Rapid Diagnosis and Biomedical Research
Providing a clinically supported service for the rapid diagnosis and management of infectious and genetic disease.
Research Activities
We specialise in the development and application of nucleic acid, immunochemical or biochemical based assays, and will undertake collaborative or contract research projects using these techniques in any area of human animal or plant pathogen scientific investigation.
We can provide a complete and cost effective service, from initial project design to a presentation of the final report.
Collaboration
We collaborate in a variety of research programs with colleagues at universities and hospitals. A number of academic research students and fellows undertake joint research projects with our company staff on a regular basis.
We also have experience in performing diagnostic testing for clinical trials in compliance with the EU Clinical Trials Directive (2001/20/EC).
Major EU Funded Research
In collaboration with Professor Mike Levin MBE et al at Imperial College, for more than 20 years we have been a central part providing so called ‘Gold standard diagnoses’ for 3 major EU grants:
EUCLIDS Study – Molecular Diagnosis of Life-Threatening Childhood infections and determining bacterial mechanisms of invasion
Professor Colin Fink and the Micropathology research team have collaborated with Professor Mike Levin MBE (Imperial College and St Mary’s Hospital Paediatrics London), in a series of Europe wide multi-centre EU funded grants. The Micropathology team have analysed and provided molecular diagnoses of pathogens contained within many thousands of samples (blood, respiratory and other samples) from patients recruited to these projects from across Europe and Africa and Asia.
Grant no 279185.
PERFORM Study – Distinguishing Bacterial and Viral Infection in Febrile Children
The management of febrile patients, especially children, is one of the most common and important problems facing healthcare providers. Distinction between bacterial infections and trivial viral infection on clinical grounds is unreliable, and as a result, innumerable patients worldwide undergo hospitalization, invasive investigation and are treated with antibiotics for presumed bacterial infection when, in fact, they are suffering from self-resolving viral infection. We aimed to enjoin in improving the process of diagnoses and support the development of new approaches to this problem.
Grant No 668303.
DIAMONDS Study – Developing a molecular test for the rapid diagnosis of serious infectious and inflammatory diseases
An EU Horizon2020 project to develop a molecular test for the rapid diagnosis of serious infectious and inflammatory diseases using personalised gene signatures. Using patient blood samples, this study investigates the feasibility of determining host gene up-regulation and gene directed RNA, host transcript biomarkers as a means of determining the causes of severe pyrexial disease in children.
Grant No 848196.
For further information, see: https://www.diamonds2020.eu/about/
Other Recent Research Projects
Prematurity, Gut Microbiota, and Respiratory Health Study
The company has provided financial support and diagnostic expertise for Professor J Simon Kroll, Professor Sejal Saglani and Professor Andrew Bush (Imperial College Paediatrics and National Heart and Lung Institute) in a new study using the information gained from the study by Dr Elizabeth Powell (see below). This study investigated the impact of premature birth on the gastrointestinal microbiota in early infancy and respiratory health at school age: a comparison of premature and birth term infants.
Neonatal Microbiome Development in Early Life
Dr Elizabeth Powell at Imperial College and St Mary’s Hospital Department of Paediatrics, has been jointly supervised by Professor J Simon Kroll (Imperial College & St Mary’s Hospital) and Professor Colin Fink (Micropathology Ltd and University of Warwick) in a project looking at the development of the microbiome (bacterial colonisation) in the new born and following these children for the first two years of life. This project is now completed as a PhD thesis by Dr Powell.
Swiftlet Genetic Diversity and Domestication Study
The scientific staff of our laboratory have collaborated with Dr Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy (Lord Cranbrook) and Dr Wei Lim, Dr Vincent Siew and others on a project to chart the genetic changes taking place in the Far East swiftlet populations that produce edible nests. This is believed to be the first time that ‘domestication’ with hybridisation of wild type populations has been followed in detail for any animal population as selection for nest building in specially built nest buildings takes place. In the wild, these populations build nests in caves, but over harvesting has severely depleted the wild populations.
Kawasaki Disease Aetiology and Molecular Investigations
Micropathology Ltd staff are collaborating and funding an investigation of Kawasaki disease (prevalence in the UK 5-8 /100,000 children) within our laboratory collaborating with Professor Mike Levin (Imperial College) and Professor Taco Kuipers , Amsterdam University Medical Center (Amsterdam UMC), Netherlands. Dept of Immunology . This disease affects children between the ages of one year and five years and causes extensive inflammation and coronary artery damage leading to death or aneurysms if left untreated. At present the epidemiology of the disease shows that it is most prevalent in the Far East and moves seasonally across the globe. The cause of this disease is unknown. We are investigating a number of lines of enquiry concerning this enigmatic but serious illness.
Next Generation Sequencing to investigate unknown pathogens presenting as seasonal clinical illnesses.
Micropathology Ltd are expanding their molecular diagnostics capabilities into next-generation sequencing (NGS) through the implementation of untargeted metagenomic approaches for comprehensive pathogen detection and characterization. This allows for the analysis of all nucleic acids present in a sample without prior assumptions about the causative agent, enabling unbiased identification of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites in a single assay. This strategy enhances diagnostic yield, supports detection of novel or unexpected organisms, and provides valuable genomic insights for clinical decision-making. Through optimized workflows, robust bioinformatics pipelines, and stringent quality controls, Micropathology Ltd is committed to providing clients with rapid, high-quality diagnostic results that support confident patient management and improved outcomes.
Untargeted metagenomic investigation. A part of a PhD project.
Ms Catherine Davies, our PhD research student, registered with Imperial College London, is applying this untargeted metagenomic methodology within the framework of the EU-funded DIAMONDS study described in the paragraph 1 above. She is using stored samples focusing on identifying viral pathogens in cases where conventional molecular diagnostic testing has yielded negative results, yet host gene expression signatures suggest a potential underlying viral infection. By integrating metagenomic sequencing with host-response profiling, this research aims to refine diagnostic precision and support more individualized clinical management for paediatric patients.