Immunohistochemistry (IHC) entered the realm of Diagnostic Surgical Pathology as more specific type special stain. Today IHC is applied in that role in Anatomic Pathology laboratories worldwide. With the advent of actionable molecular biomarkers, IHC was pressed into service for detection and then quantification of such markers where the IHC result alone could determine therapy. In the latter application IHC was ‘repurposed’ from a stain to an assay.  Unfortunately, the necessary pre-analytic, analytic and post-analytic changes did not evolve apace, resulting in poor clinical performance. Key technologies have now evolved to the point that deficits may now be addressed, thereby transmuting of IHC from a stain to an assay – “In Situ Proteomics.”

Clive Taylor, Emeritus Professor at Keck School of Medicine, USA

Dr Clive Taylor is an Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine, University of California. He is a pioneer in immunohistochemical (IHC) techniques for diagnosing surgical pathology, originally adapting these methods in Oxford, England, in 1972. He established a laboratory at the University of Southern California focused on lymphoma research and diagnosis. Dr Taylor has also served as a Trustee and President of the Biological Stain Commission (BSC), collaborating with the FDA to develop guidelines for IHC reagents and enhancing reproducibility.