Adela Alcolea-Medina
@adelaam.bsky.social
Farmacéutica especialista en Microbiología y Parasitología Clínica | Now Consultant Clinical Scientist | Metagenomics | NGS
Pinned
Adela Alcolea-Medina
@adelaam.bsky.social
· Nov 17
Unified metagenomic method for rapid detection of microorganisms in clinical samples - Communications Medicine
Alcolea-Medina et al. develop a rapid, unified metagenomics method for the detection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses from clinical respiratory samples. This method reduces human DNA content, allowing ...
www.nature.com
Bacteria, virus, and fungi detection in just 6 hours from respiratory samples! A unified metagenomic approach for clinical diagnostics.
www.nature.com/articles/s43... #Genomics #Microbiology #Metagenomics
www.nature.com/articles/s43... #Genomics #Microbiology #Metagenomics
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Our latest preprint compares the dual-arm nanopore workflow with the respiratory metagenomics protocol currently implemented across the NHS, using clinical samples.
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...
@nhsmetagenomicsnet.bsky.social @lukebsnell.bsky.social @ronandoyle.bsky.social
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...
@nhsmetagenomicsnet.bsky.social @lukebsnell.bsky.social @ronandoyle.bsky.social
Comparison of nanopore methods for respiratory clinical metagenomics
Respiratory metagenomic sequencing is increasingly used for rapid, pan-microbial diagnosis in clinical practice, but there is a need to evaluate different wet lab protocols for performance and feasibi...
www.researchsquare.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Our latest preprint compares the dual-arm nanopore workflow with the respiratory metagenomics protocol currently implemented across the NHS, using clinical samples.
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...
@nhsmetagenomicsnet.bsky.social @lukebsnell.bsky.social @ronandoyle.bsky.social
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...
@nhsmetagenomicsnet.bsky.social @lukebsnell.bsky.social @ronandoyle.bsky.social
Our latest preprint compares the dual-arm nanopore workflow with the respiratory metagenomics protocol currently implemented across the NHS, using clinical samples.
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...
@nhsmetagenomicsnet.bsky.social @lukebsnell.bsky.social @ronandoyle.bsky.social
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...
@nhsmetagenomicsnet.bsky.social @lukebsnell.bsky.social @ronandoyle.bsky.social
Comparison of nanopore methods for respiratory clinical metagenomics
Respiratory metagenomic sequencing is increasingly used for rapid, pan-microbial diagnosis in clinical practice, but there is a need to evaluate different wet lab protocols for performance and feasibi...
www.researchsquare.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Our latest preprint compares the dual-arm nanopore workflow with the respiratory metagenomics protocol currently implemented across the NHS, using clinical samples.
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...
@nhsmetagenomicsnet.bsky.social @lukebsnell.bsky.social @ronandoyle.bsky.social
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...
@nhsmetagenomicsnet.bsky.social @lukebsnell.bsky.social @ronandoyle.bsky.social
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Heroic effort by Luke Snell, Suzy Pickering and Rui Galao and many colleagues at KCL, clinical collaborators at GSTT and of course the individuals concerned, several of whom sadly passed away.
February 2, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Heroic effort by Luke Snell, Suzy Pickering and Rui Galao and many colleagues at KCL, clinical collaborators at GSTT and of course the individuals concerned, several of whom sadly passed away.
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
This is finally out.
Very short take home. All the variation in spike that produced the immune escape characteristics of Omicron can occur in one single persistently infected individual over the period of a year.
This is why persistent infections matter
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Very short take home. All the variation in spike that produced the immune escape characteristics of Omicron can occur in one single persistently infected individual over the period of a year.
This is why persistent infections matter
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Antibody escape drives emergence of diverse spike haplotypes resembling variants of concern in persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections
Snell et al. develop sequencing methodology to identify full-length spike haplotypes
and show that persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections drive divergent haplotype emergence,
accelerating viral evolution an...
www.cell.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:09 PM
This is finally out.
