BASHH OGM
STI Molecular Diagnostics: Present and
Potential
Royal Society of Medicine, London
Friday 14th Match 2014; 13:00 – 15:30
Chair:
12:00 – 13:00
Exhibition
13:00 – 13:05
Chair’s Introduction
13:05 – 13:40 Challenges with diagnosis and treatment of gonorrhoea
Dr Magnus Unemo (magnus.unemo@orebroll.se)
Dr. Magnus Unemo, Ph.D. and Assoc Professor in Medical Microbiology and Molecular
Biology, works as a senior researcher and is directing a WHO Collaborating Centre for
Gonorrhoea and Other STIs linked to the WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland as
well as the National Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria, Örebro University
Hospital in Sweden. His main research focuses on Neisseria gonorrhoeae and other
bacterial STIs, and he has published more than 180 scientific peer-reviewed papers as well
as many chapters in international STI books. He is also Editor of the Swedish Reference
Methodology for STIs; was Editor-in-Chief of the 2013 WHO Manual for Laboratory
Diagnosis of STIs and HIV; is in the Editorial Board for the European Guidelines for
Diagnosis and Treatment of STIs; and is responsible for one of the two laboratories acting
as the European CDC STI Reference Laboratory hub.
13:40 – 14:00
A syndromic approach to the detection of sexually transmitted pathogens
Dr Markus Schmitt (Markus.Schmitt@Dkfc-Heidelberg.de)
Dr. Schmitt is a researcher in the Department of Genome Modifications, Infection and
Cancer Research Program at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). His research
focus of the last 9 years has been on the association of human papillomaviruses (HPV) on
cancer of the uterine cervix and the development of biomolecular technologies for
improved cervical cancer precursor screening. Dr. Schmitt has also developed several
high-throughput multiplex assays applied in many international cooperations on infection
and cancer including one for sexually transmitted infections.
14:00 – 14:30 Next generation sequencing for sexually transmitted pathogens direct
from patient samples
Professor Nicholas Thomson (nrt@sanger.ac.uk)
Nick is a Principal Scientist in the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Pathogen Genomics
Group and Chair of Bacterial Genomics and Evolution at the London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine. His expertise centers on using whole genome sequencing
approaches to study bacterial genome evolution. He has been working with Pathogen
genomes for 11 years and specialises in part on those causing sexually transmitted
infections (STIs). His recent work centers on redefining what we know of C. trachomatis
evolution and epidemiology using whole genome resolution data. To extend their
population based studies his group has also developed methods to sequence Chlamydia
directly from uncultured discarded clinical swabs which he is now applying to other STI's.
14:30 – 15:00
Debate: Is the increase in pharyngeal gonorrhoea real?
Dr John White (John.White@gstt.nhs.uk) &
Mr Michael Perry (michael.perry@wales.nhs.uk)
Dr. John White FRCP is an Australian Sexual Health Physician who has been working in
the UK since 2004 as a consultant physician in the Department of Genitourinary Medicine
at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals in London. His professional interests include bacterial
STIs, sexual health of men who have sex with men (MSM) and diagnostic tests for
HIV/STIs. He has a keen interest in lymphogranuloma venereum infection in MSM and is
involved in several research studies involving the assessment of diagnostic tests for
bacterial STIs and HIV. He is Chair of the British Association of Sexual Health & HIV
Education Committee and also sits on the Core Group of the European Collaborative
Clinical Group of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI).
Since 2009 he has been Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of STD & AIDS.
Michael Perry is a Clinical Scientist working within the Public Health Wales National
Molecular Diagnostic Unit at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. Michael sits on the
core group of the Bacterial Special Interest Group of the British Association of Sexual
Health & HIV. During the last 10 years he has been instrumental in the development and
implementation of a wide range of molecular microbiology diagnostic methods and
strategies in Wales including those recently introduced for the detection of N. gonorrhoeae.
15:00 – 15:30 TEA/COFFEE
15:30 - 16.30
AGM (BASHH members only)
17:00 – 19:00
Evening session