About us

Who we are

BTA is a premier Spatial Biology Facility located within the Institute of Translational Medicine at the University of Birmingham. Our team comprises highly skilled specialists in tissue imaging and analysis with extensive experience in the fields of inflammation and cancer.

We support both academic and industry-led projects, leveraging our expertise to provide comprehensive spatial data that can inform the development of novel therapeutics. By linking with a range of facilities across the Birmingham Health Partners network, including Genomics Birmingham, the Clinical Immunology Service, and University Hospitals Birmingham pathology, we ensure that our services are rooted in a collaborative and resource-rich environment.

Our mission

At Birmingham Tissue Analytics (BTA), our mission is to accelerate the development of precision-based therapeutics by providing high-level digital spatial imaging services for both academic research and industry contracts.

We aim to enable researchers and clinicians to build comprehensive pictures of cellular composition in inflammatory diseases and cancer, identify shared and distinct mechanisms and targets, and deliver robust outcomes for early-phase clinical trials.

Our commitment to implementing GCP standards ensures that our analytic capabilities meet the highest quality benchmarks, supporting the translation of pre-clinical research into clinical applications.

Why spatial biology? 

Spatial biology is revolutionising biomedical research by uncovering how cells, molecules, and tissues interact in their native environments. This emerging discipline offers a new frontier for understanding complex biological systems, driving breakthroughs in disease diagnosis, drug development, and personalised medicine. By integrating spatial context into molecular data, researchers can achieve a more comprehensive understanding of biology than ever before.

Traditional tools like immunohistochemistry or in situ hybridisation provided only limited insights, enabling the visualisation of RNA, DNA, or proteins using one or two colours. While useful, these methods lacked the capacity to reveal the full complexity of cellular environments. The advent of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) technology brought remarkable detail to cellular analysis, but without spatial information, much of the critical context was still missing. Spatial biology bridges this gap by combining single-cell analysis with advanced imaging and microfluidics, layering spatial data on top of molecular insights to offer an unprecedented view of tissue architecture.

As the field grows, new innovations continue to expand its impact. Spatial omics — an umbrella term encompassing spatial transcriptomics and spatial proteomics — has taken centre stage. In 2020, Nature Methods recognised spatial transcriptomics as the "Method of the Year" for its transformative potential in resolving single-cell transcriptomes in their spatial context. Building on this foundation, spatial proteomics, a closely related branch of spatial biology, earned the same distinction in 2024, underscoring its pivotal role in advancing our understanding of protein dynamics within tissues.

However, the rapid growth of spatial biology brings challenges, particularly in integrating and analysing the vast data it generates. Overcoming these hurdles requires robust technological advancements, further driving innovation in the field. Despite these challenges, spatial biology is poised to redefine the boundaries of biomedical science.

With its ability to map cellular architecture and interactions at unparalleled levels of detail, spatial biology is transforming research in oncology, immuno-oncology, neurobiology, and infectious diseases, including COVID-19. By enabling researchers to see biology in context, it opens new avenues for understanding disease mechanisms, developing targeted therapies, and personalising medicine. Spatial biology is not just a tool — it’s a revolution that is reshaping how we explore the intricate systems of life.

Where we are based

BTA is strategically based within the Institute of Translational Medicine at the University of Birmingham, a hub for cutting-edge research and clinical innovation. This world-class academic and clinical environment enables us to collaborate closely with leading experts and access state-of-the-art resources, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of spatial biology research and are well-positioned to translate our findings into clinical applications.

In addition, we are closely connected to the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus (BHIC), a ground-breaking healthcare technologies hub located in Selly Oak. BHIC combines world-leading academic expertise with commercial innovation to accelerate life sciences research. From drug development to real-world applications, the campus provides a full translational medicine ecosystem designed to enhance quality of life and develop novel treatments for diseases.

This dual positioning within the University of Birmingham and BHIC places us at the heart of a thriving research community, enabling us to drive impactful discoveries that bridge the gap between laboratory findings and clinical practice.

How to work with us

We invite both internal and external academics, as well as industry professionals with interests in inflammatory diseases, cancer, or digital pathology, to collaborate with us. BTA offers tailored, high-quality services that span from pre-clinical research to clinical trial outcomes.

We work closely with partners such as the I-ACT (Inflammation and Advanced Therapy) Trials Team, based in the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU), to deliver lab-based outcome measures for early-phase clinical trials. To discuss how BTA can support your research or industry project, please contact us via e-mail: bta@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

Let's work together to drive the next generation of therapeutic innovations.