Lab Culture

Public health is always going to be a passion May 08, 2024

This episode is coming to you from the 2024 APHL Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin! We had the opportunity to chat with APHL’s current President, President-elect and CEO about their experiences and observations from their roles. They are three extremely dedicated public health leaders who have come together at the Annual Conference for learning and collaborating, but also to see their colleagues who they consider friends and family. Don’t miss this episode!

Tim Southern, PhD, D(ABMM) APHL President, 2023-2024 Laboratory Director, South Dakota Public Health Laboratory

Megan Crumpler, PhD, HCLD(ABB) APHL President-Elect 2023-2024 Director, Orange County Public Health Laboratory

Scott J. Becker, MS APHL Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Bell and Dr. Yarosz love their CDC LLS fellowship experience. What is the LLS fellowship? Sep 28, 2023

What is the CDC Laboratory Leadership Service (LLS)? In this episode, we learn more about it from two current LLS fellows. Drs. Courtnee Bell and Emily Yarosz discuss how they learned about the fellowship, their experiences and where they see themselves when their fellowships end.

CDC Laboratory Leadership Service (LLS)

Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS)

Minnesota Public Health Laboratory

Public Health Laboratory Fellowship Program: an APHL-CDC Initiative

APHL Blog

Past, Present and Future of Biosafety Oct 31, 2022

Today’s show is a conversation between four past winners of APHL’s Leadership in Biosafety and Biosecurity Award. Jill Power, Christina Egan, Carrie Anglewicz and Andrew Cannons share their thoughts on the past, present and future of biosafety in public health laboratories.

Andrew C. Cannons, PhD Laboratory Director Bureau of Public Health Laboratories –Tampa Florida Department of Health

Jill J. Power, MS Deputy Director New Hampshire Public Health Laboratories New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Carrie Anglewicz, MS Biosafety Officer, Laboratory Outreach Bureau of Laboratories Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Christina Egan, PhD Deputy Director, Division of Infectious Diseases Chief, Biodefense and Mycology Laboratories Wadsworth Center New York State Department of Health

Links:

Leadership in Biosafety and Biosecurity Award

Strengthening Lab Biosafety & Biosecurity

APHL Blog posts about biosafety

APHL CEO Scott Becker wants to bring public health laboratory work into the foreground Sep 01, 2022

It’s September which means it is Public Health Laboratory Appreciation Month! We are kicking off a month of celebrating by chatting with Scott Becker, APHL CEO, about the exciting work being done by public health laboratory staff as well as the challenges many face. Scott also shares what he’s most looking forward to in the year to come.

Don’t forget to follow #ThanksPHLabs and APHL on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok this Public Health Laboratory Appreciation Month!

Links:

2022 Public Health Laboratory Appreciation Month Toolkit

E.coli Outbreak with Unknown Food Source (August 2022)

New Public Health Laboratory Workforce Pipeline Project Receives Historic and Much-Needed $282 Million Investment

What is the APHL-CDC Fellowship Program and why should you consider applying?

APHL.org/Fellowships

APHL ID Lab Con 2023

APHL Newborn Screening Symposium

What's next for the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) response to monkeypox? Jul 07, 2022

As the 2022 monkeypox outbreak began to spread around the globe, the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) was prepared with the appropriate test and experienced staff trained to perform it. These frontline responders were the first to test suspected monkeypox samples in the US and continue to be vital to this public health emergency response. As we move into the next phase of this response with commercial laboratories coming online to test patients, what is the role of the LRN? What role do public health laboratories, the largest segment of LRN labs, play? In this episode, two key APHL leaders answer these questions and more: Dr. Ewa King, chief program officer, and Chris Mangal, director of public health preparedness and response.

Links:

The LRN’s job is to prepare, detect and respond. But what exactly does that mean?

APHL Monkeypox Response

U.S. Monkeypox Outbreak 2022: Situation Summary (CDC)

Day 3: 2022 APHL Annual Conference May 19, 2022

Day three of the 2022 APHL Annual Conference was a great one! We started off with the annual awards ceremony which always sets the tone for an exciting day. This mini episode includes an interview with one of the APHL-CDC Bioinformatics Fellows about his first experience at the APHL Annual Conference.

Day 2: 2022 APHL Annual Conference May 18, 2022

Today was the first full day of the 2022 APHL Annual Conference and it did not disappoint! From COVID-19 to newborn screening to food safety and more, there was a fascinating presentation to intrigue anyone. We kicked off the day with a sunrise walk and line danced together after lunch!

