Dr Harvinder Virk is a NIHR clinical lecturer in the Respiratory Sciences department at the University of Leicester, UK. His research interests centre around identifying and overcoming barriers to clinical translation of research, with an emphasis on improving the outcomes of patients with interstitial lung diseases. He is the Leicester Deputy Lead for the MRC-AIM Doctoral Training Partnership.

He founded the Only Good Antibodies community and leads their three linked projects: Better Antibodies, Better Science, and Better Patient Outcomes. These projects identify the most suitable research tools (antibodies) and empower them towards better characterisation of patient heterogeneity. The vision is validated diagnostics that help clinicians choose the best treatment, or clinical trial, more efficiently and robustly.

He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, and UK Reproducibility Network Supervisory Board Deputy Chair. He is a previous MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship holder and current MRC New Investigator (Better Methods, Better Research).

*Cooper, J., et al., 2026. "A guide to selecting high-performing antibodies for Alpha-1-antitrypsin (UniProt ID: P01009) for use in western blot, immunoprecipitation and flow cytometry." F1000Research, 15, p.73. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.175969.1

*Biddle, M., et al., 2026. "A guide to selecting high-performing antibodies for MMP7 (UniProt ID: P09237) for use in western blot and immunoprecipitation." F1000Research, 15, p.74. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.175973.1

Leavy, O.C., et al., 2025. "Sex-specific genetic effects on susceptibility to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis." ERJ Open Research. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00200-2025

Alshalfie, W., et al., 2024. "The identification of high-performing antibodies for FUS (Uniprot ID: P35637) for use in western blot, immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry." F1000Research, 12, p.376. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.133220.3

*Biddle, M., et al., 2024. “A guide to selecting high-performing antibodies for Synaptotagmin-1 (Uniprot ID P21579) for use in western blot, immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry” F1000Research, 13, p.817. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.154034.1

Ayoubi, R., et al., 2024. "A consensus platform for antibody characterization." Nature Protocols. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-024-01095-8

Ayoubi, R., et al., 2023. "Scaling of an antibody validation procedure enables quantification of antibody performance in major research applications." eLife, 12, p.RP91645. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.91645.2

†Merchant, F., et al., 2022. "Lack of Benefit of High Flow Nasal Oxygen Therapy as Ceiling of Treatment for Severe COVID-19 Pneumonitis in Elderly Frail Patients: A Single Centre Observational Study." The Open Respiratory Medicine Journal, 15. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10156038/

*Virk, H.S., et al., 2021. "TGFβ1 induces resistance of human lung myofibroblasts to cell death via down‐regulation of TRPA1 channels." British Journal of Pharmacology, 178(15), pp.2948-2962. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.15467

*Virk, H.S., et al., 2019. "Validation of antibodies for the specific detection of human TRPA1." Scientific Reports, 9(1), p.18500. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55133-7

Harvey, A.G., et al., 2008. "The subjective meaning of sleep quality: a comparison of individuals with and without insomnia." Sleep, 31(3), pp.383-393. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/31.3.383

B. Reviews, Commentaries and Policy Publications

*Biddle, M., et al., 2024 “Improving the integrity and reproducibility of research that uses antibodies: a technical, data sharing, behavioral and policy challenge.” mAbs, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/19420862.2024.2323706

Khan, R., et al., 2024. "Science Forum: Antibody characterization is critical to enhance reproducibility in biomedical research." eLife, 13, p.e100211. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.100211

Kahn, R.A., Virk, H.S. and McPherson, P.S., 2023. "Heed a decade of calls for antibody validation." Nature, 620(7974), p.492. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02566-w

†Aponte Santiago, N., et al., 2023. "Tales of the unexpected." eLife, 12, p.e87444. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.87444

*Biddle, M. and Virk, H.S., 2023. "YCharOS Open Antibody Characterisation Data: Lessons Learned and Progress Made." F1000Research, 12, p.1344. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.141719.1

Virk, H., Greer, A. and Bradding, P., 2016. "Mast cells and their activation in lung disease." Translational Research, 174, pp.60-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trsl.2016.01.005

Virk, H.S., et al. "NC3Rs and Only Good Antibodies community." NC3Rs.org 2024

C. Preprints and Online Resources

Leavy, Olivia et al. "Genome-wide SNP-sex interaction analysis of susceptibility to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis." medRxiv 2024.01.12.24301204. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.12.24301204

Tsaknis G; Virk, Harvinder S. "Assessment of solitary pulmonary nodule." BMJ Best Practice 2024. https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/547

