His sister, Janet Green, confirmed to CNN on Sunday that the cause of death was a heart attack. She calls him “an intellect, a wonderful scientist, a wonderful father … an incredible family man.”
Brooks, 51, was chief operating officer and director of technology development at RUCDR Infinite Biologics, the laboratory that developed the saliva test. The test, which was approved in April 2020, was approved for home use a month later.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy referred to Brooks at a news conference on Jan. 25 as “one of our state’s unsung heroes,” saying his work “undoubtedly saved lives.”
“We can not thank Andy enough for everything he has done during his career,” Murphy said. “He will be greatly missed by many.”
Last year, Brooks talked about the impact the saliva test had as an alternative to nose PCR tests for health professionals.
“This means that we no longer have to put health workers at risk of infection by performing nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal collections,” he said in a statement at the time. “We can store precious personal protective equipment for use in patient care instead of testing. We can significantly increase the number of people being tested every day, as the collection of saliva is faster and more scalable than the collection of blankets.” a huge impact on the test in New Jersey and across the United States. ‘
Brooks is survived by his mother, sister, wife and three daughters, along with a niece and nephew, Rutgers’ statement reads.