Clinical Microbiology Laboratory

The Clinical Microbiology Laboratory provides infectious disease diagnosis and consultative services for the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. The laboratory offers comprehensive testing for the detection, characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of infectious agents. Rapid detection methods are used when possible for optimal patient care, including nucleic acid-based and immunologic methods. Molecular testing is the most rapidly expanding portion of the laboratory and is incorporated in many areas of the microbiology laboratory. The laboratory is regulated under the New York State Department of Health and is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). A quality assurance team within the laboratory assures compliance with regulatory and accrediting agencies.

Test Menu

• Anaerobes
• Antimicrobials
• Bacteriology
• Molecular Microbiology
• Mycobacteriology
• Mycology
• Parasitology
• Virology

Clinical Microbiology Consultative Services

Faculty are readily available to advise clinicians and other healthcare providers on test selection, result interpretation and antibiotic selection. Faculty expertise includes bacteriologic analysis, antibiotic susceptibility testing, mycology, virology, molecular microbiology, mycobacteriology, international microbiology, molecular epidemiology, serology, and parasitology.

Research

Clinical Microbiology directors participate in research projects. Examples include:

• Molecular and phenotypic detection and characterization of antibiotic resistance
• Fungus identification using mass spectrometry
• Rapid molecular pathogen identification directly from patient samples

Setting Standards

The Clinical Microbiology directors are leaders in standards organizations and bring the shared expertise from national and international committees back to the institution. The directors are actively involved in the Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Subcommittee of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), as well as the Microbiology Resource Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP).

Education

Faculty are involved in educational initiatives, including:

• Training of pathology residents
• Education of infectious disease fellows and medical students
• Lectures at Grand Rounds and similar events
• National and international teaching