The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tapped LabCorp to help conduct a large-scale genomic study tracking new mutations in the COVID-19 virus—after a fast-spreading variant, first identified in the U.K., has recently surfaced on U.S. shores.

The public health agency plans to collect random samples from across the country, to provide a baseline that will enable national and state-level surveillance programs to hone in on emerging cases.

With the addition of LabCorp’s facilities, the CDC said it aims to more than double the number of genomic samples sequenced per week.

“Better decision making starts with better data, and we are eager to help the CDC in its effort to improve the nation’s understanding of this virus and how to effectively fight it,” LabCorp Chief Scientific Officer Marcia Eisenberg, Ph.D., said. “This sequencing survey is a critical project to ensure our knowledge of COVID-19 improves even as the virus may mutate and change.”

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