In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, discuss recent news about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in healthcare.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories' specimen pickup and delivery schedules will be altered due to the upcoming Labor Day holiday. To ensure specimen stability and prevent delays, follow the guidelines outlined below for domestic clients and international clients.

A random urine test panel aids in diagnosing mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), a complex condition often misdiagnosed due to overlapping symptoms. The panel improves access, speeds up diagnosis, and enables individualized treatment by detecting key mast cell mediators.

In this month's "Hot Topic," Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., discusses the use of multiplex panels for the diagnosis of respiratory infections and focuses on the clinical utility of these tests in the setting of upper respiratory tract infections.

The field of clinical microbiology has a long and distinguished history at Mayo Clinic. Since the early 1900s, the clinical microbiology team has played important and leading roles in advancing testing and patient care.

Today's highlights include: Spread of monkeypox underscores need for physicians to be ready to understand, Pfizer completes application to FDA for vaccine for children under 5, and connect is key to supporting multiple sclerosis patients.

In May 2022, Mayo Clinic Laboratories announced multiple new tests along with numerous reference value changes, obsolete tests, and algorithm changes.

William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, joins the "Answers From the Lab" podcast for his weekly leadership update with Bobbi Pritt, M.D. In this episode, Dr. Morice and Dr. Pritt discuss the range of emerging viruses and their variants that are currently in the news.

This list includes updates posted to mayocliniclabs.com during the month of May.

As a clinical laboratory technologist, Daniel Kronemann enjoys going beyond his day-to-day work as he explores new ways to enhance processes and systems in Bacteriology.

Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic’s Clinical Virology Laboratory, joins the "Answers From the Lab" podcast for a discussion with Bobbi Pritt, M.D. about recent outbreaks of viral infections. In this episode, Dr. Binnicker and Dr. Pritt look at the hepatitis cases in children possibly linked to adenovirus as well as the spread of Monkeypox.

Featured abstract: Substance use screening in transplant populations.

Dr. Morice talks about what lies ahead for laboratory medicine and how the opportunities and challenges in the field are intertwined.

Topics include: Community leaders are key to reaching people underrepresented in research.

Today's highlights include: Long COVID affects more older adults, US has a new dominant COVID-19 strain, and Gianrico Farrugia explains how we can transform healthcare by moving from pipeline to platform.