Day 1: 2022 APHL Annual Conference May 17, 2022

The 2022 APHL Annual Conference kicked off as our first ever hybrid conference! Listen to a few attendees talk about what it means to them to be back in person at our largest conference ever and what they're looking forward to this week.

Scientists in Oregon and Michigan Honor World TB Day Mar 23, 2022

Every year we commemorate World TB Day on March 24, the anniversary of the day Dr. Robert Koch first announced that he discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes TB. This World TB Day, we are sharing an insightful conversation between two TB laboratory leaders: Angie Schooley, B.S. MT(ASCP), Mycobacteriology/Mycology Unit Manager, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services and Caitlin Miranda, M(ASCP), Microbiologist III, Oregon State Public Health Laboratory.

Links:

Discussing food safety with colleagues, but please not over lunch Nov 05, 2021

Like most things in public health science, food safety is complicated. The nuance can be difficult for non-scientists to understand and difficult for scientists to communicate. On this episode of Lab Culture, Shari Shea, APHL’s director of food safety, discusses some of what makes food safety fascinating and complex along with guests Ben Chapman, Associate Professor and Extension Food Safety Specialist at North Carolina State University, and Don Schaffner, Distinguished Professor and Extension Specialist in Food Science and Professor at Rutgers University.

Links:

Food Safety Talk 242: Invisible Poop Particles

Risky or Not episode 217: Homemade Treats From Neighbors

Risky or Not episode 87: 27 Lbs of Unrefrigerated Feta Cheese

Risky or Not episode 214: Having a Romantic Flour Fight

“Modeling the growth of Listeria monocytogenes on cut cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon”

“Ranking the disease burden of 14 pathogens in food sources in the United States using attribution data from outbreak investigations and expert elicitation”

“Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions for SARS-CoV-2 on norovirus outbreaks: an analysis of outbreaks reported by 9 US States”

Hello Fresh: Food Safety/Recall Notices

CDC MMWR: “Decreased Incidence of Infections Caused by Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food During the COVID-19 Pandemic — Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2017–2020”

“Labs with No One to Run Them: Why Public Health Workers Are Fleeing the Field”

“APHL: Historic Investments Will Strengthen Public Health Laboratory Workforce”

Lab Culture Ep. 22: Life as a public health lab scientist testing for COVID-19

“DO NOT RINSE YOUR TURKEY! And other Thanksgiving food rules for every day”

Don Schaffner on Twitter

Ben Chapman on Twitter

Shari Shea on Twitter

Food Safety Talk podcast

Risky or Not podcast

How two New Jersey lab scientists launched an unprecedented prenatal lead and mercury screening program Oct 05, 2021

Eric Bind and Andrew Steffens, scientists at the New Jersey Public Health and Environmental Laboratories, knew their lab was capable of screening expectant mothers and newborn babies for lead and mercury. But creating a program that also included important clinical interventions was unprecedented. On this episode of Lab Culture, they share how they pioneered this valuable program and established a precedent for others.

Links:

NJ Biomonitoring Website

Lead and Mercury Educational Materials (English)

Prenatal Screening Mercury Questionnaire

NJDEP Fish Advisory

Boston Birth Cohort Study: Lead Paper

Boston Birth Cohort Study: Mercury Paper

CDC: Heavy Metals during Pregnancy

CDC: Pregnancy Information

Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs)

Lead and Mercury Educational Materials (Spanish)

Lead and Mercury Educational Materials (French Creole)

Lead and Mercury Educational Materials (Polish)

Lead and Mercury Educational Materials (Portuguese)

“New Jersey Laboratory Pioneers Prenatal Lead and Mercury Screening” (Lab Matters magazine)

A Conversation with Dr. Rick Bright Jul 13, 2021

In October 2020, Dr. Rick Bright resigned in protest as director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) because of the Trump administration’s political interference in the COVID-19 response and their efforts to spread dangerous misinformation. Since then, Dr. Bright has joined The Rockefeller Foundation as senior vice president of pandemic prevention and response. Dr. Bright joined APHL CEO Scott Becker for a discussion as part of APHL’s Member Assembly – this episode is a recording of that conversation.

In pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion in the public health laboratory Mar 22, 2021

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has been a major topic of discussion among APHL’s members, staff and partners as well as in the national discourse. Understanding the minority experience is important so that individual and systemic progress can be made. But what is it like for public health laboratory staff who identify as being in a minority group? The Emerging Leader Program’s (ELP) 13 Fall Cohort decided to tackle this topic as part of their final project. In this episode, four members of this cohort shared pieces of the conversations they had with their colleagues and their overall thoughts on DEI within the public health laboratory as a workplace.

The ELP 13-Fall Cohort is a larger group, but only four members participated in this episode. They are:

Chenelle Norman Association of Public Health Laboratories Newborn Screening and Genetics Manager, Newborn Screening Quality Improvement

Kim Smith Houston Health Department Quality and Compliance QA/QC Officer

Alyssa MacMillan New Jersey Department of Health Public Health & Environmental Laboratories Microbiology Program Manager

Jill Simonetti Minnesota Department of Health Public Health Laboratory Newborn Screening Operations Supervisor

Links:

How racism makes us sick | David R. Williams

“Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter” by David Rock and Heidi Grant

"Why The Phrase ‘Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps’ Is Nonsense"

Lab Culture Ep. 9: What is the APHL Emerging Leader Program?

Lab Culture Ep. 10: Public health labs do that?!

Lab Culture Ep. 11: What if there were no public health labs?

Lab Culture Ep. 12: Bitten by the public health bug — How I found my lab niche

APHL Emerging Leader Program

The Story Collider Presents: Pandemic Perspectives from the Public Health Laboratory Sep 11, 2020

On August 27, 2020, APHL joined The Story Collider for a very special edition of their show featuring four true, personal stories about from APHL members about how COVID-19 has impacted their lives. This episode is a recording of that show. The Story Collider produces dozens of live shows all over the country, and recently has moved to an exciting online format.

Links

APHL.org The Story Collider September is Public Health Laboratory Appreciation Month APHL 2020 Virtual Conference

Life as a public health lab scientist testing for COVID-19 Jul 29, 2020

Jessica Bauer and Matt Sinn are scientists at the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory. On this episode, they shared their experiences performing COVID-19 testing, working long hours seven days a week, supporting their staff while trying not to burnout themselves. As they describe in this conversation, the experience has been nothing they ever could have expected.

Jessica Bauer, molecular unit chief Matthew Sinn, molecular laboratory manager

Links:

Missouri State Public Health Laboratory APHL: Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic COVID-19 posts on APHLblog.org

2019 Year in Review Dec 16, 2019

Are we already at the end of 2019?! While to many of us it felt like the year flew by, APHL staff, members and partners accomplished a LOT in an effort to protect the public's health. In this episode, Scott Becker, APHL's executive director, reviews some of the highlights of the year along with Gynene Sullivan, APHL's manager of communications, who is finalizing our Annual Report.

Follow APHL on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so you don't miss anything!

Links:

APHL: Lung Injury Response Associated with Vaping

CDC: Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with the Use of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products

APHL work on opioids

Data: Elemental to Health advocacy campaign

Supporting rapid exchange of public health data is urgent, crucial and laden with challenges

APHL AIMS Platform

Lab Matters (Fall 2019): Making Data Fly

NewSTEPs Data Repository

APHL Newborn Screening Systems Quality Improvement Projects Award Recipients Announced

APHL Public Health Laboratory Fellowships

APHL Emerging Leader Program

Lab Culture Ep. 9: What is the APHL Emerging Leader Program?

CDC: US Measles Cases and Outbreaks in 2019

“Launching Whole Genome Sequencing in the Public Health Realm” Lab Matters (Fall 2013)

Accreditation for Human and Animal Food Labs

APHL Conferences

Lab Culture Extra: Progress in Sierra Leone

APHL Global Health Program: Countries we serve

Global Laboratory Leadership Programme (GLLP)

Laboratory Response Network (LRN)

Lab Culture Ep. 20: 20 Years of the Laboratory Response Network

“Two Decades of Preparedness Excellence: The Laboratory Response Network” Lab Matters (Fall 2019)

The LRN’s job is to prepare, detect and respond. But what exactly does that mean?

Strengthening Lab Biosafety & Biosecurity

“Ensuring Readiness for Rabies in Puerto Rico” Lab Matters (Spring 2019)

“Public Health System Recovery in Full Swing: Hurricane Response in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands” Lab Matters (Spring 2019)

In Puerto Rico, a new molecular bacteriology lab allows better control of foodborne outbreaks

APHL Publications

“US officials identify 'strong culprit' in vaping illnesses” Associated Press (video interview)

20 Years of the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) Oct 17, 2019

This year marks 20 years since the inception of the Laboratory Response Network (LRN). Founded by APHL, CDC and the FBI, the LRN exists to protect the public from biological and chemical threats. How did the LRN get its start? And how has it evolved over the past 20 years? This episode of Lab Culture features an interview with two public health laboratory scientists and LRN experts.

