The method developed by Hassan-Smith, a clinical senior lecturer at Aston Medical School and honorary consultant neurologist at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB), and her collaborators combines metagenomic sequencing, an existing and highly sensitive genetic test, with a new computational filtering system. The system identifies likely disease-causing bacteria and viruses from the complex information the test generates.
The research team included Dr. Zaki Hassan Smith, a clinical associate professor at Aston Medical School and consultant endocrinologist at UHB, and collaborators at the University of Birmingham: professor Nicholas Loman, director of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection; Dr. Joshua Quick, UKRI Future Leaders; and Dr. Nicola Cumley, a clinical scientist. The work is published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases.