UKMedLab24

George Allen

George is a Principal Clinical Scientist working in Biochemistry at Royal Devon University Healthcare in Exeter. Before coming to Exeter, he undertook a PhD at the UCL Institute of Neurology working with the Neurometabolic Unit on inherited disorders of neurotransmitter metabolism. Following this, he researched cell signalling and autophagy at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit in Dundee before training in Exeter as a Clinical Scientist. George has extensive real world experience of method verification for a range of blood sciences and serology tests.

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Sophie Barnes

Sophie is a Consultant Clinical Scientist in Clinical Biochemistry at North West London Pathology. Although she covers all areas of Clinical Biochemistry, Sophie specialises in Endocrinology particularly Aldosterone and Renin analysis and interpretation. She was appointed as Director of the Supra-Regional Assay Service (SAS) for Renin and Aldosterone in 2008 and chairs the SAS Endocrinology SubGroup.

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Sally Benton

Sally Benton is Consultant Clinical Scientist in Biochemistry and Clinical Lead for Clinical and Specialist Biochemistry Services at Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Services. She is also Director of the Bowel Cancer Screening South England Hub at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford.  Previously Sally was Consultant Biochemist at Barts Heath NHS Trust and trained and worked at hospitals in Liverpool and Manchester between 2000 and 2008.

Sally has been working in Guildford since 2014. Her job is split between routine and specialist biochemistry services and the Bowel Cancer screening Hub.  At the Bowel Cancer Hub she leads a team of research scientists who carry out research to further understand analytical aspects and clinical applications of the faecal immunochemical test for haemoglobin (FIT) and other biomarkers supporting early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.  Sally and her team publish frequently in the field of FIT and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer, Sally was on the BSG/ ACP guideline group representing biochemistry.  She co-chairs the World Endoscopy Organisation expert working group on FIT for Screening and is Chair of an International Federation of Clinical Chemistry working group to standardise and harmonise FIT testing.  

Sally has a long standing interest in LCMS use in clinical biochemistry and this continues in BSPS with a recently established LCMS laboratory that is co-located with ICP-MS equipment and the trace elements service.

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Christopher Boot

Chris works as a Consultant Clinical Scientist in the Blood Sciences department at the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK. His main interests are the development and provision of specialist tests in the areas of endocrinology and lipid metabolism. Other roles include Senior Examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists, member of a UKNEQAS Specialist Advisory Group and Training Officer for the STP training programme in Newcastle. The Blood Sciences lab in Newcastle has a long history of expertise in the measurement of hormones and cardiovascular biomarkers. One particular area of interest is the investigation of diabetes insipidus (disorders of the AVP or anti-diuretic hormone system). In Newcastle there has been a laboratory and clinical interest in direct measurement of AVP in the investigation of AVP disorders as an alternative to the standard water deprivation test since an in-house RIA was developed in the 1980s. Since 2015, the newer marker copeptin (CT-proAVP) was introduced as an alternative to AVP itself, in the routine diagnosis of AVP disorders.   

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Helen Bruce

Helen is currently  Consultant Clinical Scientist and Specialty Lead for Routine Biochemistry services at Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Services. Following her initial training at St George’s Hospital in London she continued her career at Epson and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, before starting in Guildford in 2013. In addition to her current role she is also the Deputy director at the Southern Hub of the Bowel Cancer Screening programme. Helen’s main area of interests are External Quality Assurance and Internal Quality Control best practice.

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Lauren Campbell

I am a Clinical Scientist in the Oxford Immunology Laboratory with a special interest in multiple myeloma and the improvement of the monoclonal gammopathy pathway.

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Kamaljit Chatha

Dr Kamaljit Chatha is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist, Clinical Lead for Biochemistry and Immunology and Director of the Bowel Cancer Screening Midlands and North West Hub at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW).  Kamaljit has a keen interest in research and development and has several publications that covers the novel and innovative use of biomarkers to detect chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease and renal disease.  She also has an interest in screening, as highlighted by her work in Bowel Cancer Screening, and combine FIT with artificial intelligence systems to improve bowel cancer detection in the screening programme.  Kamaljit has been actively involved with regional and national Association for Laboratory Medicine (ALM) committees and is currently Director of Publications and Communications for the ALM, promoting the profession and the excellent work it delivers.  Kamaljit is also an Honorary Clinical Lecturer for the University of Warwick and is part of the Institute of Cardiometabolic Medicine (ICMM) at UHCW.

