Clinical Chemistry Podcast

Chinese Translation of "Molecular Diagnosis of a Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Causing an Outbreak of Pneumonia" interview with Dr. Leo Poon.

In December 2019, a cluster of atypical pneumonia patients epidemiologically linked to a wholesale market in Wuhan, China was detected. A novel betacoronavirus named as 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been identified in some of these patients. Considerable attention has been given to this virus, that according to the World Health Organization as of this recording at the end of January 2020, has so far thought to have sickened over 6,000 people and is responsible for at least 132 deaths. Because of the potential for pandemic spread, there is a great need for a rapid and accurate test for the detection of the virus. We are fortunate to have with us today Dr. Leo Poon from the School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. He and his colleagues described a new molecular diagnostic assay that allows the detection and quantification of this new coronavirus.

Molecular diagnostics is the topic of the January 2020 special issue of Clinical Chemistry.  In that issue, there is a counter point report on the use of circulating tumor cells in the management of cancer patients.  To provide further insight on this topic, we’re joined in this podcast by one of the editors of this special issue, Professor Klaus Pantel, Chairman of the Institute of Tumor Biology at the University Medical Center in Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany. 

Breakthroughs in sequencing technology and computational biology have provided the basis for studies of the myriad ways in which microbial communities in and on the human body influence human health and disease. In almost every medical specialty, there is now growing interest in accurate and replicable profiling of the microbiome for use in diagnostic and therapeutic application.           In the January 2020 issue of Clinical Chemistry, which is devoted to topics in molecular diagnostics, Dr. Robert Schlaberg reviews microbiome diagnostics.

Molecular diagnostics is now firmly entrenched in laboratory medicine and the January 2020 issue of Clinical Chemistry is devoted to this topic.  In that issue is a case report that presents an unconventional diagnosis based somatic findings through germline whole-exome sequencing.  Joining us in this podcast is the lead author of that case report, Dr. Jaime Lopes, who is currently a fellow at the Genomics Laboratory in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. 

Molecular diagnostics is now firmly rooted in laboratory medicine and the January 2020 issue of Clinical Chemistry is devoted to this topic.  In that issue, Dr. Linnea Baudhuin reviews genome and exome sequencing as they’re used in clinical practice.

Molecular Diagnostics is clearly going from strength to strength.  That’s the title of the lead article by the guest editors in the January 2020 issue of Clinical Chemistry that is devoted to this topic.  It has been five years since the last molecular diagnostics theme issue was published in Clinical Chemistry.  In this new edition of the theme issue, the editors have highlighted some of the most exciting developments in the field including the maturation of massively parallel DNA sequencing technology allowing production of genomic data at the hospital or even population level. Joining us in this podcast is one of the guest editors for this special issue, Dr. Carl Wittwer.