National Pathology Week – Pathology tests The good, the bad and the ugly - Recording

Bernie Croal

Consultant chemical pathologist, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, President, RCPath

Bernie graduated in Honours Physiology (1989) and Medicine (1992) from Glasgow University and went on to train in General Medicine (FRCP 1998) and Clinical Biochemistry (FRCPath 1999). He moved to Aberdeen to take up an academic Senior Lecturer post in Health Services Research, obtaining an MSc (2000) and MD (2003) degree in Public Health and Health Services Research.

Over the last 15 years he has filled many roles at RCPath including Chairs of Scottish Council, the Clinical Biochemistry SAC, the Informatics Committee, the National Laboratory Medicine Catalogue and the Quality Assurance Management Group. He was RCPath Vice-President (2011-14) and has been a member of Council/Exec for 15 years, as well as a member of both ACB, ACP and IBMS Councils. He was President of The Association for Laboratory Medicine from 2021-2023. He is RCPath President from 2023-26.

Penny Cliff

Surveillance section head & lead scientist, Sexually Transmitted Infections Reference Laboratory, UK Health Security Agency

In 2025, she moved to the Sexually Transmitted Infections Reference Laboratory, where she now leads national projects that monitor antibiotic resistance in STIs. 

Timothy Woolley

Chief scientific officer, Inuvi Diagnostics

Tim is also a Director of the Patient Centric Sampling Interest Group (https://www.pcsig.org/), a member of the LabMed UK Patient Centric Testing and Sampling (PaCTS) group and the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Patient Centricity.

Rav Sodi

Consultant Clinical Biochemist and Head of Department , Mid and South Essex NHS Trust

Rav Sodi is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist and Head of Department at Broomfield Hospital, Mid & South Essex NHS Trust, UK where he oversees FIT screening for colorectal cancer and maternal screening for foetal anomalies.

He also serves as Consultant Clinical Biochemist at PureLabs Ltd, London. Rav is also an Honorary Senior Fellow at the Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. He undertook undergraduate studies in Canada and postgraduate studies and specialization in Clinical Biochemistry in the UK. With extensive experience across clinical practice, academia, and publishing, Rav previously served as Deputy Editor for the Annals of Clinical Biochemistry and as a Council Member of the Royal College of Pathologists, UK.

He is currently a member of the Scientific Committee and the Director of Publications and Communications of the Association for Laboratory Medicine, UK. He has published widely in the field of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine and is a contributing author in the leading textbooks of the profession including the Tietz Textbook of Laboratory Medicine. He has contributed to many innovative and award-winning e-learning laboratory medicine education platforms.

His research interests are endocrinology, patient-centred diagnostics particularly with applying strategies involving artificial intelligence, cancer screening and vitamins in health and disease.

Martin Myers

Consultant clinical biochemist, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Myers has recently retired as a consultant Clinical Biochemist, and Laboratory Director of Clinical Biochemistry at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston, UK. Whilst at Preston Dr Myers has introduced a continuous program of Pathology redesign, improving the clinical and operational effectiveness and productivity of pathology. He set up the Point of Care Testing Team, which he led for 30 years, introducing POCT throughout the whole Health Economy of Central Lancashire. During this time, he was the Associate Divisional Medical Director of Pathology for 4 years, Clinical Director of Pathology for 14 years, Lead Scientist for over 10 years.

Dr Myers remains the Co-Clinical Lead for the NHSE Pathology Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme, which has undertaken an evidenced-based review of Pathology services in England in order to improve quality and reduce unwarranted variation.  The National Report was launched in 2022 and the GIRFT Clinical Team is now working on implementing the recommendations, including the effect of pre-analytical variables on results, and identifying what are the Analytical Performance Specifications for Decision Diagnostics such as HbA1c, PSA, CA125 etc.  Recently, Dr Myers co-led a National investigation into the clinical effect of IVD performance.  This has resulted in many recommendations and with a small group of colleagues, the Patient-Focussed Laboratory Medicine group has been formed to ensure that Laboratory performance is directly linked to Clinical effect.