Maureen “Moe” Sullivan Emergency Preparedness and Response Laboratory Supervisor Public Health Laboratory, Minnesota Department of Health

Stefan Saravia Biomonitoring and Emerging Contaminants Unit Supervisor Public Health Laboratory, Minnesota Department of Health

Links:

Minnesota Laboratory Emergency Preparedness About the Laboratory Response Network (APHL.org) The Laboratory Response Network Partners in Preparedness (CDC.gov) What is biomonitoring? (Video) “Pine County man charged with government center threats, more” (StarTribune)

Lab Culture Extra: Progress in Sierra Leone Aug 21, 2019

APHL has a long history of involvement in Sierra Leone where we’ve provided technical assistance to strengthen the nation’s laboratory system for over a decade. Following the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak, we were invited back to build laboratory response capability for Ebola and other highly infectious diseases.

We found there was a lot to be done: a strategic plan for the laboratory system, renovation of the central lab, training and mentoring of lab staff, reducing turnaround time for Ebola testing, and much more.

With the engagement completed earlier this year, APHL Executive Director Scott Becker and Manager of Global Health Sherrie Staley share insights from APHL’s on-the-ground experience, which include the value of a healthy ram.

Links:

Photo album -- Progress in Sierra Leone

APHL joins partners in Sierra Leone to strengthen lab capacity in Ebola’s wake

High profile APHL team explores MOHS public health laboratory priority needs

APHL in Sierra Leone: Building a resilient lab system

Sierra Leone and Guinea: Building a resilient lab system

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha: Storytelling and the Flint Water Crisis Jun 13, 2019

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, author of What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City, joins us for an interview about the importance of storytelling in public health. Did Dr. Mona's successful use of narratives allow Flint's story to be as resilient as the people who lived it?

Links

Is water in Flint safe to drink? It’s not just a question of chemistry. [Op-ed by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha]

What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City

2019 Annual Meeting: Day 3 Jun 06, 2019

Today was day three of the annual meeting! We started the day with awards ceremony and concluded with the member assembly, listening to many great speakers in between. For many, the highlight was the Dr. Katherine Kelley Distinguished Lecture delivered by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Dr. Mona is a pediatrician, scientist, researcher, activist and author of What the Eyes Don’t See. Her research and the work of her team exposed the deliberate effort to cover up the Flint water crisis and the lead poisoning of Flint, Michigan's children.

APHL honors public health leaders at 2019 annual meeting

What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City

2019 APHL Annual Meeting: Day 2 Jun 05, 2019

It was another great day at the annual meeting in St. Louis! As the attendees interviewed on this episode will share, some of the highlights included Poster Speed Dating, learning about new technology from exhibitors and, of course, networking.

Follow #APHL on Twitter and Instagram for more updates!

2019 Annual Meeting: Day 1 Jun 04, 2019

We're in St. Louis for the 2019 APHL Annual Meeting! This episode is a round-up of all the excitement of the first day. It was fascinating and exhausting, just as the annual meeting should be.

Follow #APHL on Twitter and Instagram for more updates!

Alaska state virology lab: Freezing temps, wild animals, and extremely dedicated staff Apr 24, 2019

Every area of our country is unique in ways that make public health laboratory work vary from one state or locality to another. But just as Alaska is different from the lower-48 states in most ways, their public health lab's work is too. Have you ever considered all the ways it might be different to work in the Alaska state lab in Fairbanks? This episode of Lab Culture reveals some of the many ways in which working in Alaska is unlike anywhere else.

Jayme Parker, manager, Virology Unit, Alaska State Public Health Laboratory (Fairbanks)

Nisha Fowler, microbiologist, Alaska State Public Health Laboratory (Fairbanks)

Links:

Virology Unit of the Alaska State Public Health Laboratory

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities -- FAQs

Alaska's permafrost/ice lenses

Lab Culture Extra: How the WI State Lab Developed a Test for Brodifacoum -- and Why It Matters Apr 03, 2019

In the spring of 2018 patients suffering from profuse bleeding swamped emergency rooms in Illinois and Wisconsin. The cause? Synthetic cannabinoids laced with rat poison.

When an outbreak of contaminated synthetic cannabinoids reached Wisconsin in 2018, scientists at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) rushed to develop the first quantitative method for diagnostic testing of brodifacoum, a powerful anticoagulant used in rat poison. Thanks to their work, patients with brodifacoum poisoning can now be treated with a precisely calibrated dose of vitamin K and that treatment can be ended when it is no longer medically necessary. Previously, physicians had to guess when to end treatment and re-start it if they guessed wrong.

