Biological Sciences donates personal protective equipment to Henry Ford Health System

The coronavirus pandemic hit metro Detroit in March of 2020 shutting down research labs and moving classes online overnight. At the same time, Detroit hospitals were suddenly unable to meet the demand for masks, gloves and face shields.

That is when Salmaan Farrukh (B.A., biological sciences, 2015), a newly hired strategic sourcing analyst at Henry Ford, requested donations of protective gear from our laboratories and classrooms.

Dozens of research labs and lab coordinators Krystyn Purvis and Maggie Tucker teamed up to collect a small mountain of gloves, masks, sanitation supplies and eye protection. Ph.D. student, Michael O'Brien, and his fiancé delivered these to Henry Ford just four days after we received their request.

None of us can predict the outcome of this pandemic but we are glad for the opportunity to help fight it.