(Coralville, IA) -- The State Hygienic Lab has been awarded a $9 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to expand. Associate Director Wade Aldous says the grant will allow them to add 5,000 square feet to the existing building in at the Iowa Research Park in Coralville. Aldous says it will also enable the building of a bio-security level-3 lab, to handle extremely dangerous organisms. He says the CDC grant will allow them to prepare to respond to the next pandemic.
The Iowa Hygienic Lab serves all 99 counties and has played a key role in the state's coronavirus testing efforts. The lab dates back to 1904 and specializes in disease detection, environmental monitoring, and newborn and maternal screening.
The expansion and renovation project is expected to begin this spring, and be complete by the summer of 2023.