the committee
allan traynor
Abbott Toxicology
andy king
QuAI health
Andy is the Laboratory Director of QuAI health and was responsible for establishing the company’s laboratory including the analytical methods and quality management system.
Andy has experience developing and operating immunoassay screening and confirmatory LC-MS/MS techniques for the detection of drugs in various human matrices, including oral fluid, urine, sweat and hair.
Andy holds a Master degree in Toxicology from Bournemouth University, and is a member of TIAFT, and the London Toxicology Group (LTG), where he also serves on the committee.
claire george
QuAI health
Claire co-founded QuAI health, an innovative provider of drug and alcohol testing. She has over 25 years’ experience in clinical and forensic toxicology, more latterly specialising in workplace drug testing.
She is the former Chair of the London Toxicology Group (LTG) and has also has over served in board positions on The International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology, the LTG (as Secretary, Vice Chairperson and Chairperson) and the European Workplace Drug Testing Society (EWDTS).
Claire holds a MSc in Toxicology and a PhD in Biochemistry (Toxicology) from The University of Birmingham. She is a Registered Clinical Scientist (CS03978) and a European Registered Toxicologist (ERT).
mark parkin
Eurofins Forensic Services
Mark Parkin is a Principal R&D Scientist with oversight of both the workplace drug testing and forensic toxicology laboratories at Eurofins Forensic Services.
He is the former chair of the London Toxicology Group and the London Biological Mass Spectrometry Discussion Group and has spent the past twenty years working in the field of evidential analysis. This includes both the academic and commercial sectors using chromatography mass spectrometry as the primary analytical tool.
His current interests are introducing full end-to-end automation to the forensic bioanalytical process and the use of machine learning for the processing of forensic data.
mark piper
Randox Testing Services
Mark Piper holds a BSc (Hons) degree and PhD from Dundee University, Scotland. He has been employed by Randox Laboratories Ltd since 1997 as a scientist specialising in the analysis of body fluids for the presence of drugs and alcohol.
Mark spent 10 years in the design and development of toxicology assays for multiple sample types including urine, blood, oral fluids, meconium, vitreous humour and other body tissues. He has directed a range of drug testing trials in Mexico, Singapore and extensively in the USA.
Since 2007 Mark has been the Toxicology Services Manager of Randox Testing Services (RTS) co-ordinating workplace and medico-legal drug testing programmes across the UK and Ireland. He is a recognised Court Reporting Officer having spent many years presenting scientific evidence as a forensic expert witness for industrial tribunals up to Crown and Coroners’ Courts.
As well as being a member of several forensic and toxicology associations, Mark is the current Secretary and Executive Board Member of the European Workplace Drug Testing Society.
nicole fernandes
Abbott Toxicology
Nicole Fernandes is the Laboratory Technical Manager at Abbott Toxicology, responsible for overseeing analytical operations within workplace drug testing, healthcare, and family law sectors.
With over a decade of experience in method development, she has led the design, validation, and implementation of analytical methods across oral fluid, hair, and urine matrices, and has aided with laboratory relocations during this time.
Nicole holds a Master’s degree in Analytical Toxicology from King’s College London and currently serves as Secretary of the London Toxicology Group (LTG), which supports collaboration and education within the toxicology community.
paul darkins
Randox Testing Services
Paul studied organic chemistry at Queens University Belfast and was awarded his PhD in 1996. Paul joined Randox Laboratories in 1998 initially synthesizing derivatives of drugs of abuse and their metabolites for use in the development of diagnostic assays.
Paul joined Randox Testing Services at its inception in 2008, developing confirmatory analytical methods for DoA using LCMSMS. Paul progressed via the positions of Senior Toxicologist and Reporting Officer and currently holds the position of Laboratory Manager at Randox Testing Services.
Paul is Bond Salon trained as an expert witness and has attended Magistrates, Crown, Coroners and Tribunal Court in this capacity.
Memberships: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKIAFT, EWDTS, SoHT, SoFT
philip kindred
Synlab Laboratory Services
richard evers
Synlab Laboratory Services
Following a BSc in biochemistry from Imperial College, London, Richard started his career in NHS Clinical Biochemistry laboratories in Dudley and London.
After completing a Masters in Analytical chemistry and working in a multidisciplinary laboratory he moved to Bethlem Royal Hospital where he supported NHS rehabilitation and detox treatment services with laboratory testing of samples. The laboratory moved to King’s College Hospital where Richard introduced LCMS testing to the service while also working on the Professional Doctorate in Biomedical Science through the University of Portsmouth which he was awarded in 2014 for his thesis on the development of automated sample extraction and analysis using ion trap LCMS.
Richard moved to Wales as laboratory manager at Synergy Health Laboratory Services, a laboratory specialising in occupational medicine and workplace testing. Richard is currently research and development manager with SYNLAB Laboratory Services improving methods and processes in the laboratory.
sam hudson
Matrix Diagnostics
Sam is the Technical Manager at Matrix Diagnostics, where he oversees the laboratory’s analytical operations.
In this role, he has worked to develop the laboratory’s analytical methods, ensuring quality and compliance to ISO/IEC 17025 requirements, while also navigating the practical challenges of evolving drug trends.
Sam has been working in toxicology laboratories since 2018, after graduating with an MChem in Chemistry from Manchester Metropolitan University.
In addition to SACTL, Sam is an active member of the LTG, EWDTS and TIAFT.
susan grosse
Eurofins Forensic Services
Susan has over 20 years’ experience in the field of forensic and analytical toxicology and is the Research and Development Manager for the Forensic Toxicology department and Workplace Drugs Testing department at Eurofins Forensic Services.
Susan has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Analysis and a post graduate diploma in Forensic Medical Science. In 2003, following a post-doctoral research position in Pavia, Italy, Susan joined Forensic Alliance, now Eurofins Forensic Services, as a Forensic Toxicologist.
Susan has trained as a Reporting Officer, reporting a wide range of case types for Coroners and Police Forces around the UK. She has also worked as a locum Forensic Toxicologist for the Government of Bermuda. She has attended court in the UK and overseas.
In her current role, Susan oversees implementing new methods and technology within the Workplace Drug Testing team and Forensic Toxicology team at Eurofins Forensic Services.