The Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory (MDL) at Drexel University College of Medicine is focused on diagnosis, education, and clinical research with emphasis on diagnosis of leukemias, lymphomas, other disease processes and provides additional molecular information for patient management (i.e. KRAS mutation detection, JAK-2 detection). The MDL will serve as the main molecular laboratory for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing. It features state-of-the-art equipment such as capillary electrophoretic technology, used in analysis of PCR products. The lab utilizes highly sensitive methods that provide both qualitative and quantitative data.
The MDL is certified by CLIA and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The laboratory will adhere to the regulations set forth by CLIA and the Pennsylvania Department of Health in order to assay clinical samples, train residents, fellows and medical students, as well as conduct research. The laboratory features a climate of collegial interactions, making it mutually beneficial for all participants.
The MDL serves as a rotation site for residents and fellows to become familiar with the basic molecular biologic techniques used in molecular diagnostics. Residents and fellows will become familiar with the professional functions associated with sample analysis, including responsibility for correlating clinical history with laboratory requests to ensure proper clinical testing, selection of tests to be performed, review of test progress, interpretation and communication of preliminary results, and interpretation and reporting of final results in oral and written form.
In addition to resident and fellowship education, the MDL has resources available to researchers to aid their research. The most common resources available are the extraction process of paraffin-embedded tissues and fresh/frozen tissues, DNA/RNA quantitation, and analysis of PCR products using capillary electrophoretic technology. |