Richard Luxton first studied clinical chemistry in the National Health Service for thirteen years at the Bristol Royal Infirmary before moving to the Institute of Neurology in London to study for a PhD in neuro-immunology, investigating antibody affinity in the CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis. He joined the University of the West of England in 2003 and focused his research on the area of developing new rapid detection technologies for point-of-care diagnostics, environmental analysis, food safety, and homeland defense applications. In 2008, he launched the Institute of Bio-Sensing Technology, which seeks to develop new collaborations between industry and academia through inter-disciplinary research. He is now the Director of the Institute of Bio-Sensing Technology. He has led many large multi-partner projects to develop new technology for the rapid detection of analytes in food and water and is currently leading an NIHR-funded program to develop a rapid detection technology for bacteria in urine.