Prounouns:  She/her

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Denise Cook

Denise is Executive Lead for Governance, Quality, Leadership & Development for Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Services (BSPS).

Denise is a member of the Kings Fund Alumni having completed the Top Manager Programme in 2022. She is recognized for her work in senior leadership development, transforming individuals, teams, organisations and systems. Her proven techniques are informed by mastery of cutting edge disciplines applied in real life settings. She has a keen interest in professional values, behavioural styles and emotional agility within the workplace and endeavours to coach and develop team, individual and system potential, particularly in challenging times. She combines these elements to bring about a meaningful shift in peoples motivation and actions. She is also a trained professional coach and mentor working with individuals and teams in varying sectors.

Denise served as Senior Director of Operations for Synnovis LLP, Executive Lead for Clinical Governance, Quality and Service Improvement for Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Services; General Manager for Infection and Immunity Science for Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Services and Lead Biomedical Scientist at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Denise began her career as a Junior A MLSO in microbiology through to specialist, senior and Lead Biomedical Scientist, working in District General, larger teaching hospitals before moving into senior leadership and executive roles.

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Seamus Coyle

Dr Coyle is a Consultant in Palliative Medicine at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Liverpool Head and Neck Centre at the University of Liverpool. He moved to Liverpool to take up an Academic Clinical Fellowship in August 2012 and completed consultancy training in 2016. His main research area is the Biology of dying and the development of a urine test to predict dying (recently patented). He is the Clinical lead for Innovation at Clatterbridge since February 2022. 

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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.

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Sarah Curtis

I am passionate about harnessing technology and data in the pursuit of excellence in the delivery of the clinical scientific service.  After completing my master's degree in Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, I embarked on a journey in clinical science, commencing my training at Northwick Park Hospital in Middlesex. Following this foundational experience, I transitioned to a substantive position in Liverpool in 2006, initially anticipating a brief stay of a year or two. However, nearly two decades later, I find myself deeply rooted and proud to be an integral member of the pioneering team at Liverpool Clinical Laboratories.

My journey as a clinical lead for informatics has been shaped by my understanding of LIMS, middleware, and order communication systems, coupled with an appreciation of the systems integration that supports the wider healthcare service. Guided by my membership of the Faculty of Clinical Informatics (now transferred to the British Computing Society), I have embraced two transformative opportunities sponsored by NHS England: the Topol Digital Fellowship programme and my current pursuit of a PGCert in Clinical Data Science.  These experiences have not only expanded my clinical informatics and digital transformation skillset but have also facilitated connection with digitally minded peers across diverse clinical disciplines within the health service.  My commitment to advancing healthcare through innovation and collaboration continues to drive my passion to elevate healthcare delivery.

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Bruce Daniel

I am currently the Head of Pathology for the South-West region of NHSE.

Previously I have been the Pathology service manager in Truro, a Pathology Incident Director during the covid pandemic and a member of the Peninsula Pathology network board. My background is as a state registered biomedical scientist in Clinical Chemistry.

During my career across 35+ years in the NHS I have also enjoyed roles as an imaging service manager, and as divisional manager of a clinical support division and a medicine and ED division. My current interests are in all things digital, “externalising pathology”, promoting the principle of “NHS Pathology” and the systems wide “effectiveness” of pathology services.

I still get up in the morning excited at the thought of improving pathology services in the widest sense and across all its many facets. I believe there is a huge and recurrent opportunity for us all to shape the future provision of pathology and to extend the visibility and scope of its benefits to patients and the wider populations.

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Andrew Davison

Andrew Davison is a Consultant Clinical Scientist in the department of Clinical Biochemistry at Liverpool Clinical Laboratories (LCL). He is clinical lead for research and development and mass spectrometry at LCL, and a senior clinical research fellow and honorary clinical lecturer at the University of Liverpool. He is also an honorary senior lecturer in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Manchester, and a senior examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists. He is also a member of the European MSACL practical training committee and previously chaired the Clinical and Forensic Specialist Interest Group for the British Mass Spectrometry Society. He completed his NIHR funded PhD at the University of Liverpool studying the impact of nitisinone treatment on the metabolome and whether nitisinone induced hypertyrosinaemia alters neurotransmitter metabolism. He has over 65 peer reviewed publications (>22 first author). He is passionate about teaching and applying mass spectrometry/metabolomic based techniques to several areas of women’s health including endometrial cancer, and adrenal disease.

