Clemson University researchers create cutting-edge solutions to COVID-19

A new Clemson University lab that researchers are calling “a cutting-edge solution to help fight COVID-19” could be stocked with 13 sample-handling robots and have a staff of about 50 students fully trained as early as November.

The COVID-19 Clinical Diagnostics Lab started off by testing the saliva of athletes and Tiger Band members and is now poised to broaden testing across campus. Once fully operational, the lab will be able to test 5,000 samples daily and return results the same day, with each test costing about $8.

Researchers work in the new COVID-19 Clinical Diagnostics Lab. They are (from left): Delphine Dean, the Ron and Jane Lindsay Professor of Bioengineering, master's bioengineering student Erica Justice; and Mark Blenner, the McQueen Quattlebaum Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering.

“This is a clear example of Clemson’s leadership through the efforts of its faculty, staff and students to take on the COVID-19 challenge,” President James P. Clements said. “The lab reinforces what Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx said when she visited campus: ‘It was apparent from the moment we arrived the outstanding efforts Clemson has done to open the university and to keep it open. It’s clear the students have taken a responsible approach to their return and the results have been encouraging.’”

The lab is overseen by Delphine Dean, the Ron and Jane Lindsay Professor of Bioengineering, with the help of Mark Blenner, the McQueen Quattlebaum Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering.

Read the full story from Clemson University here.