Dr Hannah Crane

BMedSci, BDS, MFDS, FHEA, MSc, PhD

School of Clinical Dentistry

NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology

Hannah Crane
Profile picture of Hannah Crane
h.crane@sheffield.ac.uk
19 Claremont Crescent

Full contact details

Dr Hannah Crane
School of Clinical Dentistry
19 Claremont Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2TA
Profile

Dr Crane was appointed as an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology in December 2023, having recently completed a Wellcome funded Clinical PhD Fellowship investigating treatment resistance in Head and Neck Cancer. 

Hannah graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2014, her research interests being sparked whilst undertaking an intercalated BMedSci. After graduation, she completed Dental Foundation Training in South Manchester and Dental Core Training posts in Restorative Dentistry, Oral Medicine and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. During this time she successfully obtained a Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) from the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. She was appointed as an Academic Clinical Fellow in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology in 2017 and in 2020 completed a Masters in Clinical Research with Distinction.

Research interests

During her Clinical PhD Fellowship, Dr Crane undertook laboratory research investigating DNA damage in chemotherapy-resistant Head and Neck Cancer. Head and Neck Cancer is associated with significant morbidity and current treatments frequently result in the development of resistance, which can be extremely challenging to treat. She has experience in a broad range of molecular biology techniques, alongside data analysis skills including image analysis using publicly available software such as QuPath and ImageJ. She is also interested in the use of next-generation sequencing to understand complex biological problems. 

Dr Crane is passionate about patient and public involvement in research. She regularly involves patients and the public in the development and dissemination of her research. In 2021, she developed an activity for a patient and public event entitled the Pop-Up University, and in collaboration with MakerFutures, she developed activities designed to engage the public about DNA damage and repair.

Publications

Journal articles

  • Crane H, Carr I, Hunter KD & El-Khamisy SF (2025) . iScience, 28(9).
  • Crane H, Clark M & Khurram SA (2025) . Diagnostic Histopathology, 31(4), 195-203.
  • McCormick ZJJ, Crane H & Brierley D (2024) . Dental Update, 51(10), 703-706.
  • Hendawi NY, Crane HL, Mehanna H, Bolt R, Lambert DW & Hunter KD (2024) . Frontiers in Oral Health, 5, 1390081.
  • Crane H, Walsh H & Hunter KD (2024) . Diagnostic Histopathology, 30(3), 170-178.
  • Walsh H, Crane H & Hunter KD (2022) . Diagnostic Histopathology, 28(5), 217-227.
  • Karyka E, Berrueta Ramirez N, Webster CP, Marchi PM, Graves EJ, Godena VK, Marrone L, Bhargava A, Ray S, Ning K , Crane H et al (2022) . Life Science Alliance, 5(8).
  • Crane H, Karbhari B, Hughes D, Orr R & Brierley D (2021) . Head and Neck Pathology, 15, 1041-1046.
  • Radhakrishnan R, Crane HL, Daigneault M, Padam KSR & Hunter KD (2021) . Cancers, 13(16).
  • Walsh H, Crane H, Lee NJ & Brierley DJ (2021) . Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 132(1), e50-e51.
  • Crane H, Walsh H, Tailor A & Hunter K (2021) . Diagnostic Histopathology, 27(5), 182-190.
  • Niklander SE, Crane HL, Darda L, Lambert DW & Hunter KD (2021) . Journal of Cell Science, 134(4).
  • Niklander SE, Crane HL, Darda L, Lambert DW & Hunter KD (2020) .
  • Crane H, Da Forno P, Kyriakidou E, Speight PM & Hunter KD (2020) . Head and Neck Pathology, 14(2), 381-385.
  • Niklander MS, Crane MH, Lambert DD & Hunter PK (2019) . Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 128(1), e82-e82.
  • Crane H, Mustafa S, Tahir F & Brierley DJ (2019) . Oral Surgery, 12(4), 309-312.
  • Brierley DJ, Crane H & Hunter KD (2019) . Head and Neck Pathology, 13(1), 103-113.
  • Siriwardena BSMS, Crane H, O'Neill N, Abdelkarim R, Brierley DJ, Franklin CD, Farthing PM, Speight PM & Hunter KD (2019) . Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 127(2), 151-166.
  • (2017) . International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, 27(S1), 42-53.
  • Crane H, Carter A & Andresen E (2017) . Oral Surgery, 10(4), 239-242.
  • Crane H, Young RJ, Fernando MS & Griffin J () . Journal of Clinical Pathology.

Conference proceedings

  • Crane H, Hunter K & El-Khamisy S (2024) Immunohistochemical analysis of R-loop burden in a cohort of Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OPSCC) with a poor prognosis. VIRCHOWS ARCHIV, Vol. 485 (pp S404-S405)
  • Crane H, Hunter K & El-Khamisy S (2023) The Role of R-loops in the Development of Cisplatin Resistance in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC). JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Vol. 261(SUPPL1) (pp S62-S62)
  • Crane H, Hunter K & El-Khamisy SF (2022) Exploration of the transcriptomic landscape of HPV-positive and HPV-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma upon development of cisplatin resistance. VIRCHOWS ARCHIV, Vol. 481(SUPPL 1) (pp S73-S73)
  • Crane H, Foran B, Tahir F, Joyce H, El-Khamisy S & Hunter K (2021) . Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, Vol. 132(1) (pp e15-e15)
  • Crane H, Hunter K & El-Khamisy S (2020) The effect of E6 and E7 knockdown and PARP inhibition on cisplatin sensitivity in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. VIRCHOWS ARCHIV, Vol. 477 (pp S76-S76)
  • Niklander S, Crane H, Lambert D & Hunter K (2017) Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) expression is progressively lost in oral dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma but the phenotypic consequences are not clear. CYTOKINE, Vol. 100 (pp 185-185)

Preprints

  • Crane H, Carr I, Hunter KD & El-Khamisy SF (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Teaching activities

Dr Crane successfully completed a PGCert in Teaching and Learning in Clinical Practice at Edgehill University in 2018 and was subsequently awarded FHEA. She teaches pathology to undergraduate and postgraduate students through lectures, case seminars and virtual microscopy sessions.

She is also involved in the training of postgraduate dentists and facilitates a course for Dental Foundation Trainees on Head and Neck Cancer alongside delivering a study day for Dental Core Trainees on Effective Poster Design.

Professional activities and memberships
  • Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Representative for the Speciality Advisory Committee for the Additional Dental Specialties (SACADS) (November 2022 to present)
  • Junior Doctor Forum (JDF) Representative at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (July 2022 to present)
  • Member of the British Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (BSOMP)
  • Member of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland 
  • Member of the European Society of Pathology (ESP)
  • Member of British Association for Cancer Research (BACR)
  • Reviewer for npj Precision Oncology, Oral Surgery, BMJ case reports and Frontiers of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine. 
Clinical

Dr Crane is undertaking clinical academic specialist training in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, routinely completing macroscopic dissection and reporting of specimens from the head and neck under the supervision of consultant colleagues. She is involved in the teaching of dental core trainees and junior registrars within the department.