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Catherine Dibden

Cat is a Consultant Clinical Scientist in Biochemistry at Barnsley and Rotherham Laboratories, part of the newly established South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw Pathology Partnership. She provides clinical leadership for the Point of Care Testing Service at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, and is a clinical subject matter expert in biochemistry for the SYB LIMS Programme. Cat trained at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, and spent 9 years in Newborn Screening at Sheffield Children’s Hospital before returning to general biochemistry to take up her consultant post in 2019. Her interests include paediatrics, quality improvement, POCT and the use of IT to optimise service provision.

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Xavier Dieu

Dr Xavier Dieu holds a Medical Degree with a specialty in Laboratory Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He defended his PhD thesis in 2022, in the University of Angers, after developing several new laboratory medicine tools relying on the use of innovative data science methods, including machine learning and deep learning. Besides his clinical activity focused on the screening and diagnosis of rare diseases through molecular biology, his research projects aim at improving harmonization, throughput, and the patient’s security in the clinical laboratory, through artificial intelligence.

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Warwick Dunn

Warwick holds a PhD in mass spectrometry-based analytical chemistry and has applied chromatography-mass spectrometry platforms to study metabolism in mammals for more than twenty years. During the last 15 years he has focussed on studies to identify metabolic changes related to disease, ageing and food/exercise interventions including in precision medicine applications to stratify patients based on disease risk or treatment response. He has H-Index of 70 and > 24,500 citations. He is a Director of the Metabolomics Society and one of the founding members of the metabolomics quality assurance and quality control consortium (mQACC).

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Simon Eaton

Simon Eaton received his PhD in Biochemistry and Metabolism in 1993 from University of Newcastle. Following this, he moved to UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London to the Paediatric Surgery Unit and developed an interest in paediatric metabolism and nutrition in neonatal and paediatric critical illness. He also is involved in tissue engineering for paediatric surgical conditions, and in mechanisms of dietary therapies for epilepsy. He runs a research laboratory which analyses a variety of metabolites and samples using GCMS, HPLC and isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

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Graeme Eisenhofer

Graeme Eisenhofer received his PhD in 1983 from the University of Otago, New Zealand, with clinical research on autonomic and neuroendocrine systems. He then moved to the NIH where he carried out basic and clinical studies mapping the pathways of catecholamine metabolism. In 1988 he moved to the Baker Heart Research Institute (Melbourne, Australia), where he worked on sympathetic nervous system function in health and disease. He returned to the NIH in 1991 before taking up a Professorship at the University Hospital in Dresden. Together with Dr. Jacques Lenders, Dr. Eisenhofer developed measurements of plasma metanephrines for laboratory diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma. He was also responsible for the first ever synthesis of ¹⁸F-fluorodopamine as a PET imaging agent for localising catecholamine-producing tumours. At Dresden, Dr. Eisenhofer leads laboratory and clinical research groups with a focus on adrenal disorders and endocrine hypertension. The work has most recently centred on applications of mass spectrometry-based measurements of steroids and catecholamine metabolites. For this, approaches are being developed that integrate multidimensional diagnostics with artificial intelligence to build clinical decision support systems for efficient and appropriate therapeutic interventions.

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Danielle Freedman

Consultant Chemical Pathologist, Associate Physician in Endocrinology, Clinical Director of Pathology, and Deputy Medical Director of Bedfordshire Hospitals (cross site).  Lead CMO for ME5 Pathology Network.

Trained in medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London, and then further training in Clinical Biochemistry and Endocrinology at the RFHSM and the Middlesex Hospital, University of London.

Nationally, elected Vice President of Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) (2008 - 2011)  

National member of the Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (ACB) Council 2011 - 2015.  Currently, UK member of the (EFLM) Working Group on Post Analytic Phases (2018 - 2023)

 Chair of Lab Tests Online Board UK (2012 - ) A Peer reviewed, Non Commercial, Patient Centered website

Main interests include clinical endocrinology, point of care testing and, importantly, the value of laboratory testing with regard to patient safety and patient outcome.

 Over 100 publications in peer review journals including Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and Annals of Clinical Biochemistry and 10 book chapters.

