The pandemic comes to Detroit: Biological Sciences donates PPE to Henry Ford Hospital 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 recently hired strategic sourcing analyst at the Henry Ford Hospital System, was making cold calls to science departments at Wayne State requesting donations of protective gear from laboratories and classrooms.

Dozens of research labs in Biological Sciences, and lab coordinators Krystyn Purvis and Maggie Tucker, collected a small mountain of gloves, masks, gowns, sanitation supplies and eye protection. Ph.D. student Michael O'Brien and his fiancé delivered these to the Henry Ford distribution center four days after the Department of Biological Sciences received the request.

We still don't know how this pandemic will shape our university in the long term, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to the initial battle against the virus in Detroit.