CORVALLIS, Ore. – Last week the Cascade Collegiate Conference announced its
Return to Play Plan for intercollegiate athletics, with Corban University’s Sarah Comstock Ph.D. spearheading the COVID-19 testing procedures that will take place at Santiam Hospital in Stayton, Ore.
The Return to Play Plan approved by the conference Presidents includes strict daily wellness screening, weekly testing that detects genetic material of the virus using a lab technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and stringent procedures for mitigating against the introduction and spread of COVID-19. PCR testing is required for the sports of basketball, wrestling, football, soccer and volleyball.
“We are so thankful for the opportunity to partner with Dr. Comstock and Santiam Hospital for our testing needs,” stated CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell. “The availability of a PCR test, which is currently considered the gold standard for COVID-19 detection, gives student-athletes the opportunity to compete.”
Dr. Comstock is a biology professor at Corban University and has a particular fascination with molecular biology and microbiology. She received her undergraduate degree from Biola Univeristy and her Ph.D. from Portland State University, both in biology. Dr. Comstock has done research in real-time or quantitative PCR and is published in the subject matter.
“I’ve always been interested in microbiology,” said Dr. Comstock. “When I came up working at OHSU, they had me start on the PCR testing almost 20 years ago. When Santiam Hospital was running low on testing supplies, I offered to bring over my PCR and train their techs on it. I wasn’t going to be able to do research over the summer anyway, so I figured I could volunteer my time at the hospital so it could stay open.”
Dr. Comstock knew she had a machine to test the disease and figured the teams at Corban would be needing testing. It then turned into “let’s see if we can test the whole conference since it won’t matter if Corban can get tests if we can’t compete against anyone,” said Dr. Comstock.
The arrangement between the CCC and Dr. Comstock and the Santiam Hospital provides the CCC with saliva testing for COVID-19. Comstock will be using the
SalivaDirect method developed by the Yale School of Medicine which has been granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All testing will be performed in Santiam Hospitals CLIA-certified lab.
“I was a little nervous at first because there will be lots of tests to run,” said Dr. Comstock. “It’s a little overwhelming.”
The NAIA developed a required daily screening process where athletes are given scores based on COVID-19 symptoms. The saliva samples collected – which Dr. Comstock trained the school’s athletic trainers how to conduct – are labeled, using the scoring rubric and shipped to Santiam Hospital overnight and prepared for testing.
“It’s a simple process, they send me the samples with the labels I created with the athletes’ info and scores,” said Dr. Comstock, who has four interns to help her with the process. “The samples are separated by scores and teams from each school, we run the samples in pooled groups of 10. Any pool that comes up positive, we have to run individual samples.”
Since Corban is just down the street from the hospital where Dr. Comstock is running the tests, their samples are hand-delivered to her by an intern. While she’s still local, Dr. Comstock doesn’t handle the sample collection, which is overseen by a Certified Athletic Trainer at Corban, but she enjoys watching the process.
“I’ve only walked by and seen it but it’s fun to watch,” said Dr. Comstock. “It’s fun to see some of the athletes squirm a little.”
With 12 full CCC member universities to run tests for, Dr. Comstock definitely has her hands full, but it’s nothing new for the professor.
“I am working a lot, but it’s been a lot of fun and a good experience for my student,” said Dr. Comstock. “I like doing science so it’s exciting. I also run a non-profit in Haiti, so I’m used to working a lot. It’s who I am.”