COVID-19 Science & Coverage: A virtual tour of UW Medicine’s Virology Lab

Seattle’s UW Medicine Virology Lab has been at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic since its beginnings in the U.S. The lab developed its own test for COVID-19, assessed potential therapeutics such as hydroxychloroquine, and is now beginning a project to test 7,000 people repeatedly for the virus and antibodies. This tour will provide a rare inside look at a lab that's typically off limits to visitors due to biohazard concerns. Take a virtual tour with leading researchers on and stick around for the Q&A that follows.

The session will be moderated by Susan Gregg, director of media relations at the University of Washington. Gregg began her media relations role at Harborview/UW Medicine in 2001. She brings over 30 years of experience in media relations and communications. She works daily with the media and is a media spokesperson for Harborview, UW Medicine, UW Medical Center, Airlift Northwest and other UW Medicine entities.

Geoffrey Baird is a board-certified pathologist and acting chair of UW Medicine’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. He contributed to the creation of a rapid and accurate test for SARS-CoV-2 soon after the virus was detected in the United States. Dr. Baird earned his MD and PhD at UC San Diego. @uwpathology

Alex Greninger is assistant director of the UW Medicine Virology Lab and assistant professor of Laboratory Medicine at UW. His research focuses on genomic and proteomic characterization of human viruses. Dr. Greninger has co-discovered multiple human and animal viruses, and helped lead the effort to develop an RNA-based test for COVID-19. He earned his MD and PhD at UC San Francisco, his MS at Stanford and his MPhil at Cambridge in England. @GreningerLab

Keith Jerome is head of the Virology Division at the University of Washington School of Medicine and director of the UW Medicine Virology Lab, as well as a faculty member at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. His research focuses on the biology of viral infections. One of his current projects aims to increase the capacity and speed of testing for COVID-19. Dr. Jerome earned his MD and PhD at Duke and served his clinical residency at UW. @UWVirology

Pavitra Roychoudhury is an acting instructor at UW Medicine’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and research associate at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She collaborates with multiple research groups at UW and Fred Hutch on modeling and bioinformatics problems related to COVID-19, herpes simplex virus and HIV. She earned her PhD in bioinformatics and computational biology at the University of Idaho. @pavitrarc

REGISTER for "A virtual tour of UW Medicine’s Virology Lab"

Wednesday, October 14 6:30-7:30 PM Eastern