Before the pandemic struck in December 2019, Paul Lee was working as a business assistant for a company in Dubai. However, when the company closed down in mid-June 2020, he was left high and dry, like many foreign residents, desperately in search of a job to avoid the revocation of his residency visa. “I was fortunate to have been hired at a government Covid-19 facility in Ajman,” Lee explained in an interview with The Gazelle.

A few months later, in February 2021, he was hired as a data entry manager by a chain of laboratories known as PHD Labs in Abu Dhabi; since then, he has been working here at NYU Abu Dhabi.

The PHD testing lab has been a lifeline for our community. Located on the ground floor of the Campus Center, getting a PCR test has never been more accessible. Give your phone number, show your NYU student ID, give your sample and then, upon being tested negative, you will have a green signal to access public spaces and residential buildings. We can barely imagine our life at university without this makeshift lab to rely on.

“Our main job is to collaborate with the Health Center and Public Safety to ensure that all health protocols are followed to the highest standard,” said Lee. With a sense of pride, he lauded the nuanced approach taken by the university to tackle the complexities of a Covid-positive test on campus. The ever-changing landscape posed challenges to the lab; they coped with the utmost level of resilience nonetheless. In the latter half of 2021, the lab was testing approximately 300 students a day. However, January 2022 was particularly hard with the introduction of the seven-day testing cycle for the lab. At the peak of the Omicron wave, we were testing 700 students every day. "Now it’s less busy with the 14-day cycle. The cases went down also… The tests have only 1-2 person[sic] who are positive in the community."

In working at the lab and interacting daily with students, Lee explained that he has grown to cultivate a sense of responsibility towards the NYUAD community. Students from around the world come to NYUAD in hopes of availing themselves of a world-class education. Lee shared that he felt it was his duty to educate students about public health guidelines and keep them safe.

“We are very happy when we do this, [even though] it’s not part of our job to do Al Hosn and ICA. There were several students who were restless because their vaccines were not recognized or they did not have the correct documents. Apart from merely conducting tests, we play a larger role, you know? Providing emotional comfort to international students who are trying to navigate this new city, this new country.”

He went on to add that many faculty members were impressed with PHD Lab’s services and the manner in which they handle tests for their families and household help. This sentiment of contentment is shared by students as well. Nour Alanqar, Class of 2025, is one such student: “As compared to other labs in the city, I find the PHD Labs very efficient. Their turnaround time is quite impressive. Even during the height of the pandemic, when students were returning for the spring semester, they managed sampling pretty well.”

“We got sent a commendation from a professor. We were really happy about that,” Paul shared, with a wide smile. A graduating student also posted on his Instagram about the work that PHD Labs is doing, thanking them for their work. For Lee, seeing community members pay back with such gestures is heartwarming.

There are hardships too, especially given the scale of the work. “It gets annoying sometimes when you devote your time to keep the community safe, but some students refuse to get their tests on time, disregard social distancing policies and do not follow the Health Center[’s] advice. There is a relapsing feeling that no matter how hard we try to get results on time and upload them on Al Hosn, there are still cases propping up. Nevertheless, on the bright side, we have had several success stories. The most important one is how we collaborated with the Health Center and Public Safety to drastically bring down the positivity rate,” explained Lee.

With the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic, the PHD Lab and the technicians working here have been an unparalleled resource of comfort and accessibility for our community. Taking off the burden of another variable on our minds — taking a PCR test — the lab has served as a ray of hope during the pandemic.