RECENT NEWS

An internationally renowned gene therapy research team has won a $200,000 CytoFLEX flow cytometer from Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. The contest was designed to explore innovative research solutions involving flow cytometry. The winning team, headed by Dr Martin Pulé, is from the UCL Cancer Institute at University College London.

Neil Bentley, head of Specialist Microbiology Technical Services at Public Health England (PHE), has been awarded an OBE for Services to Public Health in the New Year's Honours, which is well-deserved recognition of his contribution to public health in the UK and overseas.

A study undertaken in Sweden has shown that a new test for prostate cancer is better at detecting aggressive cancer than prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The new test, which has undergone trial in 58,818 men, discovered aggressive cancer earlier and reduced the number of false-positive tests and unnecessary biopsies. The results were published recently in the The Lancet Oncology.

An international collaboration of scientists has revealed the molecular function of a protein essential for replication of H5N1 influenza virus. A subdomain of the viral polymerase undergoes large-scale structural reorganisation to enable an essential part of the polymerase to enter the nucleus of the infected cell, where the viral genome is replicated.

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics has made available Issue 4 of its DxN VERIS Molecular Diagnostics Evidence Pack. Following presentation of eight new scientific posters at the European Societyfor Clinical Virology meeting in Edinburgh, the Evidence Pack has been updated and now contains more than 20 evaluation posters presented at key infectious disease meetings across Europe.

Menarini has announced the placement of its 50th sediMAX analyser into the UK and Irish market. The success of this innovative urine analyser has been largely down to the technology employed, which has moved away from the flow cell-based systems previously available.

The Health & Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has published a report on information about the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England in 2014–15 and key statistics from the previous 10 years.

A dozen ex-PHLS laboratory managers, some accompanied by their partners, gathered in Bakewell, Derbyshire, in mid-September for their annual reunion at the Rutland Arms Hotel. Special guests were Don Whitley (pictured giving an impromptu after-dinner speech) and his son, Paul Walton (managing director, Don Whitley Scientific).

John Stevens, a past-president of the IBMS, has been appointed Chair of the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS). Qualified as a biomedical scientist in haematology and transfusion science, John has worked across all healthcare disciplines, including a spell as a research assistant.

Hologic has continued its expansion into the virology testing market, having earned CE?IVD certification for the Aptima hepatitis C virus (HCV) Quant Dx assay on the fully automated Panther system.

Menarini has announced the placement of its 50th sediMAX analyser into the UK and Irish market. The success of this innovative urine analyser has been largely down to its unique technology, which has moved away from the flow cell-based systems previously available. A high throughput of 110 samples per hour, irrespective of sample quality, is available as it uses disposable cuvettes. This means that sediMAX can claim to be the fastest urine processor available.

Adaptimmune Therapeutics has announced that the first patient has been dosed in its expanded Phase I/II trial of its affinity enhanced T-cell receptor (TCR) therapeutic targeting the NY-ESO-1 cancer antigen in synovial sarcoma patients. Based on encouraging results in the first cohort of 10 patients, the trial is being expanded to encompass an additional 20 patients in two further cohorts.

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A new Swedish study has shown that a new test for prostate cancer is better at detecting aggressive cancer than prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

As a Licensed Body of the Science Council, the IBMS holds three professional registers: Chartered Scientist, Registered Scientist and Registered Science Technician. The Science Council recently introduced a CPD Award for the highest quality returns from the 2014 CPD audit of registrants. Therefore, the IBMS was pleased to learn that two registrants, Gordon Sutehall (CSci level) and Laura Green (RSciTech level), were invited to receive commendations at the Science Council annual CPD Monitoring workshop, held at the British Computer Society on 23 September 2015.

Artist Cordelia Spalding is seeking stories about laboratory glassware items for a science/art installation piece entitled ‘Cupboard of Windows’. The installation aims to record moments of exploration, discovery, inspiration and disappointment that scientists have experienced when working with laboratory glassware. Cordelia is looking for observations and anecdotes about the different moments members have experienced using laboratory glassware.

Institute Fellow Sally J Cutler was recently appointed to a professorship at the University of East London. Sally, whose laboratory career started as a Junior B MLSO in microbiology at the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, said: Some might say that now having a ‘chair’ means that the next milestone might be the couch! What this journey demonstrates is that there are multiple ways in which a biomedical scientist can progress their careers.

The National Society of Histotechnology (NSH) meeting is the largest such event in the world, and this year it was held in Washington DC at the end of August. This year’s meeting was remarkable in that it saw two British histopathology biomedical scientists acknowledged for their individual contributions to the discipline.

Herolab of Wiesloch in Germany manufactures products for life science research and diagnostics, and has now opened a UK-based office in Cambridge. This will help to service the growing number of users in the UK and well as offering sales and support for a number of International dealers and customers.

Medical Wire & Equipment (MWE) is a UK-based manufacturer of specimen collection devices that has been trading for over 60 years. It is now 40 years since MWE pioneered Transwab (pictured), the first commercially available gel transport swab. This year, MWE will celebrate 40 years of Transwab with a series of exhibitions events, during which MWE will also be promoting its new liquid swab, the Sigma Transwab.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is receding, but the Public Health England (PHE)-run diagnostic laboratories in Sierra Leone is playing an important part in bringing it to an end. There are still opportunities for volunteers to work in the laboratories during this critical phase. Full training and support will be provided, and most people who have gone have found it an immensely rewarding experience.