Vision
EMQN believes that every patient should have the most accurate genomic test result possible. After all, lives may depend on a correct diagnosis to identify appropriate treatment or prognosis. Families also rely on test results to understand the risks to themselves and their loved ones.
Mission
EMQN provides quality assurance tools and knowledge to the human genomic testing community through External Quality Assessment (EQA) schemes. This guarantees the best possible molecular diagnostic procedure, analytical performance, and clinical interpretation.
Furthermore, EMQN’s highly qualified peer group of assessors take pride in their thought leadership position and are committed to regularly publishing best practice guidelines and other information for the molecular diagnostics field.
1997
1998
1999 - 2002
- Molecular genetics
- Molecular pathology
- Pharmacogenetics
- Virology
- Non-invasive prenatal testing
- Postnatal testing
- Technique-specific EQA schemes for molecular testing, e.g., Next Generation DNA sequencing (NGS)
2002 - 2021
2021
1997
1998
1999 - 2002
2002 - 2021
Supported by subscriptions from EQA scheme participants. Scope broadened to include:
- Molecular genetics
- Molecular pathology
- Pharmacogenetics
- Virology
- Non-invasive prenatal testing
- Postnatal testing
- Technique-specific EQA schemes for molecular testing, e.g., Next Generation DNA sequencing (NGS)
2021
Organisation
Dr. Stacey Hume
Non-Executive Member
University of British Columbia
Dr. Anne-Francoise Roux
Non-Executive Member
CHU Montpellier, Institut Universitaire de Recherche Clinique
Prof. Dr. Jochen Decker
Dr. Stacey Hume
Dr. Anne-Francoise Roux
Dr. Simon Patton
Non-Executive Member
University of British Columbia
Non-Executive Member
CHU Montpellier, Institut Universitaire de Recherche Clinique
Mrs. Nicci Dickins
Company Secretary
EMQN
Mrs. Nicola Wolstenholme
Mrs. Nicci Dickins
Dr. Mary Duke
Mr Gordon Powell
Company Secretary
EMQN
Dr. Stacey Hume
Deputy Chair
University of British Columbia
Dr. Anne-Francoise Roux
Member
CHU Montpellier, Institut Universitaire de Recherche Clinique
Prof. Dr. Jochen Decker
Dr. Stacey Hume
Dr. Anne-Francoise Roux
Dr. Monique Losekoot
Deputy Chair
University of British Columbia
Member
CHU Montpellier, Institut Universitaire de Recherche Clinique
Dr. Celia Badenas
Member
Hospital Clínic de Barcelona
Dr. Desiree du Sart
Member
Monash University
Dr. Valentine Hyland
Member
Queensland Health
Dr. Celia Badenas
Dr. Domenico Coviello
Dr. Desiree du Sart
Dr. Valentine Hyland
Member
Hospital Clínic de Barcelona
Member
Monash University
Member
Queensland Health
Dr. Andrew Wallace
Member
Yourgene Health
Prof. Els Dequeker
Dr. Andrew Wallace
Dr. Nicola Normanno
Dr. Jesse Swen
Member
Yourgene Health
Dr. George Burghel
Member
North West Genomic Laboratory Hub – Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Dr. Kathleen Claes
Dr. Tracy Stockley
Dr. George Burghel
Dr. Michael Morris
Alex Fleet
Operations Manager
Khurram Sheeraz
IT Project Administrator
Katie Sheils
Events, Best Practice, Learning and Development Manager
Delphine Stonehouse
Senior Administrator
Collaborators
EMQN collaborates with many organisations to ensure we provide the best possible service, including:
Pharmaceutical partners
Several of our schemes are fully or partly sponsored by some of our pharma partners, including:
Careers
Our team is growing!
Are you looking for the next step in your career that will give you a chance to really make a difference to patient outcomes through ensuring best practice in diagnostic testing?
Visit our careers page to see the available opportunities in Manchester.
News
Events
Sustainability Statement
EMQN is dedicated to following all relevant UN sustainability goals.
Goal #3: Good health and well-being.
EMQN is dedicated to providing the most accurate diagnostic test result possible for patients, by offering quality assurance tools and knowledge to the human molecular pathology and genetics testing community. Of the 1300 laboratories that we assessed last year, 98% fully complied with our stringent guidelines. We assisted the remaining 2% to improve their testing and reporting services to provide the best possible service to their patients.
Goal #4: Quality education.
EMQN is committed to providing a service that ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and learning opportunities for the human molecular pathology and genetics testing community. Our EQAs provide individual bespoke feedback to every customer, along with detailed and comprehensive summaries of each scheme. In 2023, we published three new best practice guidelines and have organised eight educational webinars to support this goal.
Playlist
Ensuring accurate classification of BRCA1, BRCA2 and HRR gene variants - Run 11 (November 15 2023)
1:24:19
Virtual Educational Masterclass: Accurate Variant Classification and Clinical Impact of Variability
1:31:01
Lessons learned: 2022 EQA scheme for BRCA and other HRR gene variants in ovarian and prostate cancer
1:08:00
Goal #5: Gender equality.
EMQN aims to create a fair, inclusive and gender-equitable workplace, through equal opportunities hiring and regular reviews. 65% of our staff are female, including 60% in management positions, 50% of our Company Board and 53% of our Scientific and Strategic Advisory Board.
Goal #10: Reduced inequalities.
EMQN is committed to providing quality healthcare for all, providing special discounted rates to countries in emerging and developing economies. In 2023, we supported 32 organisations in 17 different countries to access our services.
Goal #12: Responsible consumption and production.
EMQN makes every effort to reduce its environmental impact and improve its processes by reducing the number of EQA distributions and combining orders in single distributions (to reduce packaging), using smart shipping solutions (reducing costs), switching to using predominantly electronic documentation and record keeping (reducing the use of paper), increasing use of smarter technologies such as video conferencing and selecting venues for face to face meetings with good public transport links (reducing unnecessary travel). These measures help to improve operational performance and production, and reduce consumption and unnecessarily harmful environmental effects.
Accreditation and Quality
As part of our ongoing commitment to providing a high-quality service to all our members, we are accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to the international standard for EQA scheme providers (ISO17043). This accreditation covers all of our EQA schemes unless explicitly stated in our scheme catalogue).
Please follow these links to view our UKAS certificate and the scope as described in our UKAS schedule of accreditation.
EMQN is committed to providing a high quality and timely service which takes the needs and requirements of our members into account. You can download our Quality Policy here.