Nominated as one of the TOP 100 International Power List of Influential Laboratory Medicine Professionals (November 2015)

In 2018, awarded the very prestigious award of Honorary Membership of the ACB for her International work in Laboratory Medicine.

Pronouns:  She/her/hers

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Naomi Gadsby

Naomi Gadsby has a PhD from the University of Edinburgh and completed her pre- and post-registration clinical scientist training in Medical Microbiology in NHS Lothian. She became a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists by examination in Medical Microbiology in 2017. Since 2019 she has been working as a Consultant Clinical Scientist in Medical Microbiology at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and is currently Head of Specialty for Microbiology.

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David Gaze

Dr David Gaze is a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Pathology, Course Lead for the MSc Biomedical Science degree and School Director of Employability at the University of Westminster, London.  with research interests in cardiovascular biomarkers, cardiac pathology and the cardio-renal syndrome.

Dr Gaze has authored and co-authored in excess of 150 peer reviewed papers and 200 abstracts, as well as presented at over 50 internationally invited conferences. He has contributed five book chapters to cardiovascular related textbooks as well as writing a textbook on cardiac troponin. He is a peer reviewer for 25 medical journals. He is the commissioning editor for review articles for the Annals of Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine.

He is a member of the Royal Society of Medicine of London; The Association for Laboratory Medicine, of which he is Deputy director of the SACP committee. He chairs the Clinical Sciences Review Committee (CSRC) for the Annals of Clinical Biochemistry. He is also a member of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry; Institute of Biomedical Sciences; Institute of Biology; European Society of Pathology; The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland and associate member of the Royal Institution of London.

Gaze and colleagues have won a number of awards including two distinguished Abstract awards from the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry as well as Diploma for Oral Presentation regarding D-dimer, natriuretic peptide and cardiac troponin in dialysis patients presented at the 17^th IFCC-FESCC European Congress of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine and the 60^th National congress of the Netherlands Society of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine in Amsterdam in 2007.

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Stephen Gibbons

I have worked at LTHT within Specialist Laboratory Medicine for the last 7 years. My main role is to lead the specialist endocrine section where we principally focus on the measurement and interpretation of adrenal hormones. We have an excellent relationship with both the adult and paediatric endocrine teams at Leeds ensuring we develop our services to meet the changing demands of their patients.

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William J Griffiths

Bill received his BSc and PhD in Chemistry from University College, Cardiff. He was trained in biomedical mass spectrometry working with Professor Jan Sjövall at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.  Bill has held academic positions in Kingston Jamaica, Stockholm Sweden and London. In 2007 Bill moved to Swansea University to take the Chair of Mass Spectrometry.

Bill’s research interests are in cholesterol biosynthesis and metabolism, particularly pathways of bile acid biosynthesis.  Bill works closely with long term collaborator Professor Yuqin Wang, and the focus of their group’s work is on the involvement of oxysterols in biology, particularly inborn errors of metabolism, neurodegenerative disease and the immune system.

When living in the Caribbean, Bill played international rugby for Jamaica.  

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Katie Hadfield

No bio provided

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Dominic Harrington

Dominic is a Consultant Clinical Scientist with a primary interest in the development and application of biomarkers for the assessment of vitamin status. To support this, he coined the word ‘Nutristasis’ and established the ‘Human Nutristasis Unit’ at St. Thomas’ Hospital more than 25 years ago. The Unit now has a dedicated team of 14 scientists. Dominic also established the international external quality assurance scheme for vitamin K (KEQAS) in 1996. His PhD was on the ‘Development of Chromatographic Methods for the Measurement of the Urinary Metabolites of Vitamin K and Their Utility for Vitamin K Status Assessment’. Dominic has published more than 80 scientific papers and books. He has an honorary academic position at King’s College London and is a visiting professor at the School of Biosciences and Medicine, University of Surrey.

In addition, Dominic has been Head of Service for Laboratory Haemostasis & Thrombosis at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ (since 2009); Scientific Director for laboratory services across Guy’s and St. Thomas’ (2012-17); Chief Scientific Officer for pathology services across south east London (Synnovis) (2017-). He also provides scientific leadership for SYNLAB UK and Ireland (2023-). He established the Innovation Academy in 2013 and hosts an annual Innovation Academy symposium. In 2013 he established the Future Leaders in Innovation group to provide opportunities for our leaders of the future.

