Evidence-based testing for detection and identification
Our internationally renowned clinical microbiology laboratories offer a broad selection of tests designed for rapid identification and in-depth characterization of the causative agents of infectious diseases. We have developed and implemented culture techniques, immunoassays, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and molecular methods for rapid detection, identification, and characterization, as well as provision of treatment guidance for microbial pathogens.
“We're always trying to develop new methods, broader methods, faster methods, less expensive methods.”
Nancy Wengenack, Ph.D., Division of Clinical Microbiology

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Join Mayo Clinic Laboratories for our webinar exploring the expanding role of precision diagnostics in the evaluation of serious and potentially life-threatening infections. Focusing on metagenomic sequencing available from Mayo Clinic Laboratories, including the Karius Spectrum plasma test, which is offered by Mayo Clinic Laboratories in collaboration with Karius, participants will gain an overview of microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) metagenomic sequencing, including clinical decision-making around test ordering, appropriate clinical indications, and how to interpret and apply results to support timely diagnosis and patient management.
Elitza Theel, Ph.D., explains how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' unique Histoplasma/Blastomyces test provides cost-effective evaluation for fungal infections that cause pulmonary illness. The assay reliably detects both Histoplasma and Blastomyces pathogens in a single test.
In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, and Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, discuss why avian influenza has recently been in the news and lessons learned from managing COVID-19.
Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting impact on the lives of millions of people around the world, including the many brave health care workers who risked their own health to provide lifesaving care to those infected by the virus. That care was made possible, in part, by the lasting impact that the pandemic has also had on laboratory testing.
Host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., is joined by Robin Patel, M.D., co-director of the Clinical Bacteriology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic and director of the Mayo Clinic Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory, for a discussion on the rising cases and reports of group A streptococcus and antibiotic resistant gonorrhea across the United States.
In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., discuss what’s causing recent outbreaks of norovirus and how to keep yourself protected from this leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States.
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published new findings on periprosthetic joint infection by Dr. Robin Patel.
William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, joins “Answers From the Lab” for his weekly leadership update with host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic. In this episode, Dr. Morice shares his biggest takeaways from this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, California, and gives an update on the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, joins host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., on this week’s episode of the "Answers From the Lab" podcast. In this episode, they discuss the ongoing respiratory virus season, a new test for measles available at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, and some tips to stay healthy.
New research by Robin Patel, M.D. and others at Mayo Clinic has found that the use of a “transcriptomic-based cellular deconvolution tool” called CIBERSORTx could help improve the detection of infectious and non-infectious causes of failed joint replacement surgeries.
In this episode of “Lab Medicine Rounds,” Justin Kreuter, M.D., sits down with Matt Binnicker, Ph.D., director of Clinical Virology and vice chair of practice in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, to discuss the laboratory medicine perspective of Monkeypox.
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 "Answers From the Lab" for his weekly leadership update with host Bobbi Pritt, M.D. In this episode, Dr. Pritt and Dr. Morice discuss the latest monkeypox developments, potential scenarios for monkeypox moving forward, and where the VALID Act stands.
In this episode of “Lab Medicine Rounds,” Justin Kreuter, M.D., sits down with Bobbi Pritt, M.D., professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and division chair for the Department of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, to discuss why this year’s tick season is more severe than others.