Professor Malcolm Richardson

Professor Malcolm Richardson is a Consultant Clinical Scientist in Medical Mycology at the Mycology Reference Centre, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust at Wythenshawe Hospital, and an Honorary Professor of Medical Mycology at the University of Manchester. In 2017 the Mycology Reference Centre became the first European Confederation of Medical Mycology Centre of Excellence (Diamond Status). Professor Richardson is an elected Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal Society of Biology. Professor Richardson is a NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre infection project lead.

Professor Richardson’s clinical and laboratory investigations focus on the pathogenicity, diagnosis and epidemiology of superficial and systemic fungal infections. More recently, he has applied his diagnostic experience to investigating the mycobiome of indoor environments using next generation sequencing.

Professor Richardson is actively researching mechanisms underpinning fungal disease and allergy in humans, pathogenesis of candidosis, pathogenesis of aspergillosis, new diagnostic platforms for the diagnosis of superficial and systemic fungal infections, the development of point-of-care tests for the diagnosis of systemic fungal infections, improvements in the diagnosis of chronic forms of pulmonary aspergillosis, antifungal properties of reactive oxygen species and mycobiome of the built environment.

Professor Richardson is an enthusiastic teacher and actively contributes to the University of Manchester's undergraduate and post-graduate infection programmes. Professor Richardson also provides medical mycology workshops, preceptorships, and overseas visitors at the Wythenshawe Hospital Academy, and is a Clinical Scientists Training Officer for the UK Academy for Healthcare Science.

Professor Richardson has published over 450 original articles, book chapters and reviews and is the author or editor of a number of mycological textbooks and handbooks, many of which have been translated. Titles include: Fungal Infection in the Compromised Patient (1982, 1991), Slide Atlas of Fungal Infection (1985), Medical Mycology - A Practical Approach (1989), Medical Mycology: A Practical Guide (1991), Fungal Infection: Diagnosis and Management (1993, 1997, 2003, 2012), Therapeutic Guidelines in Systemic Fungal Infection (1998, 2001, 2003, 2007), The Pocket Guide to Fungal infection (2000, 2006), Fast Facts: Superficial Fungal Infections (2000), Fungal Infection and Critical Care Medicine (2008,) and Illustrative Cases in Medical Mycology iBook (2016). Professor Richardson is a frequent speaker and session chair at major international conferences in the fields of clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, and medical mycology. From 2008 to 2014 he was the Editor-in-Chief of Critical Reviews in Microbiology. His current editorial activities include being Reviews Editor for Medical Mycology. Further, Professor Richardson has served the International Society of Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM) in a number of ways: Vice-President (1991 to 1993), General Secretary (2003 to 2008), President-Elect (2012 to 2014) and President (2015 to 2018).

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