R&D

As the reference lab for the National Aspergillosis Centre (Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust) and a partner to the Manchester Fungal Infection Group (University of Manchester), we are uniquely situated to carry out research and service development into diagnostics for aspergillosis, particularly chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) and Aspergillus fumigatus.

We have the critical mass needed to carry out cutting-edge research using new technologies. We provide mycological testing and expertise to pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical trials to developing new antifungals (e.g. isavuconazole, ibrexafungerp, PC786, Pulmatrix PUR1900). We are also involved in therapeutic drug monitoring of newer antifungals such as isavuconazole.

Our latest publications

List of research publications

Gits-Muselli M, White PL, Mengoli C, Chen S, Crowley B, Dingemans G et al. The Fungal PCR Initiative’s evaluation of in-house and commercial Pneumocystis jirovecii qPCR assays: Toward a standard for a diagnostics assay. Medical Mycology. 2020; 58: 779-788

Glampedakis E, co-author: Richardson M. Invasive aspergillosis due to Aspergillus section Usti: a multicenter retrospective study. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2020; doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa230

Hunter E, Page I, Richardson M, Denning DW. Evaluation of the LDBio Aspergillus ICT lateral flow assay for serodiagnosis of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. PLoS One. 2020.

Koehler P, co-authors: Richardson M, Rautemaa-Richardson R. European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) Expert Consult – An ECMM Excellence Center Initiative. Mycoses. 2020; 63: 566-572.

Loughlin L, Hellyer TP, White PL, McAuley DF, Morris AC, Posso RB et al. Pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia in UK Intensive Care Units. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2020; 202:1125-1132

Marttila E, Rusanen P, Uittamo J, Salaspuro M, Rautemaa-Richardson R, Salo T. Expression of p53 is associated with microbial acetaldehyde production in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology. 2020.

Marttila E, Grönholm L, Saloniemi M, Rautemaa-Richardson R. Prevalence of bacteraemia following dental extraction – efficacy of the prophylactic use of amoxicillin and clindamycin. Acta Odontologica Scandinavica. 2020 May 25;1-6

Moazam S, Muldoon E, Moore C, Richardson M, Rautemaa-Richardson R. Positive Aspergillus PCR as a marker of azole resistance or sub-therapeutic antifungal therapy in patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. Mycoses. 2020; 63: 376-381

Novak-Frazer et al (2020) Deciphering Aspergillus fumigatus cyp51A-mediated triazole resistance by pyrosequencing of respiratory specimens

Osmanov A, Farooq Z, Richardson M, Denning DW. The antiseptic Miramistin: a review of its comparative in vitro and clinical activity. FEMS Microbiology Reviews. 2020; 44: 399-417.

Richardson M, et al. Global guideline for the diagnosis and management of rare mold infections: An initiative of the ECMM in cooperation with ISHAM and ASM. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2020; in press.

Rautemaa-Richardson R, et al. Keep Antibiotics Working (KAW) group. Consensus-based antimicrobial resistance and stewardship competencies for UK undergraduate medical students. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance. 2020.

Sudradjat FS, Rozaliyani A, Syam R, Adawiyah R, Tugiran M, Sari CYI et al. Evaluation and comparison of automated and manual ELISA for diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) in Indonesia. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease. 2020; 98: 115124.

van der Torre MH, Novak-Frazer L, Rautemaa-Richardson R. Detecting Azole-Antifungal Resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus by Pyrosequencing. Journal of Fungi. 2020; 6: 12. doi: 10.3390/jof6010012

van der Torre et al (2020) Pyrosequencing to detect cyp51A-mediated triazole resistance

Vergidis et al (2020) High-volume culture and quantitative real-time PCR for the detection of Aspergillus in sputum

Vergidis P, Rao A, Moore CB, Rautemaa-Richardson R, Sweeney LC, Morton M et al. Talaromycosis in a Renal Transplant Recipient Returning from South China. Transplant Infectious Disease. 2020

Vergidis P, Moore CB, Novak Frazer L, Rautemaa-Richardson R, Walker A, Denning DW, Richardson MD. High-volume culture and quantitative real-time PCR for the detection of Aspergillus in sputum. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2020; 26: 935-940

Wilopo BAP, Hunter E, Richardson M, Denning DW. Optimising the cut-off of the Bordier Aspergillus IgG ELISA for the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. Journal of Microbiological Methods. 2020; 176: 106021.

