Waters has now roped in University of California San Diego School of Medicine’s Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine for its Centers of Innovation (COI) Programme.

The UC San Diego School of Medicine’s Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine (CALM) houses the Department of Pathology’s Division of Laboratory Medicine. The facility features state-of-the-art technologies used in diagnostic medicine and pathology to support patient care and inquiry into emerging fields, such as personalized medicine, genomics, clinical proteomics and cell therapy.

Under the direction of Professor Robert Fitzgerald, Director of Toxicology and Associate Director of Clinical Chemistry, the laboratory develops, validates and implements liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) diagnostic tests, including broad spectrum screens for drugs of abuse, therapeutic drug monitoring and vitamin D testing.

The laboratory utilises several Waters tandem quadrupole and quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometers, including the Xevo TQ-S, Xevo G2 QTof and ACQUITY TQD.

“We are very excited that Waters Corporation has recognised our department’s work in developing mass spectrometry-based tests for the clinical laboratory,” said Dr. Steven L. Gonias, Chair, Department of Pathology, UC San Diego School of Medicine and Chief of Pathology, UC San Diego Health.

“Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. David Herold of the UC San Diego School of Medicine have contributed landmark studies focused on improving the accuracy of diagnostic tests by applying mass spectrometry in new and innovative ways. The potential to further improve patient care through the expanded use of mass spectrometry is indeed impressive,” he added.

The is also a major research centre for studying cardiac biomarkers in diagnosing disease and monitoring therapeutic interventions.

In 2013, Waters endowed a postdoctoral Clinical Chemistry Fellowship at UC San Diego. The two-year programme trains fellows in classical clinical chemistry, laboratory administration and research practices to prepare them for directorship positions at medical schools or hospital-based clinical chemistry laboratories.

The Innovation Programme recognises accomplished scientists and their institutions for research in the fields of the health sciences, pharmaceuticals, chemical materials, food and environmental chemistry, mass spectrometry and separations science. By partnering with leading scientists and connecting them with experts in mass spectrometry and separations science, Waters endeavours to bring about inspired thinking that converts ideas into reality.