Keith Jerome and Alex Greninger’s virology lab at University of Washington was one of the first in the nation with a test for SARS CoV-2 and they are credited with helping to identify the first confirmed US case of the virus in January.
Keith Jerome, MD, PhD, Director, and Alex Greninger, MD, PhD, Assistant Director of the University of Washington Virology Laboratory in Seattle.
Greninger was featured in an interview in GQ, titled “The Infuriating Story of How the Government Stalled Coronavirus Testing” that he began developing the test early in January, when the sequence was first announced. Since then, he and his team have worked tirelessly to expand capacity in-house to diagnose more patients.
A clip of a PBS interview with Greninger was even featured on John Oliver’s late night comedy show. In the clip, Greninger explained how his urgent request for approval for his test was delayed by the FDA because they the FDA insisted that a physical copy be mailed along with a CD or thumb drive version. Oliver then joked, "Where would you even find a blank CD? At a Walgreens twenty years ago?"
Additional press included an NPR feature “When Coronavirus Struck Seattle, This Lab Was Ready To Start Testing and an article in Kaiser Health News, “How Intrepid Lab Sleuths Ramped Up Tests As Coronavirus Closed In”