Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Rapid Dx Laboratory, Ginkgo Bioworks Partner to Offer Pooled COVID Testing

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/19/21

Rapid Dx Laboratory has announced a partnership with Concentric by Ginkgo to provide pooled COVID-19 testing to K–12 schools in both in-person and hybrid learning environments.

Rapid Dx Laboratory, a molecular diagnostics laboratory based in Houston, Texas, offers an average 12–16-hour turnaround for test results on thousands of samples per day. The lab has served private companies, long-term care facilities, underserved communities, and private schools and daycares during the last year. Concentric by Ginkgo, a public health and biosecurity program at Ginkgo Bioworks, has set the goal of providing pooled testing to every school in the U.S. It runs testing in more than 15 states and has partnered with more than 800 schools.

Rapid Dx Labs, Ginkgo Bioworks Partner

Pooled testing involves combining swabs from all consenting individuals in a single classroom and runs them as a single test. The process can increase the number of tests processed in a single go, and it also reduces the cost of the procedure for institutions.

“Rapid Dx Labs is incredibly honored to be partnered with Ginkgo Bioworks for such a historic effort,” said the Rapid Dx Founding Board members in a press release. “We need to prioritize children and their education, and we need to be taking any step that would help ensure a swift return to learning in person for our next generation. We must educate and highlight the importance of the role their participation in pooled classroom testing plays for the betterment of our future.”

“Pooled testing is a powerful testing modality for schools looking to operate in-person or hybrid learning environments,” said CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks Jason Kelly. “Having the ability to test every student, every week, means that a community can, in a data-driven way, build confidence around the mitigation strategies they’re using to interrupt viral transmission.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Tomball ISD Opens New Tomball West High School

    Tomball Independent School District in Tomball, Texas, recently celebrated the official opening of Tomball West High School, the district's third comprehensive high school, with a community ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to a district news release.

  • Wenger Names New Vice President of Sales for Performing Arts, Controls

    Wenger Corporation, which provides products and solutions for music and theater education, performing arts and athletic storage, recently announced the hiring of a new Vice President of Sales for Performing Arts and Controls.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Nashville Elementary School Receives LEED Gold Certification

    Goodlettsville Elementary School, part of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tenn., recently achieved LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a news release. The 81,750-square-foot school opened in 2023 and was designed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC).