Medical Technology Research Centre
Professor Stephen Bustin is a world-renowned expert on quantitative PCR, and his research focuses on translating molecular techniques into practical, robust and reliable tools for clinical and diagnostic use. He is the Lead of the Molecular Diagnostics Unit, part of ARU's Medical Technology Research Centre (MTRC).
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Stephen obtained his PhD in Molecular Genetics from Trinity College, University of Dublin. His research interests include developing novel approaches for the early diagnosis of fungal and bacterial pathogens as well as applying molecular techniques to cxancer patient management.
Stephen has authored numerous papers, review articles and book chapters aimed at improving the reproducibility and robustness of real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), including three books: A-Z of quantitative PCR (2004), The PCR Revolution (2011) and PCR Technology (2013).
Previously, Stephen acted as an expert witness advising the UK High Court on qPCR technology in the Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccine - Autism class action, as well as at the MMR trial in Washington, DC, in 2007. He led an international consortium developing the MIQE guidelines for the use and reporting of qPCR (2009) and digital PCR (2013).
Professor Bustin’s main area of interest centres on devising novel, and cost-effective assays for the early detection of infectious diseases, with a particular focus on the identification of fungal pathogens and the creation of tests that anticipate emerging threats from new bacterial antibiotic resistance markers, eg MDR-1.
A second area of interest has been the identification of predictive biomarkers for improved selection of colorectal cancer patients for anti-cancer treatment as well as development of molecular assays for intraoperative assessment of lymph nodes in breast cancer patients. A third priority addressed concerns about the reliability of biomedical research results.