In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., a microbiologist and virologist and chief scientific officer of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, discuss recent developments in viral infections.

In this episode of the “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, is joined by Travis Engelhaupt, digital experience director, and Naomi Lovell, project manager. Together, they discuss website trends and best practices.

Register now – Nov. 19, 2025: Regulatory compliance and recent policy changes at the federal and state levels relevant to hospital laboratory outreach programs.

Benjamin Tetlie, a Financial Representative for Mayo Clinic Global Business Solutions, used to have a strong aversion to the idea of donating blood. However, when his coworkers organized a Blood Donor Unit Challenge, he wanted to participate.

Mike Baisch, Systems Engineer at Mayo Clinic, discusses the mechanics of performing a staffing-to-workload analysis in the testing laboratories. There are three primary areas of focus with staffing needs: direct effort, indirect effort, and operational needs. This post focuses on indirect effort.

This "Pediatric Phlebotomy" presentation addresses the increase in the number of tests available using a blood spot specimen and concerns about bruising, a team was created to investigate causes of bruising and select the best method for collecting blood from infants.

Mike Baisch, Systems Engineer at Mayo Clinic, discusses the mechanics of performing a staffing-to-workload analysis in the testing laboratories. There are three primary areas of focus with staffing needs: direct effort, indirect effort, and operational needs. This post focuses on direct effort.

Greg Widseth was suddenly hit by a rare disease that prompted his immune system to attack his brain cells, resulting in as many as 60 seizures a day. Special blood and spinal fluid tests developed by Mayo Medical Laboratories confirmed that Widseth had antibodies known to target certain brain cells.

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) is a pattern of glomerular injury. Based on the etiology of MPGN, Drs. Sethi and Fervenza proposed a new histologic classification of MPGN into Ig/IC-mediated MPGN and complement-mediated MPGN. In this “Hot Topic,” Senjeev Sethi, M.D., Ph.D., demonstrates the use of the new classification with case studies.

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) is a pattern of glomerular injury. Based on the etiology of MPGN, Drs. Sethi and Fervenza proposed a new histologic classification of MPGN into Ig/IC-mediated MPGN and complement-mediated MPGN. In this “Hot Topic,” Senjeev Sethi, M.D., Ph.D., demonstrates the use of the new classification with case studies.

In this “Hot Topic,” Bobbi Pritt, M.D., discusses how Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States and Europe and caused primarily by Borrelia burgdorferi in the United States, while B burgdorferi, B afzelii, and B garinii cause Lyme disease in Europe. We will also discuss using PCR and melting curve analysis to identify a new species of Borrelia.

In this “Hot Topic,” Elitza Theel, Ph.D., discusses how common cases of presumed Lyme disease go unreported each year and discusses scenarios in which testing for Lyme disease is indicated and reviews both recommended and inappropriate testing methodologies. The overall focus is on performance of the CDC endorsed two-tiered serologic testing algorithm and the latest CDC recommendations.

During summer activities, it's bound to happen. But how dangerous is it to accidentally swallow a bug? Bobbi Pritt, M.D., a microbiologist, pathologist, and Director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, discusses when swallowing an insect is harmless and which ones can be dangerous in The Wall Street Journal column entitled, "Burning Question."

The diagnosis of Myeloproliferative Neoplasm (MPN) must include an integrated approach and combine the clinical findings with laboratory results. In our latest “Hot Topic,” Rong He, M.D., discusses the subclassification of MPNs and the use of JAK2, CALR, and MPL mutational analysis in diagnosis and prognosis.

Flow cytometric immunophenotyping method can be useful in assessing myeloid dysmaturation. In this “Hot Topic,” Dragon Jevremovic, M.D., Ph.D., describes a new flow cytometric test to detect aberrant patterns of expression in the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome.