#LetsTalkLabs with Maya Buch
How laboratory-based research is crucial in getting the right diagnosis for patients and in developing clinical trials.
Laboratory or lab-based research is often the first step in research that makes a difference. However, we don’t talk enough about it, so #LetsTalkLabs!
To spark more conversations about this aspect of research, we have partnered with research advisory groups BRAG and Voice Up, people from Greater Manchester and researchers on #LetsTalkLabs, an initiative funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF).
Maya Buch leads a particular area of research at NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre which focuses on discovering new ways of identifying and diagnosing people who may be at risk of developing health conditions.
In this Q&A she tells us more about her work and what it was like to meet Khumbo from Woman Arise, who is interested in understanding how clinical trials can make a difference to her community.
What motivates you to do research?
What drives me to do research is wanting to improve our current understanding of health conditions, in order to help people to be able to manage their health. Ultimately, I want to be part of the collective effort to make the lives of people in society better. For me personally, research is also interesting and exciting.
How can your work benefit people?
I lead a team of researchers that want to improve the lives of people affected by conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma, as well as why people with such conditions have more heart disease and problems with their blood circulation. We want to understand how rheumatoid arthritis affects different people over time and why. Ultimately, this will help us to make treatments more personalised for each patient.
How do you do that?
Laboratories play a key role our team’s research. We use laboratory tests in hospital care every day to diagnose and monitor patients. We also take and analyse blood samples, and if, for example, an individual has rheumatoid arthritis, sometimes take a sample from a patient’s joint, to find out more information about the person’s condition. In these samples we look for ‘markers’, biological clues that help us understand what’s happening inside our bodies.
The next stage in the process is to apply what we’ve discovered in the labs into developing new tests, identifying new treatments or medicines and then safely testing these as part of clinical trials. During the clinical trial we also do laboratory tests to see whether there are differences in patients that respond to treatment and those that don't respond to treatment. So it adds more value in our aim to tailor medicines better.
How was chatting with Khumbo?
Thought provoking, fun and humbling! For me, our chat highlighted the value of being able to talk about research in a way that is accessible to the people we are wishing to serve. Whilst medical or scientific language is second nature for health professionals, it is not as straightforward as it may sound to put that into an understandable form as part of a conversation!
Why are people important to your research?
People are fundamentally at the heart of our research. They help us to make research more relevant by sharing their experiences with us, they also help to shape the research questions and keep us accountable. We wouldn’t be able to find new treatments and ways to diagnose conditions without people taking part in clinical trials. What’s really important to us is that we hear from and involve people from different backgrounds in our research, so that it can benefit as many people as possible.
Find out more about how laboratory-based research makes a difference on Facebook and X. Visit our opportunities page to find out how you can have your say in research and benefit people in the future.