Very short take home. All the variation in spike that produced the immune escape characteristics of Omicron can occur in one single persistently infected individual over the period of a year.
This is why persistent infections matter
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Very short take home. All the variation in spike that produced the immune escape characteristics of Omicron can occur in one single persistently infected individual over the period of a year.
This is why persistent infections matter
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
📣 Foley et al assess #syphilis PCR & serology in >8K Australian patients
#Serology: still essential for first infections & reinfections
#PCR: limited add'l benefit in first infections; w/ serology can improve detection of reinfections
#IDSky #clinmicro #diagnosticstewardship
ow.ly/hh0M50Y5j50
#Serology: still essential for first infections & reinfections
#PCR: limited add'l benefit in first infections; w/ serology can improve detection of reinfections
#IDSky #clinmicro #diagnosticstewardship
ow.ly/hh0M50Y5j50
The utility of combined syphilis PCR and serology during an outbreak in Western Australia: A multicentre retrospective diagnostic evaluation
Syphilis has re-emerged as a global public health concern. Although serology is well established, the role of PCR remains unclear. We evaluated the di…
ow.ly
January 29, 2026 at 10:52 AM
📣 Foley et al assess #syphilis PCR & serology in >8K Australian patients
#Serology: still essential for first infections & reinfections
#PCR: limited add'l benefit in first infections; w/ serology can improve detection of reinfections
#IDSky #clinmicro #diagnosticstewardship
ow.ly/hh0M50Y5j50
#Serology: still essential for first infections & reinfections
#PCR: limited add'l benefit in first infections; w/ serology can improve detection of reinfections
#IDSky #clinmicro #diagnosticstewardship
ow.ly/hh0M50Y5j50
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Today marks the end of #WorldAMRAwarenessWeek! Over the last week on LinkedIn, we have been sharing how respiratory metagenomics supports smarter antimicrobial use and personalised care.
👉 Follow our LinkedIn page to find out more: www.linkedin.com/company/1095...
#AMR #WAAW25 #Metagenomics
👉 Follow our LinkedIn page to find out more: www.linkedin.com/company/1095...
#AMR #WAAW25 #Metagenomics
November 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Today marks the end of #WorldAMRAwarenessWeek! Over the last week on LinkedIn, we have been sharing how respiratory metagenomics supports smarter antimicrobial use and personalised care.
👉 Follow our LinkedIn page to find out more: www.linkedin.com/company/1095...
#AMR #WAAW25 #Metagenomics
👉 Follow our LinkedIn page to find out more: www.linkedin.com/company/1095...
#AMR #WAAW25 #Metagenomics
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
As #WorldAMRAwarenessWeek wraps up, we share how respiratory metagenomics is transforming care.
Faster and accurate detection of pathogens help clinicians target treatment sooner and reduce unnecessary antibiotics, whilst improving personalised care and antimicrobial stewardship across the NHS.
Faster and accurate detection of pathogens help clinicians target treatment sooner and reduce unnecessary antibiotics, whilst improving personalised care and antimicrobial stewardship across the NHS.
November 24, 2025 at 3:52 PM
As #WorldAMRAwarenessWeek wraps up, we share how respiratory metagenomics is transforming care.
Faster and accurate detection of pathogens help clinicians target treatment sooner and reduce unnecessary antibiotics, whilst improving personalised care and antimicrobial stewardship across the NHS.
Faster and accurate detection of pathogens help clinicians target treatment sooner and reduce unnecessary antibiotics, whilst improving personalised care and antimicrobial stewardship across the NHS.
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
💬 “Learn at scale, deliver at pace.”
At today’s Genomics Summit, Prof. Ian Abbs highlighted the NHS Respiratory Metagenomics Network as a great example of partnerships driving innovation & improving clinical practice.
📩 Let’s keep the conversation going!
#NHSGenomics2025 #Metagenomics #Genomics
At today’s Genomics Summit, Prof. Ian Abbs highlighted the NHS Respiratory Metagenomics Network as a great example of partnerships driving innovation & improving clinical practice.
📩 Let’s keep the conversation going!
