Dr Thomas Edwards

Thomas is a post-doctoral research associate in the diagnostics development group at LSTM and leads the development of novel molecular tests for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This has included the use of high resolution melt analysis and novel probe strategies to produce highly multiplexed assays for detecting cephalosporin, carbapenem and fluoroquinolone resistance markers in Gram-negative bacteria.

Work undertaken in conjunction with Nick Feasey’s group at MLW has led to the design of an assay for chloramphenicol resistance in Enterobacteriaceae, which has the potential to aid the targeted use of this drug on susceptible infections. In 2017 he was awarded the LSTM Directors Catalyst Fund to develop a fully integrated molecular test for AMR in conjunction with his industrial collaborators BioGene.