicolaides, A.T., Irving, W., Guha, I.N., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2012) 'Epimorphin signaling is associated with a quiescent-like HSC phenotype with implications for non invasive assay development in liver fibrosis.' In 63rd Annual Meeting of the American-Association-for-the-Study-of-Liver-Diseases (AASLD). 56. Boston, MA, 9/11/2012 - 13/11/2012. WILEY-BLACKWELL, pp. 775A-775A.
Pritchett, J., Athwal, V.S., Harvey, E., Oakley, F., Mann, D.A., Hanley, N., Piper-Hanley, K. (2010) 'IDENTIFICATION OF SOX9 AS A NOVEL MECHANISM TO EXPLAIN ASPECTS OF LIVER FIBROSIS.' In Annual General Meeting of the British-Society-of-Gastroenterology. 59. Liverpool, ENGLAND, 22/3/2010 - 25/3/2010. B M J PUBLISHING GROUP, pp. A12-A12.
Pritchett, J., Athwal, V., Harvey, E., Oakley, F., Mann, D., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2010) '104 SOX9 IS A CRITICAL REGULATOR OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX DEPOSITION DURING LIVER FIBROSIS.' 52. Elsevier BV, pp. S47-S47.
Pritchett, J., Athwal, V., Harvey, E., Oakley, F., Mann, D., Hanley, N., Hanley, K.P. (2010) 'SOX9 IS A CRITICAL REGULATOR OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX DEPOSITION DURING LIVER FIBROSIS.' In 45th Annual Meeting of the European-Association-for-the-Study-of-the-Liver. 52. Vienna, AUSTRIA, 14/4/2010 - 18/4/2010. ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, pp. S47-S47.
Pritchett, J., Harris, S., Ohanian, V., Ohanian, J. (2008) 'Activation of phospholipase C and alpha 1D adrenoreceptors in rat mesenteric small arteries.' In 13th Annual Meeting of the European-Council-for-Cardiovascular-Research. 52. Nice, FRANCE, 10/10/2008 - 12/10/2008. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, pp. 769-769.
Clarke, C.J., Forman, S., Pritchett, J., Ohanian, V., Ohanian, J. (2008) 'Phospholipase C alpha 1 modulates sustained contraction of rat mesenteric small arteries in response to noradrenaline, but not endothelin-1.' In 13th Annual Meeting of the European-Council-for-Cardiovascular-Research. 52. Nice, FRANCE, 10/10/2008 - 12/10/2008. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, pp. 769-769.
Pritchett, J., Wright, C., Zeef, L., Nadarajah, B. (2006) 'Sdf-1/Cxcr4 signalling regulates proliferation during cortical development.' In 16th Biennial Meeting of the International-Society-for-Developmental-Neuroscience. 24. Banff, CANADA, 24/8/2006 - 28/8/2006. PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, pp. 556-556.
Pritchett, J. (2002) 'My experience of work placement.' 30. Portland Press Ltd., pp. A26-A26.
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Other
Athwal, V.S., Pritchett, J., Martin, K., Llewellyn, J., Scott, J., Harvey, E., Zaitoun, A.M., Mullan, A.F., Zeef, L.A.H., Friedman, S.L., Irving, W.L., Hanley, N.A., Guha, I.N., Piper Hanley, K. (2019) Publisher Correction: SOX9 regulated matrix proteins are increased in patients serum and correlate with severity of liver fibrosis..