Resources

ASLM and FIND Laboratory Training for COVID-19 Molecular Testing

ASLM and FIND invite those interested in joining free training courses on In-House Test Development for Molecular Detection of SARS-CoV-2

Learn how to plan for and establish COVID-19 testing in your laboratory to ensure accurate, timely and impactful results.

Overview

Duration: 1 Week Weekly study: 4 hours

This course is designed for professionals involved in the testing and diagnosis of COVID-19, with a focus on LMICs. On this course, you’ll learn how to plan for and establish COVID-19 testing in your laboratory and ensure results are accurate, timely and impact on patient care and public health decisions. Using practical exercises, you’ll learn how to perform site readiness assessment, and how to interpret testing data. When combined with practical on-site training on test procedures for specific tests, you’ll come away with the skills needed to ensure quality COVID-19 test results in your setting.

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Explore the scope of the current state of COVID-19 pandemic
  • Explore the WHO's recommendations on COVID-19 testing
  • Describe how different tests are used for screening, confirmation and surveillance
  • Engage with your peers and learn how to perform site readiness assessment, forecasting for COVID19 testing and how to interpret testing data
  • Explore the theoretical components of COVID-19 testing in the laboratory, that when supplemented with hands-on training will provide you with the skills needed to test for SARS-CoV-2 in your setting

Apply here. Hurry, acceptance will be based on qualifications and on a first-come basis for qualified candidates.  

Africa CDC

Guidance on pooled testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on the use of pooled sample testing strategy in coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
testing laboratories of the African Union Member States for scaling up SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing capacity with the available resources.

WHO

International Clinical Trials Registry Platform

The main aim of the WHO ICTRP is to facilitate the prospective registration of the WHO Trial Registration Data Set on all clinical trials, and to allow the public accessibility of that information.

Database of publications on coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
The WHO is gathering the latest scientific findings and knowledge on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and compiling it in a database. The database is updated daily from searches of bibliographic databases, hand searches of the table of contents of relevant journals, and the addition of other relevant scientific articles.

FIND

SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic Pipeline
The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) are collating an overview of all SARS-CoV-2 tests commercially available or in development for the diagnosis of COVID-19. The information is directly submitted by test suppliers or obtained from publicly available sources.

Our World in Data 

Coronavirus Country Profiles
Which countries are doing better and which are doing worse?  Developed by the University of Oxford and the Global Change Data Lab, these 207 country profiles allow exploration of the statistics on the coronavirus pandemic for every country in the world. Each profile includes a section on testing, and provides data on how much testing for coronavirus each country is conducting, when they started and allows comparisons with other countries. Each profile includes interactive visualizations, explanations of the presented metrics, and the details on the sources of the data. Every country profile is updated daily.

CDC

Information for Laboratories
The CDC has developed interim guidance and resources for laboratory professionals working with specimens from persons under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19. This page also includes a section containing CDC-developed Real-Time RT-PCR  Resources.

CDISC

Interim User Guide for COVID-19

The Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) has developed this freely available Interim User Guide for studies pertaining to COVID-19. The User Guide provides examples and guidance on implementing CDISC standards for COVID-19 so that users can collect, structure and analyze data more effectively. The User Guide was rapidly developed by a task force of several CDISC member organizations and partners.

GloPID-R/UKCDR COVID-19 Research Project Tracker
Live database of funded research projects, clinical trials and funding calls across the world, mapped against the COVID-19 research priorities identified in the WHO Coordinated Global Research Roadmap: 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

Veridata EDC
On 26/03/2020, Elsevier launched Veridata EDC, a secure, compliant and user-friendly platform to capture patient data for clinical research. To assist researchers working to develop vaccines and other therapies for COVID-19, Elsevier has pledged to make Veridata EDC available for free. Interested clinical researchers can contact Elsevier customer support via e-mail at covid19@elsevier.com and apply for a demo account. Following the necessary compliance training, you will receive a free 12-month license.

Tools

EDCTP Knowledge Hub 
This hub aims to facilitate and provide guidance on several topics related to clinical trials, with resources including a Protocol Development Toolkit, a Data Management Portal and a Data Sharing Toolkit.

The Trial Protocol Tool 
This tool packages a wide range of practical information about managing trials in low and middle-income countries into a single software tool. Available in English and Spanish. 

Global Health Trials' Tools and Templates Library
These templates have been shared by other groups, and are free to use and adapt for your research studies. Please ensure that you read and adapt them carefully for your own setting.

Training

Sign up for two ASLM free online courses on COVID-19 diagnostics and molecular testing:

  • COVID-19 Diagnostics and Testing MOOC developed by ASLM, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and FIND (Enroll here).
  • Laboratory Training for COVID-19 Molecular Testing MOOC developed by ASLM and FIND (enroll here).