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James Hawley

I am a Principal Clinical Scientist based at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and a current MRC Clinical Research Fellow.

I began my training at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust in 2009 and moved to Manchester in 2013 to take up a Senior Scientist position at Professor Brian Keevil’s laboratory. Since starting at Manchester I have completed full FRCPath and developed an interest in the clinical applications of LC-MS/MS. In particular, I have focussed on the accurate quantitation of steroid hormones and have developed and published several LC-MS/MS methods that are now in routine use in Manchester. I am currently undertaking a MRC funded fellowship with Professor Wiebke Arlt as we look to introduce steroid profiling combined with machine learning into the NHS.

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Katharine Hayden

Kath Hayden is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester.

Following training in South Manchester, Kath has held posts in hospitals in Manchester and Liverpool over a 35 year period, overseeing significant advances in analytical technologies, point of care testing (POCT) and harmonisation of laboratories. With specialist interests in endocrinology, POCT, leadership and service improvement, her latest roles have been as Clinical Head of Division for Laboratory Medicine at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Trust Lead Healthcare Scientist, Clinical Director for Laboratory Medicine and Head of Service for Clinical Biochemistry at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  

Pronouns: She/her

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David Humes

Associate Professor of Surgical Epidemiology/Deputy Divisional Director of Surgery/Robotic Colorectal Surgeon

Mr Humes heads a research group focusing on the use of routinely collected data to study the occurrence and consequences of surgical diseases alongside delivering studies on the use of novel interventional and diagnostic devices. He has supervised 5 PhD’s to completion and his current research group includes 4 PhD students, 2 NIHR Academic Clinical Fellows and a data analyst. He has been awarded over £2.9 million in grant funding and published 108 peer-reviewed publications with a current H-index of 38 (Google Scholar). He has implemented the symptomatic FIT pathway in Nottingham. He is the current research lead for the Joint Committee on Higher Surgical Training and training lead in the NIHR BRC in Nottingham. His clinical practice focuses on robotic colorectal and anal cancer surgery.

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Supriya Joshi

Appointed as a Consultant Chemical Pathologist  at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in June 2015. I am interested in clinical effectiveness in pathology, pursuing conversations around improvements in patient outcomes to fund pathology testing and raising awareness of pathology as a clinical service rather than a ‘factory’.

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Brian Keevil

Brian Keevil is a Consultant Clinical Scientist at Manchester University Hospitals Foundation Trust. He is Clinical Lead for the Clinical Biochemistry Department at Wythenshawe hospital and Director of the Clinical Mass Spectrometry Unit.

His research interests involve the development and introduction of novel mass spectrometry methods for the measurement of therapeutic drugs and steroids. His laboratory has pioneered the use of these techniques many of which are used to underpin routine clinical services and collaborative international research projects.

Steroids have been a particular interest and the laboratory performs a wide range of steroid assays in blood urine and saliva samples. These methods are being used to refine existing endocrine protocols and to explore the use of newer novel steroids such as the 11 oxygenated steroids in the diagnosis and management of endocrine conditions. He is  a co-applicant on a large NIHR grant to investigate antimicrobial drug resistance and he has been awarded a UKRI scholars grant to investigate the use of salivary cortisone in the investigation of adrenal disease.

He has published more than 240 peer reviewed publications and is an honorary Professor at the University of Manchester.

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James Larcombe

Dr James Larcombe is a locum GP, and previously a partner for 31 years, in Sedgefield, Co Durham. Sedgefield was a ‘Beacon Practice’ for antibiotic stewardship. James is an NHSE GP tutor, RCGP examiner and co-moderator of the NICE GP panel. After authoring the child UTI chapter for BMJ Clinical Evidence he joined the NICE guideline group and then completed a PhD on adult UTI. Recently he has, as a team member, co-authored two NIHR research projects on catheter infections and papers on insect bites. He has expertise in acute and Long COVID and co-wrote the Sepsis module for eLearning-for-Health.

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Ally Matthews

I am currently a Senior Clinical Scientist in Specialist Biochemistry at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.  My interests include using clinical proteomics to expand mass spectrometry‑based protein analysis capabilities, concentrating on several important hormones whereby the only current analytical options are poorly standardised or manual techniques.

