Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/1448769
32 The College of New Jersey Magazine Control and Prevention would be done using our kits." Molecular Loop's kits allow labs to determine whether or not a patient has COVID, and can also determine if a positive COVID sample contains a variant — ultra important info for the CDC to have in hand as new variants like Delta and Omicron make their way across the world. "All of these sequences get sent to the CDC so that they're able to see in a community whether new things start circulating," Porreca says. It also helps the CDC determine exactly how much of each variant strain is out there. Molecular Loop's kits are not the only products on the table, but they tend to be simple to use and offer a wider look at the COVID landscape. "Our solution allows scientists to see more of that full genome than they can see with other technologies. That translates into more data for the CDC and a higher chance that they're going to pick up a variant," says Porreca. As we learn to operate in a new world, Molecular Loop will add their COVID kits to their other line of products and broaden their portfolio and build a bigger team. Says Porreca, "It's all in how you react to a situation and turn it into something that's both good for business and good for society." Tosan Boyo '07 cradles his city and gives room to grieve. I n early 2020, the San Francisco mayor's office reached out to Tosan Boyo with a request that he help combat an impending pandemic as deputy commander of the San Fran- cisco COVID-19 Operations Center, which was then working to track and quarantine travelers from China. But Boyo turned them down. As the chief operating officer of San Francisco General Hospital, the city's only Level I trauma center and psych hospital, he had his hands full. So the mayor's office sent a second request. Then a third. Finally, Boyo offered to take on the position for a few weeks until he could make a recommendation for a new leader. But just as he was nearing his self-imposed deadline, the Grand Princess cruise ship arrived in the San Francisco Bay with 21 initial positive cases of COVID-19 on board. From that moment, the city's work would no longer focus on returning travelers from China, and Boyo would, instead, spend the next nine months managing healthcare operations of COVID-19 for the city. It was a massive task. The city had to quickly create the infra- structure to manage the surge and coordinate among the Department of Public Health, and the Department of Public Safety, and the Chambers of Commerce. Ultimately, the work was a success. "One of the greatest accom- plishments of my life is the fact that