Dr Alexander Lawson

Dr Lawson first qualified from the University of Birmingham in 2006, after which he undertook a PhD in protein engineering and steroid hormone metabolism. Since 2010, Dr Lawson has been working in the NHS as a Clinical Biochemist and Toxicologist. Dr Lawson completed his Fellowship Examination of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath) in 2016 and was appointed as a Consultant Clinical Scientist in 2018. In addition to this, Dr Lawson is currently the clinical service lead for clinical biochemistry, immunology and toxicology at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB). He is also Pathology Lead for Research and Development. Dr Lawson is also a UK and EU registered toxicologist (ERT) and a Member of the Chartered Society for Forensic Sciences. Dr Lawson was one of the co-founders of the Toxicology laboratory at UHB and has developed, implemented and accredited over 100 tests for drug screening and measurement. As part of this role, Dr Lawson and his team ensure that all results issued are of the highest quality and accuracy. These tests are used for both clinical management of patients (e.g. therapeutic drug monitoring), diagnosis of acute poisoning (e.g. unknown urine screening) and for coronial investigations. Dr Lawson has reported on over 14,000 postmortem toxicology cases and attends court regularly to give expert evidence on the analysis and interpretation performed by his laboratory. In his role as a clinical biochemist, Dr Lawson gives expert advice to physicians and other healthcare professionals on the interpretation of complex biochemical analysis to aid patient treatment. This will include routine investigations such as markers of kidney and liver disease, to more complex investigations such as in endocrine cancer, resistant hypertension and hypoglycaemia (inc. interpretation of insulin).

Dr Lawson has extensive experience in the development of new analytical services using chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques (LC-MS/MS, ICP-MS, LC-PDA, GC-MS and LC-Q-Tof MS). Using these techniques, Dr Lawson has developed a keen interest in the detection, measurement and clinical relevance of novel psychoactive drugs such as synthetic cannabinoids (‘spice’), synthetic opioids (inc. nitazenes and fentanyls) and stimulants. As mentioned above, Dr Lawson has reported a large number of coronial toxicology cases and has significant knowledge in interpreting both ante mortem and post mortem toxicology results in relation to clinical effect. This includes drug-drug interactions, common side effects, drug tolerance and significance of postmortem changes (e.g. redistribution). Dr Lawson has developed clinical pathways and guidance for many clinical areas including the assessment of resistant hypertension including drug adherence, appropriate use of laboratory services for management of poisoned patients and how to communicate abnormal results to clinical teams.

Dr Lawson has a keen interest in the detection, measurement and clinical relevance of novel psychoactive drugs such as synthetic cannabinoids (‘spice’), synthetic opioids (inc. nitazenes and fentanyls) and stimulants. He also has a research interest in the detection and management of non-adherence of prescribed medications and suitability of therapeutic drug monitoring.

Dr Lawson teaches at the University of Manchester and University of Warwick in modules covering toxicology, pharmacology and therapeutic drug monitoring, clinical and postmortem toxicology, and clinical proteomics.

Dr Lawson has published in various scientific journals relating to both drug analysis and clinical biochemistry. Relevant recent papers include: Rock K, Lawson AJ, et al. The first drug-related death associated with xylazine use in the UK and Europe. J Forensic Leg Med. 2023 May 22;97:102542 Lane D, Lawson AJ, et al, Nonadherence in Hypertension: How to Develop and Implement Chemical Adherence Testing Hypertension. 2022 Jan;79(1):12-23 Rice K, Lawson AJ, et al Quantification of Flualprazolam in Blood by LC–MS-MS: A Case Series of Nine Deaths. J Anal Toxicol. 2020 Dr Lawson has also made media appearances providing expertise to projects such as: ‘Deadly Diet Drugs Untold’ on Channel 4 in 2024, ‘Skinny Jab Uncovered’ on BBC3 in November 2023, and ‘On the trail of a new street drug’, for Inside Health on Radio 4 in August 2023.

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As Clinical Lead at UHB, Dr Lawson manages a team of physicians and clinical scientists to deliver laboratory and clinical activity. He also provides leadership for the department as a whole and reports into the Trust and contributes into regional and national strategy regarding biochemical and toxicological testing.