Kean Student Researcher Studies Pandemic in Real Time

Kean STEM student Ayesha Hashim’s graduate research project is focused on identifying COVID-19 variants at Kean’s on-campus diagnostic laboratory to determine how Omicron and other variants spread.

Hashim, a Woodbridge resident who is pursuing her master’s degree in biotechnology, is also a full-time lab employee who has developed expertise in techniques used to test and diagnose COVID-19 samples. She began sequencing lab samples retroactively, going back to January 2021, to investigate the spread of and evolution of variants.

“The work I am doing is the need of the hour during this pandemic,” Hashim said. “New samples come in every day, many with new variations and mutations, making it more challenging for all of us to prevent, control and treat the infection.”

As the newest public research university in New Jersey, Kean is playing a key role in research and public health efforts during the pandemic, said President Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D.

“I commend our graduate students for seizing the opportunity to conduct research in this vital area,” Repollet said. “Kean has set itself apart in its response to the pandemic, and we are glad to see our students be a part of this important work, especially at our COVID lab on campus.” 

Kean opened the Kean Clinical Diagnostic Lab in the STEM building in January 2021 to process test samples gathered across Union County COVID-19 testing sites. In December, as the new Omicron variant drove a nationwide spike in cases, the Kean lab expanded genomic sequencing in search of the fast-spreading new strain. 

Kean Adjunct Professor Robert McLaughlin, Ph.D., is Hashim’s advisor, as well as the director of operation at the Kean Clinical Diagnostic Lab where she is doing her research. He said she has analyzed several hundred COVID test samples for the retrospective study, and the data thus far correlates well with national data.

“Interestingly, our lab is still detecting other, non-Omicron variants of COVID circulating within the population, which can often cause more severe disease than have been reported for Omicron,” he said.

McLaughlin said the type of analysis Hashim is doing for her research could also be applied to other potential diseases to help inform public health departments.

Hashim said she hopes to pursue her Ph.D. in biotechnology in the future and ultimately do research working to develop new diagnostics and therapeutics to detect and treat infectious diseases.

“A lot of work has to be done in the pandemic research area, from diagnosis to the development of vaccines, in order to get control over the spread of this COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.