Welcome to our blog, where scientific musings meet practical insights in the world of clinical microbiology. From thought-provoking reflections to industry updates, our posts are designed to inform, inspire, and support professionals in their vital work.
Early in my career, after gaining my Fellowship of the Institute through the Special Examination in Microbiology, I was finally eligible—at least on paper—to apply for senior laboratory roles. At the time, relocating for promotion was common, and like many others, I was prepared to move for the right opportunity.
I needed a suspension containing Legionella pneumophila. It needed to be a smooth suspension, in microbiology terms, single cells suspended in saline. Try this from an agar plate culture of L. pneumophila and the task is impossible. The colonies grow nicely enough but try to transfer colonies from the plate to a suspension and, oh…
Beginning my career in clinical microbiology at age 18 years along with fellow students we were provided with a list of recommended textbooks from the college we attended. These reference books became the backbone of our studies and have particularly remained with me as exemplary sources of information in my subject throughout my life. Some…
Following my success at passing the IBMS Fellowship examination in Medical Microbiology, I spent a year working at one of the largest microbiology departments in the UK, based in South Manchester at Withington Hospital. A jointly located hospital and Public Health Laboratory, this place certainly contained several real characters. One I remember was Consultant Epidemiologist,…