For this episode of the Microsamplify Podcast, we spoke with research scientist Kaitlyn Sadtler, PhD, an Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator and Chief of the Section for Immunoengineering at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In early 2020, Dr. Sadtler and a team of researchers conducted one of the very first serology studies of the novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, in an effort to identify undetected cases of COVID-19 illness in the United States. Source: Neoteryx

Pitt County, North Carolina “is one of two communities in the country that are part of a national study on ramping up at-home testing for coronavirus.” The county “is home to rolling farmland, the city of Greenville, East Carolina University and one of the largest health departments in eastern North Carolina.” Health leaders in the county “said that was why the National Institutes of Health chose the area to test what could be the future of coronavirus screening in the United States.” Source: WRAL=TV Raleigh, NC

Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – The Say Yes! COVID Test At-Home Challenge launched Tuesday. The Hamilton County Health Department, CDC, and National Institute of Health all collaborated for this testing challenge. Source: WDEF News 12 Now

The new technique is capable of printing the models 10-50 times faster than the industry standard—in minutes instead of hours— a major step in the quest to create 3D-printed replacement organs.

One-year into implementation of the NIH RADx initiative, the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology has dedicated a specialissue to exploring the innovative structure and operation of the RADx Tech program.

The technique used in this preclinical study could aid tissue regeneration following severe accidents, surgical resections, or progressive muscle loss due to age or genetic disease.

Update: The Hamilton County Health Department launched a new initiative to tackle the asymptomatic spread of COVID-19.

The "Say Yes! COVID Test" Challenge campaign kicked off on Tuesday.

The department partnered with the Center for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health to provide county residents with free, rapid, at-home COVID-19 test kits. Source: WRCBtv

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced three new contracts and one new award to an existing contract for scale-up and manufacturing of novel COVID-19 testing technologies.

The FDA’s approval last month of “two rapid at-home antigen tests, Abbott’s BinaxNOW and Quidel’s QuickVue, [which] will soon be sold over the counter on drugstore shelves, without the need for a prescription.” The article says these approvals have critical potential impact on the testing front and will help the US catch up to other developed nations in terms of rapid antigen testing. The piece highlights comments in an interview by Bruce Tromberg, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, who said, “We are in a risky period with variant growth, incomplete vaccination, return to school, increased population mobility and reduced mask wearing. ... The need to do screening, using accessible tests at home, on a large scale and on a regular cadence, is even more important.” Source: Scientific American