Company Profile

Micropathology Ltd was created in February 1995 by Dr David Burnett and Dr Colin Fink as an independent company specialising in rapid diagnosis and research relating to infectious disease and host responses to infection.

The company undertakes more than two thirds of the UK transplant population surveillance for infection, serving the National Health Service through tertiary and specialist referral centres. The company laboratories also supply about one third of the acute infectious disease diagnoses for NHS hospitals across the UK. Company research staff maintain a close association with academic colleagues and a programme of applied research continues. This creates collaborative research projects with various university departments.

Accreditation & Quality Management System

The laboratory is fully accredited with CPA(UK) Ltd and participates in a wide range of external quality assurance schemes.

Principal Staff Profiles

Ethical Committee

Please click here for more information regarding the role and members of the ethical committee.

Publications from Micropathology

• Kuntzen T, Berical A, Ndjomou J, Bennett P, Schneidewind A, Lennon N, Birren BW, Kuiken C, Henn MR, Simmonds P, Allen TM. (2008) A set of reference sequences for the hepatitis C genotypes 4d, 4f, and 4k covering the full open reading frame. J Med Virol. 80(8):1370-8
• Lloyd AJ, Gilbey AM, Blewett AM, Pascale GD, Zoeiby AE, Levesque RC, Catherwood AC, Tomasz A, Bugg TD, Roper DI, Dowson CG. (2007) Characterization of tRNA-dependent peptide bond formation by MurM in the synthesis of Streptococcus pneumoniae peptidoglycan. J Biol Chem. Dec 12; [Epub ahead of print].
• Moore L, Gilbey A, Dowson C, Pridmore A, Dower S, Read R. (2007) Proinflammatory activation of Toll-like receptor-2 during exposure of penicillin resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae to ß-lactam antibiotics.J Antimicrob Chemother. 59(1):35-42
• Trzcinski K, Thompson CM, Gilbey AM, Dowson CG, Lipsitch M. (2006) Incremental increase in fitness cost with increased beta -lactam resistance in pneumococci evaluated by competition in an infant rat nasal colonization model. J Infect Dis. 1;193(9):1296-303.
• Ho SF, Fink C, Murray PI. (2005) Epstein-Barr Virus DNA Quantification: An Adjunctive Diagnostic Marker for AIDS-Associated Lymphoma.Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 13(6):471-3.
• Slatter MA, Read S, Taylor CE, Crooks BN, Abinun M, Flood TJ, Cant AJ, Wright C, Gennery AR.(2005) Adenovirus type F subtype 41 causing disseminated disease following bone marrow transplantation for immunodeficiency. J Clin Microbiol. 43(3):1462-4.
• Gilbey A.M., Burnett .D., Coleman R.E., Holen I. (2004) The Detection of Circulating Breast Cancer Cells in Blood. Journal of Clinical Pathology; 57:903-911
• Lloyd AJ, Brandish PE, Gilbey AM, Bugg TD. (2004) Phospho-N-acetyl-muramyl-pentapeptide translocase from Escherichia coli: catalytic role of conserved aspartic acid residues. J Bacteriol. 186(6):1747-57.
• Bennett P. (2003) DNA Sequencing and the Human Genome Project. In: Molecular Biology in Cellular Pathology. Eds: J. Crocker, P.G. Murray. Publ. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chicester, UK
• Fink C.G. (2003) Diagnostic molecular microbiology for the gynaecologist. In: Progress in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Ed: John Studd. Publ.Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh. Volume 15. pp153-168.
• Fink C.G. and Butler L. (2002) Molecular Microbiology for the Ophthalmologist. Eye News 9(3):54-61
• Boilot, P.; Hines, E.L.; Gardner, J.W.; Pitt, R.; John, S.; Mitchell, J.; Morgan, D.W. (2002). Classification of bacteria responsible for ENT and eye infections using the cyranose system. IEEE Sensors Journal; 2(3):247 -253
• Read S.J., Mitchell J.L., and Fink C.G. (2001). LightCycler multiplex PCR for the laboratory diagnosis of common viral infections of the central nervous system. Journal of Clinical Microbiology; 39(9):3056-3059
• Burnett D. and Kirk P. (2001). The inflammatory response. In: The Biology of Disease. Publ. Blackwell Science, Oxford. 2^nd Edition. pp39-48
• Vankemmelbeke MN, Holen I, Wilson AG, Ilic MZ, Handley CJ, Kelner GS, Clark M, Liu C, Maki RA, Burnett D, Buttle DJ. (2001). Expression and activity of ADAMST-5 in synovium. European Journal of Biochemistry; 268: 1259-1268
• Read S.J. (2001). Recovery efficiencies of nucleic acid extraction kits as measured by quantitative LightCycler PCR. Journal of Clinical Pathology;Molecular Pathology; 54: 86-90
• Chesky M., Scalco R., Failace L., Read S., Jobim L.F. (2000). Polymerase chain reaction for the laboratory diagnosis of aseptic meningitis and encephalitis. Arquivos de Neuro Psiquiatria; 58: 836-842.
• Read S.J., Burnett D. and Fink C.G. (2000). Molecular techniques for clinical diagnostic virology. Journal of Clinical Pathology; 53: 502-506
• Goon P., M. Wright and C.G. Fink (2000). Case report: Ophthalmic Zoster sine Herpete. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine; 93: 191-192
• Mitchell J.L. and S. L. Hill (2000). The immune response to Haemophilus parainfluenzae in patients with chronic lung disease. Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology; 7:25-30.
• Read S.J. and J.B. Kurtz (1999). Laboratory diagnosis of common viral infections of the central nervous system by using a single multiplex PCR screening assay. Journal of Clinical Microbiology: 37: 1352-1355
• Read S.J. (1999) .Viral CNS infections - diagnostic strategies. Proceedings of the 9th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Berlin.
• Crocker J. and D. Burnett (Eds) (1998). The Science of Laboratory Diagnosis. Publ. Isis Medical Media. Oxford
• Burnett D. (1998). Protein Assays.In: The Science of Laboratory Diagnosis. Eds: J Crocker & D Burnett. Publ: Isis Medical Media. Oxford. 461-470.
• Smith M-L., D. Burnett, P. Bennett, R.H. Waring, H.M. Brown, A. C. Williams and D.B. Ramsden (1998). A direct correlation between nicotinamide N-methyltransferase activity and protein levels in human liver cytosol .Biochimica et Biophysica Acta; 1422:238-244
• Kafienah W., D. J. Buttle, D. Burnett and A. P. Hollander. (1998). Cleavage of native type 1 collagen by human neutrophil elastase. Biochemical Journal; 330:897-902.
• Fink C.G. (1996). Toxoplasmosis Infection - A General Practitioners Update. Pulse; 56:78-79
• Fink C.G. (1996). The Toxoplasmosis Test - Why All Women Should be Screened. Pregnancy and Birth; June: 58-61
• Fink C.G., M. Sillis, S.J. Read, L. Butler, M. Pike (1995). Neurological lesions associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. PCR evidence against a direct invasive mechanism. Molecular Pathology; 48: M51-M54
• Burnett D. (1995). Inflammation. In: The Biology of Disease. Eds: Phillips J, Murray P. Publ: Blackwell Scientific Publications Oxford. pp22-30.
• Burnett D. The Neutrophil. In: Immunology of the Lung: Ed: Stockley R.A. Publ: John Wiley.