#NHSGenomics2025 #Metagenomics #Genomics
December 16, 2025 at 3:33 PM
💬 “Learn at scale, deliver at pace.”
At today’s Genomics Summit, Prof. Ian Abbs highlighted the NHS Respiratory Metagenomics Network as a great example of partnerships driving innovation & improving clinical practice.
📩 Let’s keep the conversation going!
#NHSGenomics2025 #Metagenomics #Genomics
At today’s Genomics Summit, Prof. Ian Abbs highlighted the NHS Respiratory Metagenomics Network as a great example of partnerships driving innovation & improving clinical practice.
📩 Let’s keep the conversation going!
#NHSGenomics2025 #Metagenomics #Genomics
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
What a year! From expanding to new sites, to celebrating publications and hosting our second annual network event, 2025 has been full of milestones for the network.
🎥 Press play to have a look back at some of what we have achieved this year!
#Metagenomics #LifeSciences
🎥 Press play to have a look back at some of what we have achieved this year!
#Metagenomics #LifeSciences
December 29, 2025 at 11:08 AM
What a year! From expanding to new sites, to celebrating publications and hosting our second annual network event, 2025 has been full of milestones for the network.
🎥 Press play to have a look back at some of what we have achieved this year!
#Metagenomics #LifeSciences
🎥 Press play to have a look back at some of what we have achieved this year!
#Metagenomics #LifeSciences
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
We are proud to be working collaboratively with multiple sites including hospitals and laboratories, across the UK, to help scale and advance respiratory metagenomic testing in the NHS.
👇 Check out our map below to see sites that are currently involved in the network.
#Metagenomics
👇 Check out our map below to see sites that are currently involved in the network.
#Metagenomics
November 25, 2025 at 3:38 PM
We are proud to be working collaboratively with multiple sites including hospitals and laboratories, across the UK, to help scale and advance respiratory metagenomic testing in the NHS.
👇 Check out our map below to see sites that are currently involved in the network.
#Metagenomics
👇 Check out our map below to see sites that are currently involved in the network.
#Metagenomics
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
This is what systematic racism looks like.
ICE detain U.S. citizen for looking Somali—use illegal chokehold to tackle him to ground.
Man repeatedly begs agents to look at his digital passport ID—they refuse.
Drove him 7 miles away before releasing him alone into Minnesota snow storm—told him to "walk home" in freezing weather advisory.
Man repeatedly begs agents to look at his digital passport ID—they refuse.
Drove him 7 miles away before releasing him alone into Minnesota snow storm—told him to "walk home" in freezing weather advisory.
December 10, 2025 at 8:22 PM
This is what systematic racism looks like.
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
H3N2 subclade K dominating early flu season in UK. Emerged at end of the southern hemisphere flu season, varies from the J.2 subclade chosen for this year’s vaccination. Current vaccine still thought to offer protection so…
Get your flu Vax! #IDSky #vaccines
www.gavi.org/vaccineswork...
Get your flu Vax! #IDSky #vaccines
www.gavi.org/vaccineswork...
Everything you need to know about ‘subclade K’ flu - and vaccine protection against it
As a new branch of H3N2 influenza gains ground, we explore what it means for this season’s flu vaccine.
www.gavi.org
November 15, 2025 at 2:37 AM
H3N2 subclade K dominating early flu season in UK. Emerged at end of the southern hemisphere flu season, varies from the J.2 subclade chosen for this year’s vaccination. Current vaccine still thought to offer protection so…
Get your flu Vax! #IDSky #vaccines
www.gavi.org/vaccineswork...
Get your flu Vax! #IDSky #vaccines
www.gavi.org/vaccineswork...
