Steering Committee

Steering Committee

The professional advisory structure for Weqas is a Steering Committee which meets with the organisers of Weqas three times a year. Steering Committee members selected are renowned within their fields with medical, scientific or technical experience to cover the scope of EQA services provided and advise the organisers of Weqas on the overall operation of the programme.  Steering Committee members discuss the frequency of distribution of materials, the types of materials to be distributed, methods of statistical analysis and data presentation, the desirability of introducing new investigations to the programme, evaluation of criteria for satisfactory performance, the critical cut offs, the appropriate clinical range, clinical advice and interpretative comments. The Steering Committee is not concerned with the performance of individual participating laboratories, except where this might indicate a failure in the operation of the programme.

The Steering Committee discusses with the organisers criteria for satisfactory performance and they have agreed that the responsibility for the acceptance of such criteria will rest with the National Quality Assurance Advisory Panel for Chemical Pathology (NQAAP). All members of the Steering Committee are available to receive comments from participants, although the majority of comments are received by the organisers via the “helpline”.


Steering Committee Members

Dr. David Housley
Chairman, General Clinical Biochemistry advice with Quality Control as area of expertise. Consultant Clinical Biochemist, BSc, MSc, PhD, DipRCPath. Chemical Pathology Department, Luton & Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust, Luton.
Prof. Garry John
General Clinical Biochemistry advice, Advisor for HbA1c Scheme. Chair IFCC ED- Diabetes Biomarkers Committee. Consultant Clinical Biochemist, BSc, MSc, PhD, MCB, FRCPath.
Dr. David James
Clinical advice in Chemical Pathology, Ex-Chair of Joint Working Group in Clinical Chemistry . Ex-chair of NQAAP in Chemistry. Consultant Chemical Pathologist, BSc, MB, BCh, MD, FRCPath.
Dr. Patrick Twomey
Clinical advice in Chemical Pathology. Ex-Deputy Chair of Joint Working Group in Clinical Chemistry . Ex-chair of NQAAP in Chemistry. Consultant Chemical Pathologist, BSc, MB, BAO, BCh, FRCPath, FACB.
Dr. Nigel Brown
Consultant Clinical Scientist, BSc, MSc, PhD, FIBMS, MRSC. Area of expertise – Toxicology.
Mr. Jamie West
Biochemistry Manager and IT lead. Biomedical Scientist, CSci FIBMS. General Pathology advice. Area of expertise – Quality Control and IT. IBMS representative.
Dr. Emma English
Senior Lecturer and Director Post Grad Research. BSc, PhD. Registered Clinical Scientist. Area of expertise – HbA1c, POCT device evaluation. Member IFCC ED- Diabetes Biomarkers Committee.
Dr. Aidan Ryan
Consultant Chemical Pathologist.
Prof. Timothy James
Laboratory Manager, BSc, MSc, PhD, FIBMS. Area of expertise – Angiogenic markers.
Ms. Elizabeth Ralph
Principal Clinical Scientist, BSC, MSc, FRCPath, PGDip. Area of expertise – Immunology.
Dr. Catherine Moore
Consultant Clinical Scientist, MBE, BSc, MSc, FRCPath. Area of expertise – Virology.

Advisors

Dr. Danja Schulenburg-Brand
Consultant in Medical Biochemistry and Metabolic Medicine, MBChB, MMed (Chempath), FRCPath. Clinical advice in Chemical Pathology. Clinical lead in inborn errors of metabolism and porphyria. Advisor for Porphyrin Scheme.