Clinical Microbiology

Our priorities

• Antimicrobial resistance. We have programmes focused on enhanced detection and management of resistant organisms, particularly in the hospital environment.
• Respiratory infection. We study the microbiome and resistome in patients with chronic lung disease such as COPD.
• We contribute to all stages of the TB drug development pathway with projects on evaluation of new compounds as well as supporting the laboratory aspects of phase II and III clinical trials.

Our research

Our research reflects the challenges presented by a diagnostic service in central London. Our main themes are:

• Molecular diagnosis
• Tuberculosis
• Mycology
• Respiratory infections
• Evolution of antibiotic resistance
• Hospital Acquired Infection.

In partnership with the TB Alliance, the CCM acts as a central laboratory for multi-centre clinical trials working towards registration of new treatment regimens for tuberculosis.

An underlying theme is the development of biomarkers of treatment outcome, whether transcriptomic analysis of in vitro treatments or the more complex picture of monitoring outcome in patients.

An important element of our work is capacity development. We provide training for laboratory scientists both on site and in London, participating in networks designed to enhance skills in microbiology laboratories.

Latest publications

1. Elton L, Kasaragod S, Donoghue H, et al. Mapping the phylogeny and lineage history of geographically distinct BCG vaccine strains. Microb Genom. 2023 Aug;9(8).
2. Dedrick RM, Abad L, Storey N, et al. The problem of Mycobacterium abscessus complex: multi-drug resistance, bacteriophage susceptibility and potential healthcare transmission. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2023 Jun 24:S1198-743X(23)00304-X.
3. Elton L, Abdel Hamid MM, Tembo J, et al. A pandemic within a pandemic? Admission to COVID-19 wards in hospitals is associated with increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in two African settings. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2023 Apr 13;22(1): 25.
4. Busby EJ, Doyle RM, Leboreiro Babe C, et al. Evaluation of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for Molecular Typing of Acinetobacter baumannii in Comparison with Orthogonal Methods. Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Jun 15;11(3): e0499522.
5. Lee SH, Ferran E, Witney AA, et al. A comparison of phenotypic and WGS drug susceptibility testing in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from the Republic of Korea. JAC Antimicrob Resist. 2023 May 13;5(3):dlad056.
6. Dierig A, Hoelscher M, et al. A phase IIb, open-label, randomized controlled dose ranging multi-centre trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and exposure-response relationship of different doses of delpazolid in combination with bedaquiline delamanid moxifloxacin in adult subjects with newly diagnosed, uncomplicated, smear-positive, drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis. Trials. 2023 Jun 6;24(1): 382.
7. Rofael SAD, Brown J, Lipman MCI, et al. Impact of prophylactic and 'rescue pack' antibiotics on the airway microbiome in chronic lung disease. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2023 Apr;10(1): e001335.
8. Petersen E, Hui DS, Nachega JB, et al. End of the Bedaquiline patent - a crucial development for moving forward affordable drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines for infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Int J Infect Dis. 2023 Apr 6: S1201-9712(23)00517-9.
9. Olbrich L, Nliwasa M, Sabi I, et al. Rapid and Accurate Diagnosis of Pediatric Tuberculosis Disease: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study for Pediatric Tuberculosis. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2023 May 1;42(5): 353-360.
10. Traore T, Shanks S, Haider N, et al. How prepared is the world? Identifying weaknesses in existing assessment frameworks for global health security through a One Health approach. Lancet. 2023 Feb 25;401(10377): 673-687.

Documents

• REMOX Laboratory Manual

  File

  remox-laboratory-manual_compressed.pdf
• The Distribution and Origins of Ancient Leprosy by Dr Helen Donoghue et al, from Hansen's Disease: the Forgotten and Neglected Disease

Clinical Trials Day Interview 2019

For International Clinical Trials Day 2019, Neil Stoker talks to Prof. Tim McHugh, Director of the UCL Centre for Clinical Microbiology, about clinical trials.