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Our new preprint covering the improvements we made to our respiratory metagenomic assay is out now:
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
✅ Now implemented in 6 NHS hospitals
✅ Increased sensitivity
✅ Increased pathogen genome coverage
(1/3)
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
✅ Now implemented in 6 NHS hospitals
✅ Increased sensitivity
✅ Increased pathogen genome coverage
(1/3)
Optimisation of whole cell human depletion provides increased sensitivity and microbial genome coverage from respiratory metagenomic assays
Metagenomics is being adopted worldwide as a laboratory developed test. We have previously reported a unified metagenomic method for the direct detection of microorganisms from respiratory samples, de...
www.medrxiv.org
October 20, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Our new preprint covering the improvements we made to our respiratory metagenomic assay is out now:
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
✅ Now implemented in 6 NHS hospitals
✅ Increased sensitivity
✅ Increased pathogen genome coverage
(1/3)
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
✅ Now implemented in 6 NHS hospitals
✅ Increased sensitivity
✅ Increased pathogen genome coverage
(1/3)
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Optimisation of whole cell human depletion provides increased sensitivity and microbial genome coverage from respiratory metagenomic assays https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.10.25337716v1
October 13, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Optimisation of whole cell human depletion provides increased sensitivity and microbial genome coverage from respiratory metagenomic assays https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.10.25337716v1
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Implementing rapid pan-microbial metagenomics in paediatric intensive care https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.25337257v1
October 10, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Implementing rapid pan-microbial metagenomics in paediatric intensive care https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.25337257v1
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
What if ICU doctors could diagnose infections in hours, not days?
A new test, developed from a PhD project at King's, now makes this possible.🔬
🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/metagenomics...
A new test, developed from a PhD project at King's, now makes this possible.🔬
🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/metagenomics...
Metagenomics testing: From PhD project to the ICU
A new diagnostic test that can detect a broad range of microorganisms in a single sample and give same-day results has been shown to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with…
www.kcl.ac.uk
October 2, 2025 at 8:36 AM
What if ICU doctors could diagnose infections in hours, not days?
A new test, developed from a PhD project at King's, now makes this possible.🔬
🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/metagenomics...
A new test, developed from a PhD project at King's, now makes this possible.🔬
🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/metagenomics...
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
New research article
Rapid pan-microbial metagenomics for pathogen detection and personalised therapy in the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective observational study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #OpenAccess #OA
Rapid pan-microbial metagenomics for pathogen detection and personalised therapy in the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective observational study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #OpenAccess #OA
October 2, 2025 at 8:47 AM
New research article
Rapid pan-microbial metagenomics for pathogen detection and personalised therapy in the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective observational study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #OpenAccess #OA
Rapid pan-microbial metagenomics for pathogen detection and personalised therapy in the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective observational study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #OpenAccess #OA
Rapid pan-microbial metagenomics for pathogen detection and personalised therapy in the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective observational study - The Lancet Microbe www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Rapid pan-microbial metagenomics for pathogen detection and personalised therapy in the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective observational study
Respiratory metagenomics for ICU patients showed good performance and turnaround time,
and diverse clinical and public health benefits. This ability to inform both personalised
patient therapy and inf...
www.thelancet.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Rapid pan-microbial metagenomics for pathogen detection and personalised therapy in the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective observational study - The Lancet Microbe www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Paracetamol remains an important option to treat pain or fever in pregnant women.
Following rigorous assessment of the available scientific data, we find no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.
Read more 👉 www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/use-...
Following rigorous assessment of the available scientific data, we find no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.
Read more 👉 www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/use-...
Use of paracetamol during pregnancy unchanged in the EU | European Medicines Agency (EMA)
Paracetamol medicines can be used in pregnancy, in accordance with official recommendations
www.ema.europa.eu
September 23, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Paracetamol remains an important option to treat pain or fever in pregnant women.
Following rigorous assessment of the available scientific data, we find no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.
Read more 👉 www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/use-...
Following rigorous assessment of the available scientific data, we find no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.
Read more 👉 www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/use-...
