Key words

Pathogen – a germ (like a virus or bacteria) that can cause disease.

Non-infectious – Viruses and bacteria that might not cause disease.

Screening – testing blood to check for potential infections before donation.

Blood products – Medicines produced using human blood from many donors.

Contamination – Something causing a product to become unsuitable for use or making it impure.

Key publications

Castanet: Computer-based method for analysing pathogens in blood. Access the publication here

Theme 1: Technology

Can new technologies be used to detect pathogens in blood?

The aim of this research is to drive forward methods for screening blood, organs and blood products, building on the already high level of safety to develop new techniques that detect a wider range of infections and prevent them from being passed on.

This includes developing future technology for in-depth screening and improving and developing computer-based methods for analysis. This research also aims to check these methods to make sure they work reliably to keep donated blood and organs safe from infection.

Theme 1 tests and recommends new technologies to improve pathogen detection in blood donations.

Why does this matter?

This work will give us more ways to tell the difference between potentially infectious and non-infectious donors, so that the use of donated blood and organs can be more effective. Alongside improving ways to identify real and false positive screening results and identifying contamination events. The methods being developed may also contribute to the pandemic preparedness of the blood service.

How might this research lead to change?

These methods will also provide new ways to do pathogen surveillance, including more information on pathogens in the population. This means we can detect new or emerging pathogens early, helping to protect the safety of blood during future outbreaks

What new technologies are we investigating? One of the key areas of this research is metagenomics, a technique that looks at all the genetic material in a sample at once. Unlike traditional tests that search for one specific pathogen at a time, metagenomics can detect a wide range of bacteria, viruses, and other microbes, and potentially previously unknown ones. 

The past, present and future of blood screening

Blood screening continues to evolve as technology advances and new pathogens emerge. In theme I, we are looking ahead to the next generation of screening to stay ahead of the curve.

Meet theme 1

Dr Tanya Golubchik, Theme Lead Tanya uses genomic technologies to study how pathogens interact, evolve and affect their human hosts, and how we can use this knowledge to improve healthcare.

Dr Richard Mayne, Senior Scientist Rich writes software that helps scientists and clinicians find and analyze pathogens in genetic sequencing data.

Kai Kean, DPhil Student Kai’s focus is understanding the virome, the unique combination of viruses picked up during a person’s lifetime. She is also interested in new methods to identify markers of infection in blood samples.

Kaitlin Reid, DPhil Student Kaitlin focuses on analysing viruses in complex (pooled) samples and clotting factors related to the Infected Blood Inquiry.