True Grace Under Pressure

As the Director of Clinical Microbiology and Serology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Florida, Dr. Hata manages many critical projects with equanimity.

Dr. Hata facilitated the development of a COVID testing lab at Mayo Clinic Florida, organizing the construction efforts of a new lab, and implementation of a new cobas® 6800 high-throughput instrument, all in one week. She continued efforts to create a lab-developed test for COVID, as well as validation of lower respiratory sources. She has worked continuously since the outbreak began and has displayed professionalism during this time of crisis.

As the pandemic spread, Dr. Hata was under a great deal of pressure to develop a COVID test to support Mayo patients as well as reference lab needs. She never buckled under this pressure, but graciously answered all questions that were asked of her, and routinely provided information to calm and inform others, guiding them through CDC recommendations and communicating with our lab team daily on newest updates.

After the COVID lab was operational, Dr. Hata proceeded to support additional COVID verification/validations, and a total of 4 PCR tests were complete within one month. This was an outstanding effort on her part, and she deserves to be recognized for her tireless effort to provide laboratory testing for patient care.

Submitted by Elma Reger, Supervisor of Microbiology, Infectious Serology, and Molecular Virology Laboratories, Mayo Clinic