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Cansford Labs - Pioneering drug and alcohol testing
CANSFORD LABS

Cansford scientists attend prestigious 25th meeting of the Society of Hair Testing (SOHT)

September 14, 2021

We are delighted to announce that James Nutt, Laboratory Operations Manager and Lolita Tsanaclis, Scientific Director and co-founder of Cansford Laboratories are participating in the 2021 prestigious Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) annual meeting in Spain later this week.

It is the first time the pair will be meeting their peers in person since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdowns due to the pandemic.

The SOHT 2021 conference is titled ‘The way that connects us’ takes place over a period of two days, Thursday (16) and Friday (17) at the University of Santiago de Compostela.

Alcohol biomarkers

James will kick-off the event as the first speaker, presenting under the theme of Alcohol biomarkers. His paper is titled: ‘Improving assessment of alcohol consumption: EtG measurement in hair in combination with measurements of Peth and EtG in blood” which is a joint co-production between James, Lolita and John Wicks, Cansford’s CEO and co-founder.

Lolita will also be presenting during the business meeting aspect of the conference, and talk about  collaborative work undertaken between Cansford and two other labs overseas. Although James and Lolita will be among a contingent of scientists from the UK, they will be the only ones from the UK to be both presenting a paper and attending the event in person.

James said: “I am looking forward to presenting and actually being able to discuss the latest developments in the hair testing world with my peers in person. It means a great deal to be able to meet face-to-face albeit with safety measures and PPE in place, and after everything we’ve been through with Covid-19.”

Lolita said: “I am also proud that James and I will be the only representatives from a UK drug and alcohol testing laboratory who will be both attending and presenting at the event. It is always a privilege to be able to share and contribute to the science of hair testing.”

About James Nutt

James joined Cansford in February 2020 having previously been a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science, Toxicology and Separation Science at the University of South Wales.

He was also part of Cansford’s original start-up team, where he helped to introduce the pioneering techniques that enabled Cansford to offer market-leading turnaround times.  Prior to this he was a Reporting Scientist with Tricho-Tech and Concateno.

James is also a member of the Society of Hair Testing (SOHT), The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT), the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC), London Toxicology Group (LTG), together with being a Board member of the European Workplace Drug Testing Society (EWDTS).

About Lolita Tsanaclis

Dr. Lolita Tsanaclis, Scientific Director of Cansford Laboratories Limited, has been developing methods for the analysis of drugs in hair since 1993. She has been involved in drug testing using hair, blood and oral fluid samples for medico-legal and workplace sectors for over three decades, and published extensively as author and as co-author in highly regarded peer-reviewed publications and scientific presentations.

Other topics up for discussion at the SOHT 2021 annual meeting include:

  • New psychoactive substances
  • Analytical methodologies
  • Hair testing in forensic cases
  • Hair testing in driver’s license regranting
  • Hair testing in children
  • Hair testing for biomonitoring of pollutants exposure
  • Interpretation of hair results

(Ends)

Notes for editors:

More information from Alex Swann alex.swann@cansfordlabs.co.uk

About Cansford Laboratories

Cansford Laboratories can trace its roots back to 1993, when founders John Wicks and Lolita Tsanaclis developed the UK’s first hair testing regime for drug and alcohol use.

Having established and sold TrichoTech –  John and Lolita continued with their passion for improvement by founding Cansford Laboratories to continue to pioneer new testing methods, and make rapid, accurate drug and alcohol more widely available.

Today, we offer the UK’s fastest hair drug and alcohol testing service, while investing in research and development and contributing to conferences and symposia to drive up industry standards.

About SOHT 2021

The SoHT meetings are an excellent opportunity to build personal and professional relationships among hair testing researchers, and to promote and develop the science in hair analysis.

This event will be hosted by the FORTOX group of the University of Santiago de Compostela fulfilling all the sanitary recommendations and preventive measures.