Virk, H.S., et al. "Antibodies and Research Reproducibility: A Technical, Open Data, Behavioural And Policy Challenge." https://doi.org/10.52843/cassyni.dh8zrx

D. Open Resources and Datasets

YCharOS Zenodo Community
Open repository of antibody characterisation datasets with DOIs.
https://zenodo.org/communities/ycharos/

Only Good Antibodies (OGA) Database
Public database of antibody validation data.
https://onlygoodantibodies.co.uk/

2 PhD studentships

Bioinformatics MSc

BSc 3rd year projects

BHF MRes

Team includes: 1 x postdoctoral RA, 1 project manager, 2 research assistants

MRC AIM DTP and Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership - Antibody Validation Masterclasses

Module lead: Medicine, Society and Responsible Research

Please contact me if interested in iMSc projects or PhD projects

Awards and Funding

Grants as Principal Investigator

MRC BMBR New Investigator | August 2024

Improving the integrity, reproducibility, and usability of biomedical research that utilises commercial antibodies

MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship | September 2015

Redox sensitive TRP ion channels in the interaction between human lung mast cells and oxidative stress

MRC iCASE AIM DTP Studentship | October 2025

Exploration of markers of fibrotic and inflammatory signalling, and associated clinical phenotypes, in patients with Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILDs)

NC3Rs Non-animal Product Validation Grant | October 2024

Characterisation of antibodies and affinity reagents to promote the adoption of robust and reproducible non-animal reagents

MRC IAA | September 2024

Developing robust and reproducible immunoassays for Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment selection

Michael J Fox Foundation Contract via YCharOS Inc. | March 2025

Delivery of flow cytometry antibody characterisation for 6 PD targets

BBSRC IAA Locally Managed Impact Accelerator | March 2025

Developing a sustainable business model to realise the economic, ethical, and societal benefit of robust antibody characterisation data

MRC IAA + LD3 Time | November 2023

Biomarker discovery and target validation utilising the YCharOS antibody characterisation pipeline

BBSRC IAA Exchange | June 2023

Knowledge and skills exchange for international expansion of YCharOS

BBSRC IAA Event | June 2023

The Only Good Antibodies Community Stakeholder Engagement Meeting

MRC Training Supplements via UoL | June 2019

Training to establish the use of genetically encoded redox sensors

Leicester Institute of Advanced Studies Pioneering Partnerships | September 2022

Identifying and addressing human and research culture factors driving the insufficient validation of antibodies in biomedical research

MAARA Starter Grant | March 2014

TRP ion channels as sensors and modulators of oxidative stress in allergic inflammation and asthma

Collaborative Grants (Co-I)

BBSRC Mid-range Equipment (ALERT 2024) | May 2025

A VR-modularised lattice light sheet microscope for deep imaging of 3D biosystems

Project lead: Himanshu Kaul

MRC Project Grant | April 2017

TRPA1 as a novel therapeutic target in human pulmonary fibrosis

MRC IAA | September 2025

Early detection of heart failure risk in diabetes using minimally invasive biomarkers

Role: Mentor & Co-I

Van Geest Fund Pump-Priming | November 2025

Developing robust immunoassays for improved risk stratification of asymptomatic aortic stenosis

Role: Mentor & Co-I

Boehringer-Ingelheim Investigator Initiated Grant | February 2025

Interstitial Lung Disease Exacerbations Study (INDEX)

BBSRC IAA PoC | June 2023

Using fluorescent biosensors to understand mechanisms of lung ageing

Other Awards

NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship | February 2022 – present

NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship | August 2012 – August 2015

Prizes, Honours and Impact

BRC Excellence Award Nomination (Industry Engagement) | 2024

NIHR Leicester BRC

NIHR Future Focused Leadership Programme | 2024-25

Emerging Leaders Cohort - nationally competitive selection

Featured in Nature | 2024

Profiled in "The antibodies don't work! The race to rid labs of molecules that ruin experiments" (Nature 635, 26-28). https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03590-0

UKRN Impact Case Study | 2025

Highlighted by the UK Reproducibility Network as an exemplar of improving biomedical research through antibody reproducibility. https://www.ukrn.org/2025/01/28/ukrn-case-study-supporting-improvements-to-biomedical-research-using-antibodies/

Dorothy Bishop Prize for Open and Reproducible Research | 2025

OGA Co-lead and PDRA Michael Biddle

https://www.ukrn.org/2025/03/27/dorothy-bishop-prize-winners-2025/

https://leicesterbrc.nihr.ac.uk/hdv/

F1000 Open Thinking

eLife Digest

Nature Feature