MOLECULAR LOVING SCIENTISTS (MLS)

‘The world is going molecular’ Dr. Nwakorie’s favorite quote, one can’t count how many times she emphasizes this obvious yet obscure point in her microbiology class or whenever she has the opportunity to scold or lecture us (in reality whenever we see her!) and she has a point. A huge one at that. What does the phrase ‘going molecular’ mean for medical laboratory science as a profession? Keyword – molecular diagnostics.



Molecular diagnostics is a term used to describe a family of techniques used to analyze biological markers in an individual’s genetic code(genome) and to analyze how their cells express their genes as proteins(proteome), so why is this such a big deal? There is an evolving branch of healthcare that deals with individualizing treatment to increase efficiency in drug prescription and diagnoses and requires the genetic information of said individual called Personalized Medicine.

Molecular tests are required for gathering genetic information about patients, and with personalized medicine on the rise, according to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (here in referred to as NCBI) the molecular diagnostics industry will be worth US$12.5 Billion by 2024 in the United States alone, I would love to pull up more numbers but we get the picture here (its important and a necessity).

But the Nigerian healthcare system seems stuck in the stone age of modern medicine, over the course of the corona virus outbreak only two screening centers which need to have facilities for molecular testing-reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test to be specific were available in the whole of Lagos which for a city that prides itself on innovation and commerce is unacceptable. However, this wide array of tests can do much more than diagnose infectious diseases.

In hematology, hematopoietic disorders are often driven by genetic mutations and epigenetic alterations. Hence molecular testing can be used for diagnosing inherited mutations, gene studies in lymphoproliferative diseases, mutations in acute lymphoid leukemia to mention a few. In situ hybridization, simple and multiplex PCR tests are used in microbiology and virology for identifying strains of microorganisms and they can be typed into classes by molecular techniques such as karyotyping.

In histopathology, the immunohistochemistry(IHC) technique has revolutionized histopathology and anatomic pathology altogether. IHC has the ability to confine tissue cell proteins and project molecular assays and treatment plans to better manage the patient’s cancer. It’s used in the study of cell markers that often identify certain phenotypes and provides vital diagnostic, prognostic and predictive information important to disease biology.

These are just a few examples of tests that can be performed and will lead to groundbreaking research in the science community. Who will perform the tests? We are, yes we medical laboratory scientists and if we are not skilled or further our knowledge to meet up with current times we risk being tagged the ‘help’ of the medical community meanwhile we are more than that and we are more than qualified to further our education as our former H.O.D (Professor Akinloye – FRCPath in clinical chemistry) and other notable lecturers in our department and renowned scientists did.

In summary, molecular diagnostics shall help link genetic variations to diseases across our continent and enable us to not only predict a patient’s disease condition, but to ensure that drugs tailored specifically for certain group of people are made through pharmacogenomics and most importantly to us to ensure accurate, timely and precise results are gotten from the laboratories. While many may argue molecular testing is costly and funds are hard to come by, economists predict that after the corona pandemic governments worldwide would be pressured into investing into healthcare and Nigeria is not excluded. Thus where the next era of medicine comes in and we as scientists must learn to love molecules to seize this opportunity.

1. The title of the article is MLS, what does it mean in respect to it?
2. What type of molecular diagnostic technique is used for corona virus diagnosis
3. What is the full name and level of the writer of the article.

Bello Ibrahim
Executive Editor