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Tim McDonald

Professor Timothy McDonald is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist and Director of the Blood Sciences Department at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and an NIHR Senior Clinical Lecturer in the Diabetes  Unit at the University of Exeter Medical School, UK. His research focuses on the use of biochemical and immunological tests to improve classification and treatment of patients with diabetes. He has published over 100 peer reviewed papers and is chief investigator or PI on several major NIHR, MRC and EU projects.

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Stuart Moat

Stuart is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist and Clinical lead for the Metabolic Biochemistry Laboratory at the University Hospital of Wales. He is also the Director of the Wales Newborn Screening Laboratory and an Honorary Professor within the School of Medicine, Cardiff University. Stuart undertook his PhD within the Departments of Paediatrics at Sheffield University and Clinical Chemistry at Sheffield Childrens Hospital. Stuart left Sheffield in 2000 to take up a Research Fellowship at Cardiff University. In 2003 he was appointed as Paediatric and Metabolic Biochemist in the Department of Medical Biochemistry at the University Hospital of Wales and completed his studies for FRCPath.

Stuart has been involved in clinical laboratory service development for nearly 30 years using a range of analytical technologies. His research focus has been on the development of novel assays for the screening of newborns and for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with inherited metabolic disorders. Stuart has published widely on inherited disorders of metabolism and newborn screening.

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Talat Mushtaq

Dr Talat Mushtaq is a paediatric endocrinologist and honorary senior lecturer at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals, UK. He is responsible for looking after children with many rare and complex endocrine disorders. He has a background in bone, GH & IGF-1 research and authored numerous publications and supervised several post-graduate degrees. He has a strong interest in teaching and training and previously held the position of chair of the RCPCH college speciality advisory committee for diabetes and endocrinology and is currently a facilitator at the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Winter School. He is chair elect of the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes.

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Shane O'Driscoll

I have been working in Bowel Cancer Screening for 12 years, and for 7 years in research. My previous work has included evaluation of FIT for Hb laboratory and POC systems, assessment of EQA materials, and NICE FIT. More recently I have been working on evaluation of faecal calprotectin methods and I am part of team for FIT in Lynch and evaluation the POC qualitative FIT devices.

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Dan Payne

Current employment:

• Consultant Clinical Scientist Immunology, Tees Valley Pathology

Previous employment:

• Consultant Clinical Scientist Immunology, Leeds,
• Consultant Clinical Scientist Haematological Diagnostic Service (HMDS), Leeds
• Diagnostic Specialist PNH and aHUS, Alexion Pharma UK
• Principal Clinical Scientist, Immunology and Flow Cytometry Clinical Lead, Leicester

Involvement in national training:

• Royal College of Pathologist’s examiner
• NHSE Immunology Specialist Scientist curriculum design, review, and examination
• Head of Clinical Faculty for Royal Microscopy Society, York University
• Clinical Immunology MSc lecturer; Leeds and Manchester University

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Octavia Peck Palmer

Octavia M. Peck Palmer is the President of the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM, formerly the American Association of Clinical Chemistry). She is academically unique as she conducts translational research, teaches, mentors, and directs clinical laboratories within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). She earned her Ph.D. in Physiology from The Medical University of South in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Chemistry at Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. On July 1, 2023, Octavia was appointed the inaugural Vice Chair of Health Equity, Diversity, and inclusion for the Department of Pathology. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, with secondary faculty appointments within the Critical Care Medicine and Clinical and Translational Science departments. She is a board-certified clinical chemist and serves as the Division Director of Clinical Chemistry and medical director of two large CAP-accredited clinical laboratories for which she provides both consultative and patient test result interpretation for healthcare providers within the healthcare organization. She has over 100 publications. Her recent journal publications focus on laboratory medicine leading the efforts to ensure health equity and include Recognizing Laboratory Medicine's Collaborative Role in Identifying and Eliminating Health Disparities in the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine; AACC/National Kidney Foundation Guidance Document on Improving Equity in Chronic Kidney Disease Care in the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine; Reconsidering the use of race adjustments in maternal serum screening in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Feasibility of Embedding a Scalable, Virtually Enabled Biorepository in the Electronic Health Record for Precision Medicine in JAMA Network Open. She received the 2020 Outstanding Teaching in Clinical Pathology Award from the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh and the 2022 American Association of Clinical Chemistry, Society for Young Clinical Laboratorians Mentoring Award. She was named to The Pathologists Power List and spotlighted as the next generation of laboratory medicine – the "rising stars" of pathology.

