A single tumour sample can now reveal dozens of distinct molecular subtypes of pancreatic cancer, each potentially requiring a different treatment—but the NHS currently runs only a handful of such tests. The Glasgow Molecular Pathology Node aims to close this gap by building a permanent platform where pathologists, data scientists, and clinicians work side by side to develop, validate, and deliver new molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, inflammatory diseases, and cardiovascular and metabolic conditions. The node sits within a £1 billion hospital campus that already serves 52% of Scotland’s population, giving it a direct route from lab bench to patient bedside. If successful, the node will transform how the NHS selects treatments: instead of classifying diseases by microscope alone, doctors will routinely match patients to therapies based on the specific molecular abnormalities driving their illness. The project also trains the next generation of molecular pathologists and builds the informatics pipelines needed to handle the massive datasets these tests generate, creating a self-sustaining centre that feeds new diagnostics into routine care.
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The development of treatments for many diseases is slowing, with ever decreasing benefits for patients and dramatic increases in cost. We now understand more about abnormalities in DNA and other molecules which occur in disease. This so-called "molecular pathology" is revealing significant variation in diseases which by standard classifications, for example by a pathologist using a microscope, have been indistinguishable. So, for example, we now know that pancreatic cancer is not just one disease but many different ones, potentially with different treatments. Armed with this knowledge and the fact that most new treatments are being developed to target specific molecular abnormalities, it is becoming clear that a tailored, stratified approach to patient selection is required for many aspects of disease management. Molecular pathology could revolutionise medical approaches but at the moment only a few tests are routinely available in the NHS and their implementation from research though to clinical practice is complex. The Glasgow Molecular Pathology Node aims to create a dynamic platform that integrates laboratory medicine, including pathology, and informatics disciplines, which handle and analyse the large datasets which emerge from molecular research. In our Node, scientists, pathologists and colleague clinicians will work together to develop and perform new tests, and interpret, deliver and act on results for patient benefit. Glasgow's existing clinical strengths in pathology and molecular diagnostics are delivered from the purpose-built Laboratory Medicine Building within the new £1billion South Glasgow University Hospital campus, which provides services to 52% of the Scottish population. The University of Glasgow's successful restructure in 2010 created multidisciplinary Research Institutes within the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences which are perfectly positioned to make use of, and support, the proposal. Our vision is to transform the management of cancer and chronic disease by accelerating biomedical research, high quality healthcare provision and economic growth. We will achieve this by working in partnership with world-leading discovery researchers from the College's Institutes for Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, Cancer Sciences and Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Health Economics, Bio-engineering and Computer Science, and with industry, to create a multidisciplinary centre of excellence in research and development of molecular diagnostic tests. One of the city of Glasgow's mottos is "people make Glasgow". This was well demonstrated in the recent 2014 Commonwealth Games which were full of "people, place and passion" and our vision is to develop the people, infrastructure and collaborative working practices to enable validation and delivery of high-quality molecular pathology. Our strategic focus and objectives are therefore to build capacity in molecular pathology and informatics, through funding for flexible and additional staffing and dedicated high-quality training to develop expertise. This will enable enhanced delivery and development of clinical molecular pathology; and will underpin the parallel development of pipelines for molecular diagnostics validation. *We will develop new tests to better diagnose patients and guide their best treatment in cancer, in inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and in cardiovascular and metabolic disease like diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Successful realisation of this vision will: *Maximise the impact of major recent infrastructure investment; *Create the next generation of leaders; *Deliver high impact innovation in molecular pathology and complex informatics, with underpinning health economic input, to the *Benefit of the health and economy of the UK, encompassing NHS care, academic research and UK industry; and *Contribute a critical Node to this successful new UK network.
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