COVID-19 Pooled Surveillance Testing Is Underway

An RNA Institute team member analyzes saliva samples from the University's pooled surveillance testing program. Photo by Patrick Dodson.

The University’s pooled surveillance testing program is well underway and in addition to helping keep our community healthy and safe, the science behind it – happening in a lab right on our Uptown Campus – is receiving national media attention. Developed by the RNA Institute and the School of Public Health, the program provides a simple and non-invasive way to test the presence of the virus using a saliva sample. The process is straightforward: Participants, which at UAlbany include all students who spend time on campus and many faculty and staff, spit into provided test tubes on an assigned date and drop off samples.