Medical Biochemistry

Medical Biochemistry is the discipline that enables the measurement and pathophysiologic correlation of diverse and virtually unlimited constituents of the blood, urine and other body fluids. At the University of Alberta Hospital, Medical Biochemistry is divided into high volume, rapid response chemistry testing (Core Laboratory), point of care testing and more specialized esoteric testing such as endocrinology, clinical immunology, cardiac markers, tumor markers, therapeutic drug monitoring, toxicology, and trace elements. Prenatal and newborn screening services are also provided in collaboration with Genetics and Genomics. Like the discipline of medical biochemistry, its senior clinical staff have diverse skills and interests. All engage in quality control, quality assurance, lab test utilization and laboratory assay development, optimization and evaluation. We contribute to training of clinical biochemistry fellows, residents in General Pathology and education of students enrolled in the Medical Laboratory Science program as well as medical and dental students.