Wilopo B, Richardson M, Denning DW. Diagnostic Aspects of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis: Present and New Directions. Current Fungal Infection Reports. 2020;13: 292-300.

Bongomin et al (2019) Isavuconazole and voriconazole for the treatment of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: A retrospective comparison of rates of adverse events. Mycoses 62, 217–222

Fraczek et al (2019) Detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii by quantitative real-time PCR in oral rinses from Pneumocystis pneumonia asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus patients. Journal de Mycologie Médicale 29, 107–111

Kosmidis et al (2019) Therapeutic drug monitoring and adverse events of delayed-release posaconazole tablets in patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. J Antimicrob Chemother 74, 1056–1061

Page et al (2019) Siemens Immulite Aspergillus-specific IgG assay for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis diagnosis. Med Mycol 57, 300–307

Stucky Hunter et al (2019) Evaluation of LDBio Aspergillus ICT Lateral Flow Assay for IgG and IgM Antibody Detection in Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis. J Clin Microbiol 57

Richardson (2019). An introduction to current standards of CARE in invasive fungal disease. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 74, ii2

Schelenz et al (2019) National mycology laboratory diagnostic capacity for invasive fungal diseases in 2017: Evidence of sub-optimal practice. Journal of Infection 79, 167–173

Sanguinetti et al (2019) Diagnosis and treatment of invasive fungal infections: looking ahead. J Antimicrob Chemother 74, ii27–ii37

Saxon C, Edwards A, Rautemaa-Richardson R, Owen C, Nathan B, Palmer B et al. BASHH Guideline on the Management of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (2019). International Journal of STD and AIDS. 2020.

Bongomin et al (2018) Sequence analysis of isolates of Aspergillus from patients with chronic and allergic aspergillosis reveals a spectrum of cryptic species. Future Microbiology 13, 1557–1563

Page et al (2018) Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of four Aspergillus-specific IgG assays for the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease 91, 47–51

Richardson & Page (2018) Role of Serological Tests in the Diagnosis of Mold Infections. Curr Fungal Infect Rep 12, 127–136

Rautemaa-Richardson et al (2018) Impact of a diagnostics-driven antifungal stewardship programme in a UK tertiary referral teaching hospital. J Antimicrob Chemother 73, 3488–3495

Rodriguez-Goncer et al (2018) Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in critically ill patients receiving veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 37, 1251–1257

Fayemiwo et al (2017) Comparative performance of Aspergillus galactomannan ELISA and PCR in sputum from patients with ABPA and CPA. J. Microbiol. Methods 140, 32–39.

Jiménez-Ortigosa et al (2017) Emergence of Echinocandin Resistance Due to a Point Mutation in the fks1 Gene of Aspergillus fumigatus in a Patient with Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 61

Kosmidis et al (2017) Challenges in the management of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. Med Mycol 55, 63–68

Moore et al (2017) First isolation of the pan-azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus cyp51A TR46/Y121F/T289A mutant in a UK patient. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents 49, 512–514

Richardson & Page (2017) Aspergillus serology: Have we arrived yet? Med Mycol 55, 48–55

Page et al (2016) Comparison of six Aspergillus-specific IgG assays for the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA). Journal of Infection 72, 240–249

Richardson (2016) An introduction to antifungal stewardship. J Antimicrob Chemother 71, ii3–ii3

Conferences

Our staff produce many peer-reviewed scientific papers and conference presentations each year.

Audits

We regularly carry out clinical audits to help improve the service we provide.