The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) named the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa as the healthiest lab in the nation at the association's annual meeting in May. Created in 2009, the APHL Healthiest Laboratory Award is part of its Healthiest Laboratory Initiative. Sponsored by HDR, Inc., an architectural firm specializing in laboratory design, the award recognizes...

From the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the soil that we walk on, staff at the State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) at the University of Iowa, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, have a hand in monitoring the health of Iowa’s precious natural resources. “Our staff scientists are very hands-on in our mission to collect and analyze samples,” said Michael Schueller...

On a frigid morning in mid-January, tiny flurries swirled outside the University of Iowa State Hygienic Lab building as an unusual sight, an eighteen-wheeler UPS semi-truck, slowly backed up to the loading dock with a daily delivery of samples. Inside the truck was a record-breaking haul: fifty-five 4’ x 4’ bags containing COVID-19 test kits from Iowans across the state. Each bag contained...

Three Iowa legislators met with researchers and innovators engaged in COVID-19 testing, autonomous rural vehicles, and other areas of discovery during a visit to the University of Iowa Nov. 9 hosted by the UI Office for the Vice President for Research. Led by UI Vice President for Research Marty Scholtz, Iowa Reps. Monica Kurth and Dean Fisher, toured the State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) and the...

You’ve probably heard about the outdoor air quality alerts in Iowa over the last few weeks, but do you know how the data that drives the alerts is collected? The University of Iowa State Hygienic Lab (SHL) operates a network of monitors around the state to understand the potential impact that the ambient air quality could have on the citizens of Iowa. Through a contract with the Iowa Department of...

March 8 will mark one year since the State Hygienic Laboratory detected the first case of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and the lab has processed more than one million samples since that fateful day. As vaccines for COVID-19 work their way across the country, SHL isn’t slowing down. In fact, it’s continuing to work around the clock to improve testing and expanding the tools available...

While it’s not, technically, a business, Iowa’s State Hygienic Lab (SHL) has demonstrated incredible innovation and dedication since it became ground zero for most of Iowa’s COVID-19 testing. That’s why SHL and Director Mike Pentella were recently given the Driver award as part of the sixth annual Gazette Business Awards. The Driver award is given to an individual or institution that has...

If the State Hygienic Laboratory’s Coralville operation is headquarters in Iowa’s war on COVID-19, Connie Henderson is the lab’s forward scout and envoy to clinics across the state. Henderson, a retired laboratory manager at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, has served as an SHL Ambassador since 2019, providing expert guidance to the lab, helping SHL better connect with and meet the needs of...

The State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) has been in the spotlight since the beginning of the COVD-19 pandemic. It’s won widespread praise—including from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Board of Regents—for the dedication of its staff as it’s expanded its capabilities to meet explosive demand for testing. The lab is fast approaching having conducted half a million COVID-19 tests since February and...

The State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) was recognized by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, at its recent meeting for its heroic handling of statewide testing for the coronavirus. At the board’s July 29 meeting, the board signed a resolution lauding the work of its three schools for their response following Iowa Gov. Kim Reynold’s declaration of a State of Public Health Disaster Emergency in March...