A gift from Bud and Rebecca Colligan will expand testing capacity and help fund a new, dedicated laboratory space to house the diagnostic lab in the Genomics Institute’s facilities at the Westside Research Park
December 15, 2020 | Tim Stephens | UCSC
With COVID-19 cases surging in Santa Cruz County, the UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory has seen a significant increase in the number of tests it processes to identify coronavirus infections.
Fortunately, UC Santa Cruz planned from the beginning to steadily ramp up the lab’s testing capacity and has been able to acquire additional equipment and add new staff. The lab now routinely runs more than 800 tests in a day, with weekly totals often exceeding 3,000 tests. So far, the lab has been able to meet the demand for tests from its partners and continues to return results within 24 to 48 hours.
“The numbers fluctuate. We have seen big spikes from some of our partners, but our model is to be responsive to emergencies, and we are working to address their needs,” said Isabel Bjork, executive director of the UCSC Genomics Institute.