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
El “Acuerdo de la Organización Mundial de la Salud sobre Pandemias” (20 de Mayo de 2025) establece un marco integral de acción ante pandemias, que incluye la prevención de zoonosis, la preparación de los sistemas de salud y la equidad en la respuesta.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
The WHO Pandemic Agreement
This Viewpoint describes the World Health Assembly’s newly adopted Pandemic Agreement, which lays a framework for action including preventing zoonotic spillovers, health system preparedness, and equit...
jamanetwork.com
May 28, 2025 at 3:36 PM
El “Acuerdo de la Organización Mundial de la Salud sobre Pandemias” (20 de Mayo de 2025) establece un marco integral de acción ante pandemias, que incluye la prevención de zoonosis, la preparación de los sistemas de salud y la equidad en la respuesta.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Real-Time Genomic Surveillance for Enhanced Healthcare Outbreak Detection and Control: Clinical and Economic Impact
✅ Just Accepted
⭐ Editor's Choice
✍️ @sundermannaj.bsky.social
#IDSky
✅ Just Accepted
⭐ Editor's Choice
✍️ @sundermannaj.bsky.social
#IDSky
Real-Time Genomic Surveillance for Enhanced Healthcare Outbreak Detection and Control: Clinical and Economic Impact
Current methods are insufficient alone for outbreak detection in hospitals. Real-time genomic surveillance offers the potential to detect otherwise unidentified outbreaks.
doi.org
May 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Real-Time Genomic Surveillance for Enhanced Healthcare Outbreak Detection and Control: Clinical and Economic Impact
✅ Just Accepted
⭐ Editor's Choice
✍️ @sundermannaj.bsky.social
#IDSky
✅ Just Accepted
⭐ Editor's Choice
✍️ @sundermannaj.bsky.social
#IDSky
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Antibody escape drives emergence of diverse spike haplotypes resembling variants of concern in persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.17.648944v1
April 23, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Antibody escape drives emergence of diverse spike haplotypes resembling variants of concern in persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.17.648944v1
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Next speaker was Luke Blagdon Snell with Same-day pan-microbial metagenomics for personalized therapy and pathogen surveillance on the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective study (escmid.reg.key4events.com/AbstractList...).
Same-day pan-microbial metagenomics for personalised therapy and pathogen surveillance on the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective study
escmid.reg.key4events.com
April 13, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Next speaker was Luke Blagdon Snell with Same-day pan-microbial metagenomics for personalized therapy and pathogen surveillance on the intensive care unit: a single-centre prospective study (escmid.reg.key4events.com/AbstractList...).
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
Robbie Hammond presented next with Implementing same-day respiratory metagenomic diagnostics in paediatric intensive care (escmid.reg.key4events.com/AbstractList...). Their method had a turnaround time of 6 hours.
Implementing same-day respiratory metagenomic diagnostics in paediatric intensive care
escmid.reg.key4events.com
April 13, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Robbie Hammond presented next with Implementing same-day respiratory metagenomic diagnostics in paediatric intensive care (escmid.reg.key4events.com/AbstractList...). Their method had a turnaround time of 6 hours.
Reposted by Adela Alcolea-Medina
New preprint!
We developed a fast method that allows the use of hybridization capture workflows with @nanoporetech.com without additional ligation-based steps!
We validated our method using targeted viral metagenomics @twistbioscience.com and Viral WGS @Agilent
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
We developed a fast method that allows the use of hybridization capture workflows with @nanoporetech.com without additional ligation-based steps!
We validated our method using targeted viral metagenomics @twistbioscience.com and Viral WGS @Agilent
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Nanopore-based hybridization capture approaches for targeted viral metagenomics and whole-genome sequencing
Hybridization capture approaches can significantly increase the sensitivity of metagenomics. However, their implementation with Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing has been limited due to th...
www.medrxiv.org
April 11, 2025 at 12:43 PM
New preprint!
We developed a fast method that allows the use of hybridization capture workflows with @nanoporetech.com without additional ligation-based steps!
We validated our method using targeted viral metagenomics @twistbioscience.com and Viral WGS @Agilent
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
We developed a fast method that allows the use of hybridization capture workflows with @nanoporetech.com without additional ligation-based steps!
We validated our method using targeted viral metagenomics @twistbioscience.com and Viral WGS @Agilent
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...