Professor Stephen Halloran FRCPath,MBE: a career in clinical biochemistry

After beginning his career as a clinical biochemist in 1976 and training at several hospitals in London, Stephen Halloran worked in Surrey from 1985 until his retirement in March 2015. During that time he built up a strong relationship with the University of Surrey.

Stephen was Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Clinical Biochemistry between 1989 and 2003, having been an Associate Editor for several years prior to that. He went on to chair ACB Venture Publications and the ACB Publications Committee. Along with Michael Hallworth, Stephen co-founded Lab Tests Online® UK and was its Managing Editor for eight years.

He was Lead Regional Tutor for the South East of England for 15 years and during that time ran a popular and renowned MSc course in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Surrey, Guildford, a course that attracted large numbers of trainees particularly from the South of England and Wales. He tutored, trained and lectured hundreds of students.

Stephen had a particular interest in point-of-care testing and set up an external quality assessment scheme for glucose meter monitoring in pharmacies and Qpoint® for labs. He also developed and led the Guildford Medical Device Evaluation Centre (GMEC), which carried out and published in excess of 100 analyser evaluations.

In 2006, Stephen was integral in setting up the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme for the South of England. The GMEC team evaluated the faecal occult blood tests and recommended the device that was subsequently used by the Programme. He has since become an international leader in bowel cancer screening and remains an active advisor for many countries that are establishing screening programmes. He co-founded the World Endoscopy Organization Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee’s ‘FIT for Screening’ Expert Working Group, was a lead author and editor of the European guidelines for quality assurance in colorectal cancer screening and diagnosis, and member of the ministerial advisory board for bowel cancer screening.

Stephen was awarded an MBE in 2010 for services to healthcare. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Surrey, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the Royal Surrey County Hospital in 2012 and was included in the ‘extraordinary you’ publication of the Chief Scientific Officer in 2010.

On 13 March 2015, a scientific meeting was organized on the occasion of Stephen’s retirement from the NHS to celebrate his long and distinguished career. At his request, the talks had a clear focus on the future and not the past. The meeting entitled ‘Biochemistry … at the cutting edge of medical science’ engaged high-profile speakers associated with Stephen’s varied contributions to clinical biochemistry and laboratory medicine. To mark Stephen’s long and dedicated association with the Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, it was agreed to publish summaries of the work presented in this edition of the Journal.