URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Fall_2021_Melissa-McCarthy

LABORATORY FACILITIES LAUNCHING ADVANCED written by BETHANY DELOOF ‘21 As the coronavirus spread across the globe, Margaret Teasdale, wanted to contribute to the essential testing needed to detect the virus. Simultaneously, the University of Rhode Island (URI) Pharmacy Professor Angela Slitt developed an innovative saliva-based test for SARS-CoV-2, better known as COVID-19. Unlike most tests on the market, Slitt’s test is not polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based, doesn’t require a nasal swab, and aims to differentiate between variants of COVID-19 without detecting viruses with similar symptoms, such as the flu, the common cold, or pneumonia. To prove the test works, URI needed a high-complexity lab under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) to run a human diagnostic test. Federal regulations require clinical diagnostic labs prove their facilities meet stringent guidelines. Teasdale, a research associate professor in URI’s College of Pharmacy, created the RAM Lab with the help of the URI Research Foundation (URIRF). RAM Lab, which was funded by $300,000 from the institution as well as a generous $100,000 donation, is the University’s first high-complexity CLIA lab.

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