Answers from the Lab

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, to discuss recent news about drug-resistant infections. Later, Paul Jannetto, Ph.D., director of the Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Lab, Clinical Mass Spectrometry Lab, and Metals Lab, joins Dr. Pritt f...

Published October 16, 2025

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, discuss recent regulatory and policy developments. Together, they explore:

• FDA rescinds rule on LDTs (00:48): The FDA has officially withdrawn its rule that would allow oversight of l...

Published October 2, 2025

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and Elitza Theel, Ph.D., director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, discuss the latest developments in self-collection testing for women’s health and beyond. Together, they explore:

• New podcast format launching (00:01): Dr. Pritt previews...

Published September 11, 2025

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, discuss troublesome organisms making headlines. Together, they explore:

• Vibrio vulnificus (01:09): How people get this “flesh-eating” bacteria, how it affects patients, and a recent...

Cherisse Marcou, Ph.D., and Kristen Rasmussen, M.S., CGC, explain how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' WESPR whole exome sequencing reflex test provides cost-effective diagnosis of complex genetic conditions. Using samples and data from previous targeted gene panels, WESPR's wider net can identify undetected genetic variants.

(00:32)
Would each of you share a little bit about yourselves and your background?

(01:42)

Could yo...

Published August 28, 2025

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and Matthew Binnicker, Ph.D., a microbiologist and virologist and chief scientific officer of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, discuss recent developments in viral infections. Together, they explore:

• Shope papilloma virus in rabbits (01:05): Unusual growths raise concern, t...

Published August 14, 2025

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, discuss recent news about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in healthcare. Together, they explore:

• Applications of AI tools in clinical diagnostics to identify dementia, ca...

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by Elitza Theel, Ph.D., director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, for a timely discussion on tick-borne diseases. Topics covered include:

• Observations from this year’s tick season as we approach the end of July — a peak month for tick-borne disease tran...

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, discuss summertime illnesses and key insights from a recent diagnostic investment event. Together, they explore:

Common summertime illnesses, along with tips for prevention. 

• How investment in diagnostic tools i...

Linda Hasadsri, M.D., Ph.D., and Huong Cabral, M.S., CGC, explain how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' expanded test panel captures rarer as well as more common genetic causes of hereditary pancreatitis. That information is key to managing patients' enhanced risk for pancreatic cancer.

(00:32)
 Could you both please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

(02:23)
 Could you please give the audience a bri...

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, share insights from industry news and recent conferences, including PlatforMed. They explore:

• The significant interest in diagnostics for the advancement of cancer care.
• The Joint Commission’s collaboration with...

Joshua Bornhorst, Ph.D., explains how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' labile copper assay (Mayo ID: LBCS) improves upon standard blood tests for Wilson's disease. The new test measures not just overall copper but also the fraction of copper that is bioavailable, or labile bound.

(00:32)
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

(01:33)
 Could you give us a brief overview of this assay?

(02:47)
 Wh...

John Lieske, M.D., and Sandra Taler, M.D., explain how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' mass spectrometry assay helps evaluate patients for resistant hypertension. The test detects antihypertensive medications in urine, providing evidence of whether patients are absorbing their medications or whether a new treatment approach might be needed. 

Speaker 3: (00:33)
 Could you tell us a little about yourselves and your backgrounds?

...

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and Div Dubey, M.B.B.S., a neurologist and co-director of the Clinical Neuroimmunology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, explore the topic of peripheral neuropathy. Their discussion covers:

• The high prevalence of peripheral neuropathy and why early diagnosis is important. 
• The complexities involved i...

Joseph Yao, M.D., explains how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' new quantitative assay (Mayo ID: ADVQU) goes beyond qualitative testing to evaluate transplant patients for adenovirus infection. Adenovirus can cause life-threatening disease in immunocompromised transplant patients, especially children.

(01:14)
Could you give us a brief overview of this assay?

(02:06)
Can you explain the differences of the qualitative and quan...

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, and William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, discuss global trends in diagnostic manufacturing and their implications for laboratory professionals. Topics include: 

• Emerging innovations in mass spectrometry, next-generation sequencing, automation, and art...

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, to discuss the value laboratories deliver for their entire health system. They cover how laboratories impact:

• Growth in revenue
• Growth in lab charges
• Growth in ancillary services
• Hospital length of stay
• Co...

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, to discuss tick-borne diseases. They cover:

• Different diseases patients can get from ticks. 
• Disease prevention, including Dr. Pritt’s A through Z flash cards with tips for people to protect themselves ...

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, is joined by Russ Lebovitz, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Amprion. They discuss their strategic collaboration and the innovative SAAmplify™–αSYN (CSF) test. They covered: 

• Details about how the cerebrospinal fluid biomarker test (Mayo ID: ASYNC) benefits patients exhibiting signs and symptoms of...