Testing Covid-19 and launching the Lighthouse Labs

Welcome back for another series of the Royal Society of Edinburgh's 'Tea & Talk' Podcast; a series of conversations with some of Scotland's leading authorities on the impact of Covid-19, featuring Fellows of the RSE and members of their Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission.

In Episode 2, Dr Rebekah Widdowfield talks to Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak about launching the Lighthouse Labs, the UK's capacity for testing at such scale, and the need for collaboration between science and industry.

Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak is Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Glasgow; Honorary Consultant Physician, Endocrinologist and Non-Executive Member of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board; and Health Innovation Champion for the Medical Research Council.  In 2016, she was awarded a DBE for services to cardiovascular and medical science.

Professor Dominiczak is currently seconded to the Department of Health and Social Care in the UK Government as Director of Laboratories for the COVID-19 National Testing Programme.  In March 2020, she successfully led the establishment of the Lighthouse Laboratory in Glasgow (LLiG), part of what will be the biggest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history, alongside other Lighthouse Lab sites in Milton Keynes and Alderley Park. The Lighthouse Lab project is funded by the UK Government, and has been established to dramatically increase the number of coronavirus tests that can take place each day to support the national effort. 

This success led to her current role of overseeing all Lighthouse Labs in the UK. 

Check out the Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission.
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