Emma L.A. Howson
Papers
3
Total Citations
91
H-Index
3
About
Emma L.A. Howson is a molecular diagnostics researcher specializing in rapid nucleic acid detection technologies, with a particular focus on isothermal amplification methods for infectious disease surveillance. Her work sits at the critical intersection of field-deployable diagnostics and veterinary and public health applications, making her contributions relevant across both animal and human disease contexts. Howson's most impactful contributions include pioneering work on reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) as a practical alternative to conventional PCR-based diagnostics. Her 2017 study on foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) represented a landmark achievement — the first multiway comparison of portable isothermal assays benchmarked against gold-standard real-time RT-PCR, providing the field with crucial performance data for field deployment (40 citations). When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, Howson rapidly applied her isothermal expertise to develop simplified, saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 detection protocols using RT-LAMP, work that garnered 44 citations and contributed meaningfully to expanding accessible testing options during a global health crisis. Her research consistently emphasizes practical usability — optimizing sample preparation and assay conditions to enable rapid diagnostics in resource-limited or field settings. Howson's body of work has established her as a valued voice in the development of next-generation, point-of-care molecular diagnostics.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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