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Ross Sadler

Ross has worked as a consultant at Oxford for around 7 years and has worked on the myeloma pathway for nearly all of that time via the development of a laboratory based MGUS monitoring service and collaborator for the Myeloma UK lab best practice tool.

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Lynne Smith

I worked in the NHS for 45 yrs at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, initially in Cardiothoracics and then GI Physiology as a Clinical Scientist . I have been heavily involved in education and training throughout my career including developing curriculum for GI Physiology and Urodynamics for STPT and HSST. I was awarded an MBE for services to Healthcare Science in 2014. I am a Non-Executive Director and an Honorary Fellow of AHCS. I am currently employed as the STP Program Lead and Equivalence Lead.

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Rav Sodi

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

Dr Rav Sodi is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Mid & South Essex NHS Trust. He undertook undergraduate studies in Canada and postgraduate studies and specialization in Clinical Biochemistry in the UK. He holds a number of teaching roles and has published widely in the field of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine and is an author in the leading textbooks of the profession including the Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry. He is passionate about implementing clinical pathways to manage patients effectively and efficiently. His current research interests are home self-testing particularly with regards to monitoring cancer, artificial intelligence, and genomic medicine. He has contributed to numerous innovative e-learning laboratory medicine education platforms including the award-winning Learning Lab developed by the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (USA). He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Association for Laboratory Medicine (UK), a reviewer for several leading scientific and medical journals and previously Deputy Editor of the Annals of Clinical Biochemistry.

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Emma Stevenson

Emma is a principal clinical scientist based in the clinical biochemistry laboratories at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She is Chair of the LabMed Education Group and Deputy Director of Education, Training and Workforce. Outside of education and training, Emma’s main interest in the laboratory is quality, including EQA, IQC and measurement uncertainty. Emma is a member of the RCPath’s Chemical Pathology National Quality Assurance Panel, which oversees the running of EQA schemes in biochemistry.

Pronouns:  She/her

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Neil Syme

Dr Neil Syme is a Consultant Clinical Scientist in Biochemistry in NHS Lanarkshire, Scotland. He provides clinical leadership for faecal testing in Lanarkshire, and is a member of the LabMed Scientific Affairs and Clinical Practice Committee. Neil trained at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, with a focus on applying mass spectrometry to endocrine and metabolic services, after which he became Deputy Director of the UK NEQAS for Peptide Hormones. In 2014, Neil moved back to clinical service provision at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where he worked across the general and specialist endocrine sections, and managed the urine steroid profiling service. Neil has worked in Lanarkshire since 2020, and his interests include laboratory quality indicators, intelligent testing, and optimising patient testing pathways.

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David Taylor

David Taylor has worked in and around the Steroid Laboratory at King’s College Hospital as a Clinical Scientist since 2010.  He has led the laboratory since 2019 after being promoted to Consultant status, being appointed Director of the urine steroid profiling supraregional assay service the following year. Urine steroid profiling by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry remains the gold standard for biochemical diagnosis of steroidogenic disorders and the service at King’s provides profiling and advice for >150 hospitals across the UK and Ireland. More recently, David has led on the development and implementation of a number of serum steroid tests using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, complementing the existing urine steroid profiling service. David holds a BSc, MSc and PhD in Clinical Biochemistry and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists. He publishes regularly in the fields of endocrinology and steroid analysis.

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Kate Templeton

No bio provided

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Chelsey Walsh

I started work at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in 2014 after completing my training as a biomedical scientist, and nearly 10 years later I’m still here! After 3 years as a BMS I started the STP and have been working as a clinical scientist in 2017. My current role is a great mix of quality, point of care testing and training, all of which are aspects of the job I enjoy. The acute work we do in the hospital always keeps me on my toes, but my real interest is in looking at how we can best support the community aspects of care, whether that’s based on improving patient pathways with the laboratory or in optimising the point of care options that best complement the laboratory service. When I am back at work after maternity leave this will be where I hope to make the most difference to our patients and service users.  When not working, I enjoy spending with my family and baking lots of yummy treats, although finding the time is harder now I have a new baby at home!

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Mairi Whiston

Mairi qualified from St Andrews and Manchester medical schools in 2009 and 2012. She worked as a doctor for 5 years including time spent as a volunteer doctor in Thailand and Belize. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mairi qualified as a dentist and worked as a vaccinator. She now works in early diagnosis at the blood cancer charity, Myeloma UK, and is passionate about using her (somewhat niche!) skill set to tackle health inequalities.

