May 6, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

UCLA Receives $13 Million Contract to Expand COVID-19 Testing

SwabSeq kits are already available in vending machines for free self-testing by campus community

By Elaine Schmidt/UCLA Newsroom

A new $13.3 million contract from the National Institutes of Health’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative, or RADx, will enable the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA to expand its capacity to process COVID-19 tests.

UCLA’s diagnostic laboratory will be able to process up to 150,000 COVID-19 tests per day using SwabSeq, a sequencing technology developed at UCLA. The technology pools thousands of saliva samples and returns individual test results in less than 24 hours.

“UCLA developed SwabSeq and brought the technology to market in only six months — a process that normally takes years,” said Eleazar Eskin, chair of computational medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine and the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.

UCLA researchers pioneered the technology in April 2020 in collaboration with Octant, a startup company founded at UCLA, and the SwabSeq laboratory opened for business on campus in October 2020. SwabSeq is quicker and less expensive than the widely used polymerase chain reaction method, which requires a secondary process that limits the number of daily tests a lab can perform.

“UCLA Health relies on the SwabSeq platform to regularly test its health care workforce,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and CEO of UCLA Hospital System. “With the additional capacity afforded by this new contract, we hope to accommodate the testing needs of other health care workers in the state.”

From lab to vending machine

SwabSeq tests are already in use by UCLA faculty, staff and students returning to campus for the 2021–22 academic year. UCLA is encouraging members of the campus community to test themselves for COVID-19 weekly using free kits, which are available from a dozen vending machines located throughout the campus.

After depositing their completed SwabSeq tests in collection bins next to the vending machines, users are notified by email or text when their results are available from a secure website.

The SwabSeq lab is also analyzing COVID-19 saliva tests for the Los Angeles Unified School District, which administers one of the largest testing programs in the country. The lab also provides COVID-19 testing for Pepperdine University, Cal Poly Pomona and UC Santa Barbara, and has performed tests for Caltech and UC Irvine in the past.

How it works

SwabSeq attaches a piece of DNA that acts like a molecular “bar code” to each person’s saliva sample, allowing scientists to combine large batches of samples together in a sequencing machine and rapidly identify those that have the virus.

The testing method, which was one of the first DNA-sequencing methods to receive emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, can also be applied to nasal COVID-19 testing samples.

“Due to the advances in sequencing technology over the past two decades, today’s genomic sequencers are able to process tens of thousands of samples at the same time,” Eskin said. “This compares very favorably to other approaches that process hundreds of samples simultaneously.“

Poised to address future pandemics

A July 2021 study by the UCLA team, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, reported that UCLA’s SwabSeq lab performed more than 80,000 tests in less than two months, and that the testing proved highly accurate. To date, the laboratory has tested more than 250,000 specimens.

“Our results demonstrate the potential for SwabSeq to be used for COVID-19 and emerging viruses on an unprecedented scale,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Valerie Arboleda, an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine. “Its flexible protocol can rapidly scale up testing and provide a solution to the need for population-wide testing to stem future pandemics.”

The contract was funded in part by the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative with funds from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health. Other funding is being provided by the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Related Posts

Bruce Willis’ Former Beverly Hills Canyon Property Listed for $15 Million

May 5, 2025

May 5, 2025

Eight-Lot Mulholland Estate Includes a 1950s Ranch Home. 31 Acres A sprawling canyon estate in the Beverly Hills Post Office...

Prices Spike in Brentwood, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica Amid Post-Fire Housing Rush

May 5, 2025

May 5, 2025

Displaced Families Are Reshaping Los Angeles’ Housing Market on the Westside Home sales and prices across Los Angeles surged in...

Summer at Crossroads: Students Create, Grow and Learn Over the Summer

May 4, 2025

May 4, 2025

A catalog of programs and classes has opened for Summer at Crossroads, an immersive experience for students to continue to...

‘Missing Puzzle Piece’: Santa Monica Fire Department Partners with Wise & Healthy Aging

May 4, 2025

May 4, 2025

Support Services Lead to Reduction in Frequent Emergency Calls A collaborative effort between the Santa Monica Fire Department and Wise&Healthy...

Jessica Alba’s “Dream Home” Hits the Market for $19M Amid Split from Cash Warren

May 4, 2025

May 4, 2025

After 16 Years, the Couple Parts Ways and Prepares to Sell Their Family Estate. Actress and entrepreneur Jessica Alba and...

Golfers Stunned as Plane Lands at Golf Course Instead of Santa Monica Airport

May 4, 2025

May 4, 2025

No injuries reported after unexpected landing in Pacific Palisades On Friday, a Cessna 172  that was unable to complete its...

LADWP Hosts Women’s Career and Wellness Expo to Highlight Utility Jobs

May 4, 2025

May 4, 2025

IBEW Teams Up with LADWP to Advance Gender Equity in Public Utilities The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power...

Film Review: The Accountant 2

May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025

FILM REVIEWTHE ACCOUNTANT 2Rated R124 MinutesReleased April 25th   I’m impressed with The Accountant 2. It’s intelligently written, tightly paced, and...

Culver City’s Hero Faire Returns May 4 With Costumes, Contests, and Community Fun

May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025

A Whimsical Adventure for Families and Fantasy Fans This Weekend Families, friends, and fantasy fans alike are invited to embrace...

Driver in Fatal PCH Crash That Killed Four Pepperdine Students Ordered to Stand Trial

May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025

Man Accused of Driving 104 MPH in Fatal Malibu Crash  Fraser Michael Bohm, 23, was held to answer on four...

Police Search for Suspects in Attempted Smash-and-Grab at West L.A. Bakery

May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025

Investigation of Burglary Attempt at Pico-Robertson Bakery Underway Authorities are searching for four suspects who attempted to burglarize a West...

Rolling Robots Camp is a ‘Tech Genius Program’

May 1, 2025

May 1, 2025

Roll out the … robots.  An afterschool learning center for robotics and STEM is hosting weekly camps this summer designed...

UCLA Police Confront Students at Anniversary Screening of Encampment Documentary

May 1, 2025

May 1, 2025

Students Mark Somber Anniversary With a Film, UCPD Responds in Force On the first anniversary of the attack on the...

Cinco de Mayo Heats Up West Los Angeles With Food, Art, Music, and Mezcal Tastings

May 1, 2025

May 1, 2025

Mezcal Tastings, DJ Sets, Live Mural Installations, and Tlayudas Await It’s almost time for the holiday that isn’t celebrated in...

Make Your Own Pizza and Sip Craft Beer at Santa Monica’s Gourmandise School May 4

May 1, 2025

May 1, 2025

DIY Pizza and Craft Beer Collab Coming to Santa Monica Place Food lovers are invited to roll up their sleeves...