Christopher Griffiths - Biography#

Griffiths gained a 1st class hons BSc in Anatomy (1976) and qualified in Medicine from St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School, London University (1979). He trained in Dermatology at St Mary’s Hospital, London progressing via a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship to the University of Michigan where he was on Dermatology Faculty (1987). He was appointed to the Foundation Chair in Dermatology, University of Manchester in 1994. Griffiths developed Manchester into one of Europe’s leading Dermatology Research Centres over the subsequent 20 years and exemplifies the translational patient-centred approach. At the University of Manchester he has served variously as: Head of Medicine and Neuroscience; Head of the School of Translational Medicine; Research Dean and; Director of the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre after leading the successful bid for its designation by the Department of Health in 2009.

His research with Fry on the efficacy of ciclosporin demonstrated the importance of immune mechanisms in psoriasis, overturning the earlier view that it was primarily an epidermal disease. His observation with Nickoloff of the importance of adhesion-molecule expression in psoriasis led to the development of efalizumab for the treatment of psoriasis. He has been involved in the development all subsequent biologic treatments for psoriasis and his clinical trials for biologic treatment for psoriasis have formed the basis for NICE guidance. He established the British Association of Dermatologists’ Biologic Interventions Register the gold-standard pharmacovigilance register for psoriasis worldwide. This forms the basis of the MRC Stratified Medicine Consortium on Psoriasis of which he is Director. Griffiths also developed the concept of the “brain-skin axis”, through which psoriasis produces significant psychosocial disability and stress modulates skin immunity.

In the area of photodamage, he showed that loss of collagen-1 and fibrillin were causative factors. His work on retinoid pharmacology demonstrated efficacy of topical retinoids in the treatment of photoageing. This is now the gold-standard treatment and derivatives are used commercially in the multibillion pound anti-ageing industry. With Watson he developed a widely used assay for assessment of efficacy of topical anti-ageing products .