Advances in COVID-19 testing are ever changing, and questions about a vaccination are on everyone’s mind. Join this Zoom webinar to hear from several VCU alumni experts working the front lines in epidemiology, laboratories and health care systems. VCU Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences faculty member William Korzun, Ph.D., DABCC, MT(ASCP) (Ph.D.’88/M), will dive into a lively discussion with panelists about how testing can inform our approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists will give context to the history of laboratorians’ testing abilities, indications as to how Virginia facilities plan to double testing in the coming months and how testing directly affects contact tracing. Make sure to tune in for this timely discussion and ask questions of some of VCU’s most accomplished alumni. 

Register for the Zoom link.

Moderator

William Korzun, Ph.D., DABCC, MT(ASCP) (Ph.D.’88/M): Korzun, associate professor of clinical chemistry in the VCU College of Health Professions' Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, has been involved in clinical laboratory science for over 45 years as a student, technologist, clinical chemist and educator. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Rutgers University, a certificate in medical technology from the Hospital Center at Orange. New Jersey, his master's degree in medical technology from Temple University, and his doctorate in pathology/clinical chemistry from VCU. He is active in the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Sciences and the Richmond Society of Clinical Laboratory Sciences.  

Panelists 

Marilyn Bibbs Freeman, Ph.D. M(ASCP) (M.S.’01/HP): She is the deputy director at the Department of General Services’ Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services. She earned her Ph.D. in public health at Walden University after completing graduate work in clinical laboratory sciences, with a concentration in microbiology, at VCU and undergraduate studies in biology at James Madison University. After working in teaching hospitals, a private hospital and references laboratories, she arrived at DCLS, the public health laboratory for the state of Virginia. She is an American Society of Clinical Pathologist–certified laboratorian with over 15 years of progressive experience in microbiology, immunology, chemistry, quality, safety and management, which she uses to support the DCLS mission of promoting health through quality laboratory services. She uses her skills to support the DCLS mission while ensuring the quality of human, environmental and food sample testing. She was a contributing author on articles published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly and The Journal of Medical Virology and was the recipient of a Governor’s Award for Teamwork in 2012. 

Roxanne Mercer, MT(ASCP) (B.S.’88/HP; M.S.’08/HP): She is the director of laboratory operations for the Department of Pathology at VCU Health. She completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in clinical laboratory science at VCU. Her 30-year career in operational leadership includes oversight of more than 350 team members, producing more than 3.5 million tests per year.

Denise M. Toney, Ph.D. (HCLD) (Ph.D.’93/M): She is the director of the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, the state laboratory for the commonwealth of Virginia, providing analytical testing services to public health, environmental, agricultural and consumer protection agencies statewide. She has served as a leader on infectious disease laboratory issues since joining the division in 1997, serving on numerous committees, subcommittees and working groups both for and on behalf of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, and currently serves on APHL’s board of directors. Toney has focused on improving laboratory testing for antimicrobial resistance and foodborne pathogens in human, food and environmental specimens serving on advisory subcommittee’s and workgroups for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. In this effort, she has helped to shape the direction of national programs such as PulseNet, the Food Emergency Response Network and the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System. She holds a B.S. in biochemistry and chemistry from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from VCU.

Alexandra Bryson, Ph.D.: She is an assistant professor of pathology and the associate director of clinical microbiology in the Department of Pathology in the VCU School of Medicine. She earned a bachelor of science degree in genetics and biochemistry at Texas A&M University in 2010 and was awarded a competitive research fellowship at Oxford University in 2010. She then earned her Ph.D. in microbiology, virology and parasitology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 studying CRISPR, the human gut microbiome. In 2018, she completed a clinical microbiology CPEP Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. Bryson’s background and training in microbiome and metagenomics analyses will help expand pathogen surveillance and detection methods at VCU Health. She has a strong passion for global health and loves teaching and working with residents, fellows, medical students and laboratory staff. She looks forward to the inherent daily challenges of running a clinical microbiology laboratory and working with the team members of VCU Health to provide excellent patient care.