Alum helps expand same-day COVID-19 testing

MU alum and former faculty member Steven Kleiboeker (BS '86, DVM '89, PhD '92) has played a key role in an effort to make COVID-19 testing more accessible. As the Vice President of Research and Development of Viracor Eurofins, based in Lees Summit, Kleiboeker led efforts in developing a new test that is more than 99% accurate. The company is capable of performing - and reporting results for - over 1,000 tests a day. Thanks to Kleiboeker and Viracor Eurofins, doctors in Missouri and Kansas will be able to test patients that are not a CDC priority, but that they personally suspect are likely COVID-19 cases. Positive results can then be forwarded to the CDC for confirmation. Kleiboker's background in viral and molecular infectious diseases makes him an ideal leader for this particular moment. “If we have to work late at night and keep additional shifts, everybody’s up for that challenge,” Kleiboeker said in an interview with KCUR. Read the full KCUR feature here.