Microbiology / Infectious Disease

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.

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.

PACE / State of CA / State of FL
In this month’s “Virtual Lecture” Bobbi Pritt, M.D., shares a series of spooky tales to scare and amaze related to the discovery, characterization, and clinical presentation of notable viruses.

In this month's "Hot Topic," Robin Patel, M.D., discusses how the use of multiplex tests may reduce the turnaround time for identifying the cause of bloodstream infections, and how this might impact antibiotic stewardship and patient outcomes.

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.

Elitza Theel, Ph.D., director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Lab at Mayo Clinic, joins the "Answers From the Lab" podcast for a discussion with Bobbi Pritt, M.D. about tick-borne disease testing. In this episode, Dr. Theel and Dr. Pritt look at emerging tick-borne illnesses, the tests available to detect these infections, and how to prevent them.

In this month's "Hot Topic," Elitza Theel, Ph.D., will be discussing laboratory utilization management, specifically for diagnostic testing for tick-borne diseases.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Nancy Wengenack, Ph.D., discusses susceptibility testing of yeast for those who are considering performing it in their laboratory, perhaps for the first time, or for those who choose to send their yeast isolates out to a reference laboratory for susceptibility testing but who want to understand how the reference laboratory generates the data that comes back on reports.

With the omicron variant grabbing headlines around the world, media outlets have turned to experts like Dr. Binnicker to help clarify the effect this new variant could have and what it might mean for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Audrey Schuetz, M.D., discusses Mayo Clinic Laboratories' PCR assay that identifies two recently described staphylococcus species. The assay is unique in its ability to distinguish the new organisms from Staphylococcus aureus, providing clearer results that ultimately improve patient care.

With a spike in cases spurred by the delta virus, demand for COVID-19 testing is on the rise again, and several at-home tests that have been approved for emergency use authorization are becoming more popular. But should you rely on a test that you administer yourself to tell you whether you have COVID-19? Dr. Matthew Binnicker explains the pros and cons of at-home tests.