Rittenhouse Molecular Laboratory

The Rittenhouse Molecular Laboratory (RML) was founded as part of Penn Medicine's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its earliest form, RML was designed as a high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 testing laboratory, serving the Health System and the University of Pennsylvania community. In the two years since its inception, RML has completed >1 million SARS-CoV-2 tests. From these beginnings, RML has expanded its offerings to additional high-throughput molecular testing for infectious diseases, including viral load testing for CMV, EBV, and BK viruses.

The Rittenhouse Molecular Laboratory builds on the Molecular Pathology Laboratory's longstanding reputation for expertise and excellence in molecular diagnostics. This team collaborates with the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory in the Division of Laboratory Medicine to bring innovative infectious disease diagnostics to Penn Medicine. To that end, RML is one of just 87 laboratories in the country to receive FDA EUA approval for an assay to diagnose Mpox, developed through a strategic preparedness initiative led by the PCD and Clinical Microbiology Development Teams.