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Alison Whitelegg

Dr Alison Whitelegg is a Consultant Clinical Scientist in Immunology at University Hospital Southampton and Immunology Clinical Lead at Portsmouth University Hospitals NHS Trust. She has expertise in immunotyping haematological malignancy and in functional lymphocyte and neutrophil assays. Her research background is in T cell immune responses and vaccine specific immune responses as an assessment of immunocompetence in immunodeficient and transplant patients. After studying Immunology at the University of Glasgow Alison pursued a PhD at the Pirbright Institute before undertaking a postdoctoral position at the Anthony Nolan Research Institute. Following this she trained as a Clinical Scientist  and has spent 20 years working for the NHS. Education and mentoring future Clinical Scientists is one of Alison's passions and as such prior to accepting the post as Chair of the Immunology Professional Committee she held the post of educational representative for Immunology Clinical Scientists in the UK.

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Ed Wilkes

Ed completed his PhD and post-doctoral work at Barts Cancer Institute, where he developed computational methods for predicting drug response to small kinase inhibitors in cancer models. He went on to train as a clinical scientist in the NHS and is now the Head of Research at Kinomica. His interests primarily lie in predictive modelling, statistics education, systems biology, and (phospho-)proteomics.

Pronouns: He/him/his

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Marion Wood

I was a Consultant clinical and laboratory Haematologist in Colchester for 25 years .  Alongside clinical work, I undertook several leadership and management roles, at both local and regional level. These included training and educational responsibilities for junior medical and laboratory staff, Clinical Lead for Organ Donation, Deputy Medical Director and subsequently Medical Director for the Trust.             

I was also actively involved in the Association of Clinical Pathologists for many years, including secretary to the Association (2011 – 13) and Honorary Chair (2013 – 18).

Since 2018 I have been a Co-Lead for Pathology “Getting it Right First Time” (GIRFT). GIRFT identifies and highlights variation in practice, as a way to learn and improve our care for patients. Following publication of our National Report in 2021, we have focussed on areas of significant variability, including performance of B12 assays. An audit of laboratory practice in 2023 highlighted significant areas of concern and was used to respond to the NICE consultation about their latest guidelines.

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Timothy Woolley

Chief scientific officer, Inuvi Diagnostics

Tim trained as a BMS at the Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine, RAF Halton; completing his BSc and MSc at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar. During this time, he undertook research at Porton Down and Collingdale, before being seconded into the NHS.  After leaving the forces Tim has worked primarily in the private sector, co-founding Inuvi Diagnostics in 2018.

Based in Gloucestershire Inuvi was the first laboratory in the UK to gain ISO 15189 including flexible scope for capillary blood testing.  The laboratories research focus is on whole process verification, patient centric collection methods, reference ranges, sample stability and the use of capillary blood testing for mass population testing.

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Alexandra Yates

Alexandra, is a  Consultant Clinical scientist in the Clinical biochemistry department at the Countess of Chester hospital, GB, where her interest include analytical interferences, renal medicine, and quality improvement. Other wider interest include equality and diversity within  healthcare organizations, Alexandra is passionate in  enacting meaningful change leading to equity for all and recognizing the benefits this bring  to the healthcare and wider community.

Alexandra was appointed as Director of Scientific affairs for the Association for Laboratory medicine in May 2019 after 5 years on the scientific committee, and a previous role   as a national member on the LabMed council.

As chair of the Scientific and clinical practice committee, she leads  the committee in the vision  that; the scientific committee  and clinical practice committee should serve all LabMed members across pan-pathology disciplines,  enabling and promote translation  research and innovation,  and providing  scientific and clinical expertise to  our strategic partners, benefiting the  wider health care  community.

Pronouns:  She/her

 

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Azul Zorzoli

Azul trained as a Biochemist in Argentina, followed by a Master of Sciences in Microbiology and Immunology in Chicago, USA. She completed her PhD in Molecular Microbiology at the University of Dundee, in Scotland, where she studied the cell wall biosynthesis of Group A Streptococcus. Azul joined NHS Lothian as a clinical scientist trainee in 2020 and obtained HCPC registration in January 2024. Her research interests include novel diagnostic techniques, outbreak investigation and whole-genome sequencing.

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