White House Coronavirus Task Force Leader Visits UArizona Labs

Oct. 1, 2020
Deborah Birx, MD, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, visited University of Arizona and UArizona Health Sciences laboratories where researchers are testing antibody and antigen samples collected from students and employees. Ryan Sprissler, PhD, staff scientist and manager of the UArizona Genetics Core, speaks with Dr. Birx as UArizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD, and others, listen.

Deborah Birx, MD, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, visited University of Arizona and UArizona Health Sciences laboratories where researchers are testing antibody and antigen samples collected from students and employees. Ryan Sprissler, PhD, staff scientist and manager of the UArizona Genetics Core, speaks with Dr. Birx as UArizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD, and others, listen.

Deborah Birx, MD, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, recently visited the University of Arizona to learn about the institution’s Test, Trace, Treat method for tracking and containing outbreaks of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Dr. Birx has been touring colleges across the country to learn about their approaches to education during the pandemic. She met with officials, including UArizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD, and toured Health Sciences labs to learn about ongoing antibody and antigen testing.

Following the visit, a White House report said the university was a model for "transparently tracking COVID cases," citing its COVID-19 dashboard. Dr. Birx praised the university's efforts to test as many members of the university community as possible to find asymptomatic cases. The university administered more than 39,000 tests in August and September, and publishes each day's test results at 8 p.m. on the dashboard.

Ryan Sprissler, PhD (right), staff scientist and manager of the UArizona Genetics Core, leads Deborah Birx, MD, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and university President Robert C. Robbins, MD on a tour of University of Arizona Health Sciences facilities on Friday, Sept. 18. Dr. Birx visited labs where researchers are conducting COVID-19 tests as part of a national tour of colleges and universities.
Deborah Birx, MD, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, tours University of Arizona Health Sciences labs that are testing samples collected from students and employees for antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19. Pictured, from left: UArizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD; Janko Nikolich-Žugich, MD, PhD, department head and professor of immunobiology; Dr. Birx; Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, associate professor of immunobiology. Drs. Nikolich-Žugich and Bhattacharya discuss their labs’ wo
Deborah Birx, MD (center), coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, recently visited University of Arizona Health Sciences labs where researchers are testing antibody and antigen samples collected from students and employees. UArizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD (far left), joined her on the tour.
Deborah Birx, MD, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, listens as Ryan Sprissler, PhD, staff scientist and manager of the UArizona Genetics Core, explains the antibody testing process. UArizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD, and others, joined Dr. Birx during her visit.
Deborah Birx, MD, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, talks with a scientist during a recent tour of laboratories. The tour focused on the labs testing antibody and antigen samples collected from students and employees.