LSU Coronavirus Testing Lab Supports 18 Louisiana Medical Facilities
April 04, 2020
The LSU River Road Testing Lab for COVID-19 that was set up in record time in March to alleviate the burden on Louisiana hospitals reached a milestone in getting test results to almost 5,000 Louisiana residents by working with 18 medical facilities and first responders across the state. It also made 8,000 test kits.
“Our team has shown an amazing amount of compassion and willingness to answer the call to do the right thing,” said testing lab co-founder and pathobiological sciences professor Rebecca Christofferson. “We are all in this to serve and alleviate the burden so that our community, which is comprised of our families and our friends, stays as safe and healthy as possible.”
Luan Dinh Vu, a postdoctoral researcher, and Christine Walsh, a graduate assistant, organize viral testing kits to be supplied to area hospitals at the River Road Testing Lab at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.
– Photo Credit: LSU School of Veterinary Medicine
“When the hospitals were in trouble, LSU was able to save them by taking a significant amount of the testing burden for COVID-19 off of the state testing labs. It took world-class experts. The hospitals were desperate, and the LSU testing effort was a lifesaver. Everybody came together around this one cause, to try to keep the hospitals open.”
Dr. Hollis “Bud” O’Neal, Medical Director of Research at Our Lady of the Lake, pulmonologist at Baton Rouge General, and LSUHSC professor