The Analytical Scientist / Issues / 2015 / Feb / Clinical Collaborations
Mass Spectrometry Clinical Spectroscopy

Clinical Collaborations

Is analytical science poised to storm the theatre and steal the spotlight? Possibly not. But I do sense an increasingly central – and recognized – role, particularly in the clinic.

By Rich Whitworth 02/20/2015 1 min read

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As you may know, The Analytical Scientist was borne out of a desire to restore some balance in the science community in terms of recognition and prestige for our field. To that end, we have been happily showcasing the extraordinary endeavors of the people who make up what may be the most diverse group of scientists – spanning, as you do, everything from petroleum to proteomics, monoliths to metabolites, comets to cocktails, foodomics to fracking. In short, analytical scientists are everywhere – but where are they?

Wandering around The Science Museum in London (an excellent way to spend a day), there are so many artifacts describing humankind's journey through engineering, science and technology that the experience is simply mindboggling (in a good way). And sure enough, tucked away among rocket ships and space suits are a few analytical antiquities – Thomson’s cathode ray tube (used to discover the electron) and the spectroscope used by Lockyer when he discovered a mystery element called helium... But I was surprised by how few analytical icons have found their way into “Making the Modern World.” I then spotted a (rather large) magnetic resonance imager from the early 1980s –apparently just like the one used by John Mallard to obtain the first clinically useful MRI image in 1980. Ah! Application of nuclear magnetic resonance in the clinic makes it relevant for the general public. What about NMR spectroscopy? Or mass spectrometry? It seemed amusing to me that just around the corner from The Science Museum was the Imperial College London’s South Kensington campus – home of the MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre (and, for all I know, it’s fleet of MS and NMR systems).

Our main feature showcases a fresh breed of collaboration, where clinicians, analytical chemists, data specialists and engineers all work towards moving medicine forward into a new era. Ambitious projects that engage both surgeons and spectroscopists would have seemed a rarity even 10 years ago, but with new institutes like M4I and visionaries like Jeremy Nicholson coaxing everyone aboard the same ship towards the same destination, the future of healthcare looks significantly brighter. What will The Science Museum look like in 20 years? I wouldn’t bet against intelligent surgical tools in one corner and a personal bedside analytical system (nanoLC-MS/NMR?) in the other...

About the Author(s)

Rich Whitworth

Rich Whitworth completed his studies in medical biochemistry at the University of Leicester, UK, in 1998. To cut a long story short, he escaped to Tokyo to spend five years working for the largest English language publisher in Japan. "Carving out a career in the megalopolis that is Tokyo changed my outlook forever. When seeing life through such a kaleidoscopic lens, it's hard not to get truly caught up in the moment." On returning to the UK, after a few false starts with grey, corporate publishers, Rich was snapped up by Texere Publishing, where he spearheaded the editorial development of The Analytical Scientist. "I feel honored to be part of the close-knit team that forged The Analytical Scientist – we've created a very fresh and forward-thinking publication." Rich is now also Content Director of Texere Publishing, the company behind The Analytical Scientist.

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