The Department of Clinical Biochemistry at Glasgow Royal Infirmary encompasses both the NHS Institute of Biochemistry and the University of Glasgow Department of Vascular Biochemistry. It is CPA accredited and is the Center for Disease Control (CDC, Atlanta, USA) UK laboratory for the Lipid Standardisation Programme (cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C) and the CDC UK Reference Laboratory for cholesterol and HDL-C. The lipid laboratory participates in the UKNEQAS scheme for lipid investigation (cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C) and in the RIQAS lipid programme (apoAI, apoB, HDL-C). Both QA schemes use CDC reference values.

For the past thirty years, the department has had a broad ranging interest in all aspects of the association between lipids and coronary disease and more recently has extended this to novel risk factors such as hsCRP

Much of the research interest has focussed on the separation of lipoprotein subfractions, investigations of lipoprotein metabolism using isotope kinetic multicompartmental modelling and on the influence of diet and drugs on lipoprotein metabolism. The laboratory has also conducted large clinical trials, including the West Of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS) and the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER).

The director and deputy director, Dr Muriel Caslake and Professor Chris Packard have international reputations in the field of lipid research and are supported by clinical associates, Dr Denis O’Reilly and Dr Marek Dominiczak, the technical laboratory manager, Ms Anne Bell and the lipid research laboratory supervisor, Mrs Dorothy Bedford. Their extensive publications can be viewed on the website above.

Deputy Director: Prof Chris Packard
+44 (0)141 2114979

Department of Vascular Biochemistry
Queen Elizabeth Building 4th Floor
Royal Infirmary
Alexandra Parade
Glasgow G31 2ER

Website: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/pathologicalbiochemistry/index.htm