About us

Who are we?

MRCM is an integral part of The Manchester Fungal Infection Group (MFIG), which unifies NHS services (National Aspergillosis Centre) and University of Manchester research and teaching functions, creating one of the leading centres for medical mycology in Europe. The Manchester Fungal Infection network is made up of 120 NHS doctors, Clinical Scientists, nurses and University of Manchester researchers.

 The MRCM aims to continue to deliver a patient-focused service with an international reputation and be a premier supplier of mycology diagnostics to the NHS. We are implementing ambitious plans for modernising and improving service delivery.

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Our facilities

The MRCM laboratories are well equipped with a full range of analytical and automated platforms and enjoy the support of infectious diseases and respiratory clinical teams. In addition to conventional, culture-based diagnostics the laboratory offers a portfolio of tests such as Aspergillus and pan-fungal EIAs, real-time PCR and pyrosequencing for analysing respiratory samples.

~26000 tests per year

What region/s do we cover?

MRCM offers a highly specialised diagnostic service primarily serving Manchester, the north of England and Scotland but also receives daily referrals from throughout the UK and beyond. We provide a wide range of specialised mycological tests and have a considerable research and development portfolio.

We are an integrated part of the medical mycology community locally (FoBMH, MFIG, MMMP, MFT, ), nationally (UK-CMN, Public Health England) and internationally.

What accreditations do we hold?

The Mycology Reference Centre Manchester is a well-established, UKAS accredited (ISO 15189:2012 Medical laboratories) service providing an integrated conventional and molecular diagnostic service. The Centre was the first laboratory in the world to be accredited by the European Confederation of Medical Mycology as a Centre of Excellence in Clinical and Laboratory Mycology.

The MRCM is also a EUCAST Antifungal Susceptibility Testing Collaborative Laboratory and a European Fungal PCR Initiative Collaborative Centre.