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Ryan Honeyman
The Department of Bioinformatics draws wastewater samples from 20 campus buildings, primarily residence halls, several times weekly to test for the presence of COVID-19, making possible the identification of the presence of the virus among building residents prior to the onset of symptoms.
Taking on a pandemic An integrated system of diagnostic and care services help control COVID-19 on campus BY SUSAN MESSINA
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ampling and testing wastewater from the sewer lines leading to UNC Charlotte’s residence halls is by no means a glamorous process, but it’s vital to the multi-department, interdisciplinary — and largely successful — effort to control the presence and spread of COVID-19 this fall on UNC Charlotte’s campus. “Most impressive about this probable oncein-a-lifetime endeavor — from wastewater collection and analysis to setting up and operating a coronavirus test clinic and test-processing lab, ordering equipment and supplies, and hiring and 16 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
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Fall 2020
training campus-based contact tracers — is that it was developed and is being managed entirely by UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and students,” said Rick Tankersley, vice chancellor for Research and Economic Development. “Everyone has rallied — during a crisis that has no roadmap — to lend their expertise and do what’s best for the entire campus community.” Planning started last summer as colleges and universities nationwide grappled with deciding whether or not to open their campuses as COVID-19 continued to elude public health
