Dr. Andrew Brooks.Photo: Rutgers University
Dr. Andrew Brooks, a research professor at Rutgers University who was a key figure in the development of the firstcoronavirussaliva-based test, has died at the age of 51.
Brooks died unexpectedly on Saturday, according to astatement from the school.
“We at Rutgers offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children, and with them we take pride in his achievements that will have lasting impact,” Rutgers-New Brunswick Chancellor Christopher J. Molloy, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom and Rutgers Senior Vice President of Research S. David Kimball said in a joint statement.
During apress briefing on Monday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recognized Brooks' contributions in the fight against COVID-19, calling him “one of our state’s unsung heroes.”
Last year, in what Murphy described as the “frenetic early days of the pandemic,” Brooks and his team at RUCDR Infinite Biologics created a test that can detect biomaterial for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus using saliva samples.
According to Murphy, the test — which made it possible for medical workers to test for COVID-19 without using nose and throat swabs or being in close contact with patients — was “one of the first rapid response tests to be put into use anywhere in the country, which has undoubtedly saved lives.”
At the time, Brooks said the “impact of this approval is significant.”
“Saliva testing will help with the global shortage of swabs for sampling and increase testing of patients, and it will not require health care professionals to be put at risk to collect samples,” Brooks continued. “Saliva testing will also be important for people who are in quarantine because they don’t know how long it will be until they are no longer infectious. This will allow health care workers to release themselves from quarantine and safely come back to work.”
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In addition to his work on the COVID-19 saliva test, Brooks co-authored more than 70 scientific publications, according to Rutgers.
During his career, Brooks also served as an adviser to the FDA, as well as as director of the Harlan GeneScreen Laboratory and co-founding director of the BioProcessing Solutions Alliance.
source: people.com
