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Staff Profile

Dr Steven Masson

Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer

  • Telephone: 0191 244 8567
  • Address: Liver Unit,
    Freeman Hospital,
    Newcastle upon Tyne,
    NE7 7DN
Background

I am a Consultant Transplant Hepatologist based at the Regional Liver and Transplant Unit, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University.


My specialist clinical and research interests are alcohol-related liver disease, genetic haemochromatosis, cirrhosis and liver transplantation.   I have a strong active research program, with a current focus on improving outcomes in alcohol-related liver disease and liver transplantation. 


I am the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR) Hepatology Speciality Lead for the North East and North Cumbria Clinical Research Network (CRN). I deliver commercial and non-commercial NIHR portfolio studies alongside regional leadership for one of the most successful UK liver research groups. 


I am a recognised expert in alcohol-related liver disease and liver transplantation. I am the British Society of Gastroenterology National Lead for Alcohol with national roles advocating for improved service provision for alcohol-related physical harm.  I am the Deputy Chair of the Liver Advisory Group, which advises NHS Blood and Transplant to help promote liver transplantation and ensure equity of access and best outcomes for transplant recipients. 


Area of expertise

  • Hepatology
  • Liver disease
  • Liver transplant
  • Alcohol
  • Haemochromatosis
  • Viral Hepatitis
Research

Research impact

Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD)

  • As co-PI on a grant for an international genome-wide association study in ARLD (GenomALC, $2.67M), I coordinated UK delivery and highest global recruitment. We discovered a new genetic association between the gene FAF2 and the development of ARLD cirrhosis. We identified modifiable risk factors associated with ARLD cirrhosis. We developed a risk stratification score to identify those most at risk.
  • I am PI on the MRC UK Cohort Study in Alcoholic Hepatitis (MICAH) (2018-23). This follows on from my collaboration to STOPAH, the largest ever trial in ARLD, which has revolutionised our understanding of this disease. Recent outputs continues to refine the diagnosis and treatment of AH.  In 2020, I was PI for a phase 2 commercial trial in AH (ISAIAH, Novartis).
  • I am co-applicant and founding member of the European ARLD registry (SALVE) and collaborate on international studies into subtypes and steroid responsiveness in AH (CLASH) and outcomes in ARLD (WALDO)
  • I am a grant co-applicant for the forthcoming BASIS trial (studying Baclofen in AUD; £1.67M, NIHR)
  • I am PI for the ongoing AlcoChange (digital alcohol remote monitoring) and PROMISE (using fecal transplantation in cirrhosis) studies 


Alcohol-related harm

  •  I am co-investigator for the Programme of Research for Alcohol Care Teams: Impact, Value and Effectiveness (ProACTIVE) Research into Alcohol Care Teams (£1.7M, NIHR)


Liver Transplantation

  • I am grant co-applicant on an international study into immune suppression withdrawal in liver transplantation (LIFT; £1.67m, NIHR). We discovered a new non-invasive alloimmune risk stratification method.
  • I co-authored the first study of outcomes of COVID in liver transplant recipients, internationally. I lead the national study of UK liver transplant response to COVID. I lead local studies on improving transplant outcomes including understanding donor-specific antibodies and regional organ allocation sharing.

 

Haemochromatosis

  • I attracted a commercial trial in Haemochromatosis (Hercules, La Jolla Pharma) to the UK. As the UK Chief Investigator, I delivered 150% recruitment (2019). 

 

Portal Hypertension

  • I am PI on 2 NIHR studies (BOPPP and CALIBRE) into preventing variceal bleeding (2019-24)

 

 

Research output

I have co-authored 90 peer-reviewed articles (including high impact journals – NEJM, Nature Medicine, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, Gut) and have an h-index of 33 with >4800 citations (Google Scholar, January 2025). 


These articles are accessible via my ORCID profile https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1041-9844

 

 

Research support

• NIHR Research Partnerships – Liver Disease (22/72 Lead: Dr Richard Parker, Leeds), 12/2022-5/2024 (£87K Awarded Oct 2022). North of England Alcohol Team (NEAT) (Co-applicant)


• NIHR Health Technology Assessment (19/143 Lead: Dr Paul Richardson), 10/2021-9/2025 (£1.6M Awarded Jan 2021) An adaptive-design randomised placebo-controlled trial of baclofen in the treatment of alcohol use disorder in patients with liver cirrhosis (BASIS) (Co-applicant)

 

• NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (13/94/55. Lead: Professor Alberto Sanchez-Fueyo), 4/2015-3/2021, £1.67M. Prospective randomised marker-based trial to assess the clinical utility and safety of biomarker-guided immunosuppression withdrawal in liver transplantation - LIFT (Co-applicant)

 

• National Institutes of Health, US: National Institute on Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism (1U01AA018389-01A2. Lead: Professor Tim Morgan) 9/2011-8/2016, $2.67m. Genetic risk factors for alcoholic cirrhosis - genome-wide case-control study (GenomALC) (Co-applicant)

 

• European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL) Registry Grant 6/2016-6/2019, 50,000 Euros. The European registry of studies on alcoholic liver disease in Europe (SALVE) (Lead: Professor Philippe Mathurin) (Co-applicant)

 

 

Research leadership

Regional Hepatology Speciality Group CRN NENC lead (June 2017- )

I have been Speciality Group Lead for NENC CRN since 2017.  I provide regional strategic leadership for 4CIs, 7PIs and the wider hepatology research team, having delivered recruitment to >50 hepatology studies. Under my leadership, we are consistently one of the most successful UK liver research groups. 

 

Publications