Her sister, Janet Green, confirmed to CNN on Sunday that the cause of death was a heart attack. She called him “an intellect, an incredible scientist, an incredible father … an incredible family man”.
Brooks, 51, was the director of operations and director of technology development for RUCDR Infinite Biologics, the laboratory that developed the saliva test. The test, approved in April 2020, was authorized for home use a month later.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy referred to Brooks as “one of our state’s anonymous heroes” at a news conference on January 25, saying his work “undoubtedly saved lives”.
“We cannot thank Andy enough for everything he has done throughout his career,” said Murphy. “He will be missed by many.”
Last year, Brooks talked about the impact of saliva testing as an alternative to nasal PCR testing for healthcare professionals.
“This means that we no longer have to put healthcare professionals at risk of infection by performing nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal collections,” he said in a statement at the time. “We can preserve the precious personal protective equipment for use in patient care instead of testing. We can significantly increase the number of people tested every day, as the saliva sticker is faster and more scalable than swab collections. Everything this combined will have a tremendous impact on testing in New Jersey and the United States. “
Brooks leaves his mother, sister, wife and three daughters, along with a niece and nephew, Rutgers’ statement said.