COVID Resource Center Newsroom

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, to welcome the new year and discuss the increase of respiratory viruses.

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, is joined by Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, to discuss the seasonal outlook of respiratory viruses, including influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

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, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories. They discuss the uptick of COVID-19 cases and the strains of the virus that are currently circulating.

A team of researchers has confirmed that neutralizing monoclonal antibody (nMAb) therapies are associated with reduced risk of adverse outcomes of COVID-19 in high-risk populations. The cohort study, published in JAMA, included more than 167,000 nonhospitalized patients from health care systems based in California, Texas, and Utah, and at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

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, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, and special guest Susan Van Meter, president of the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA). In celebration of Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, they discuss the critical role laboratories play in patient care and key legislative issues that impact the profession.

While the accelerated innovation and increased access to testing that’s occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic has been critically important to worldwide health care, so too has the crash course in laboratory testing and pathology the general public has received throughout the entirety of the pandemic.

Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic’s Clinical Virology Laboratory, provides insight on the newest COVID-19 subvariant – XBB.1.16, also known as “Arcturus.”

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.

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 podcast host Bobbi Pritt, M.D. In this episode, Dr. Pritt and Dr. Morice discuss advances in monkeypox testing, working with the CDC to scale testing and response efforts, the fast-spreading BA.5 variant of COVID-19, and how at-home testing affects the number of reported cases.

Diagnostic tests are a critical part of America’s health infrastructure and helping people live healthier lives. But in a recent op-ed published on RealClearPolicy, William Morice II, M.D., president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories and Matt Sause, president and CEO of Roche Diagnostics North America, explain how the well-intended Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) puts vital diagnostic tests at risk.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories' rapid response to public health threats has been honed during outbreaks of viruses like 2009’s H1N1 influenza, Zika, Ebola and, most recently, COVID-19. Before COVID-19, laboratory staff were already experts in developing and implementing new tests — but never on such an aggressive timeline.

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