His sister, Janet Green, confirmed to CNN on Sunday that the cause of death was a heart attack. She called him “an intellect, a great scientist, a great father … a great family man.”
Brooks, 51, was the chief operating officer and director of technology development at RUCDR Infinite Biologics, the lab 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 as “one of our state’s unsung heroes” at a January 25 press conference, saying his work “undoubtedly saved lives.”
“We cannot thank Andy enough for everything he has done during his career,” said Murphy. “He will be sorely missed by many.”
Last year, Brooks spoke about the impact the saliva test had as an alternative to nasal PCR testing for health professionals.
“It means we no longer need to put health care providers at risk for infection by performing nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal collections,” he said in a statement at the time. “We can save valuable personal protective equipment for use in patient care rather than testing. We can significantly increase the number of people tested every day, as the saliva itself is faster and more scalable than collecting cotton swabs. on testing in New Jersey and in the United States. “
Brooks is survived by his mother, sister, wife and three daughters, along with a niece and nephew, Rutgers said.