WSLH’s Noel Stanton, Chemical Emergency Response Coordinator, and Bill Krick, an Advanced Chemist in the Chemical Emergency Response Unit, speak with Public Affairs Director Jan Klawitter about the test’s development and the outbreak that made it necessary.

Links:

Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH)

Accolades for WSLH’s Chemical Emergency Response Team

Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2, Spice) – Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Lab Matters: Indiana and Wisconsin Respond to Synthetic Cannabinoid Contamination

Laboratory Response Network (LRN)

APHL in Action archives

Extra: Surge of West Nile Virus in North Dakota Feb 19, 2019

What happens inside a public health lab when a health threat sends it into overdrive? Find out how the North Dakota lab met a surge in West Nile Virus in 2018 in this APHL in Action Lab Culture Extra.

Links:

APHL in Action Archives

CDC Preliminary Maps and Data for 2018, West Nile Virus

CDC ArboNET Disease Map

North Dakota Department of Health – West Nile Virus

Key Factors Influencing the Incidence of West Nile Virus in Burleigh County, North Dakota

Exploring bioinformatics: From fellow to full time in Virginia Feb 08, 2019

Kevin Libuit went from the APHL-CDC Bioinformatics Fellowship to a contractor to working full-time as a bioinformatician at the Virginia state lab (VA Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS)). First he talks about when he discovered bioinformatics as a field and how the fellowship propelled his career. Then Kevin takes the mic and interviews Dr. Denise Toney, director of Virginia DCLS, about the value and growing need for bioinformaticians in public health labs.

Links

APHL-CDC Fellowships

APHL-CDC Bioinformatics Fellowships

Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS)

APHL Off the Bench (new Facebook group!)

Introducing: PKU Life Podcast with Kevin Alexander Dec 03, 2018

Fifty-five years ago, newborn screening was born. At the time, though, that little heel prick was performed to screen for only one condition: phenylketonuria (PKU). Without early intervention, babies born with PKU faced severe cognitive, behavioral and other neurological disorders. The advent of PKU newborn screening allowed health care providers and families to make critical changes to a baby’s diet to prevent those consequences.

Today, December 3, is PKU Awareness Day. It’s hard to say where newborn screening would be without that first PKU test. And 55 years later, it’s hard to say where newborn screening would be without the families and individuals living with PKU who have shared their stories to convey the value of this simple test. One of those individuals is Kevin Alexander.

Kevin has been a leader in the PKU community simply by sharing his story and his experiences living with PKU. He has spoken at conferences and events around the world, created a video documentary about his life, served as a leader and friend to others living with PKU, and now he shares his voice in a new podcast.

For this PKU Awareness Day, we are sharing Kevin’s podcast, PKU Life Podcast with Kevin Alexander. We are so appreciative of Kevin’s willingness to both share with and listen to those in the newborn screening community. Kevin, thank you for your leadership, friendship and generosity!

PKU Life Podcast with Kevin Alexander – Facebook

PKU Life Podcast with Kevin Alexander – Instagram

PKU Life Podcast with Kevin Alexander – Twitter

APHL’s Newborn Screening Program

APHL blog posts about PKU

PKU Awareness Day

Informatics, health equity and bat snuggles Aug 30, 2018

Joanne Bartkus, APHL's board president and director of the Public Health Laboratory at the Minnesota Department of Health, sat down with Scott Becker, our executive director, and Gynene Sullivan, editor of Lab Matters magazine, to talk about priorities for the year. Their conversation ranged from informatics to health equity to... snuggling with a bat?!

Joanne Bartkus, PhD, D(ABMM) Director, Public Health Laboratory, Minnesota Department of Health

Scott J. Becker, MS Executive director, Association Public Health Laboratories @ScottJBecker

Links

Lab Matters

Lab Matters -- Android app

Lab Matters -- iTunes app

APHL Board of Directors

What a Day! Day 3 of the APHL Annual Meeting Jun 05, 2018

Day 3 of the APHL Annual Meeting was a big one! We had several captivating sessions including this year's Katherine Kelley Distinguished Lecturer, Maryn McKenna, renowned journalist and author. Listen to today's episode to hear a few attendees share what they took away from the day.

Reporting from the Exhibit Hall: Day 2 of the APHL Annual Meeting Jun 04, 2018

A huge component of any APHL Annual Meeting is the exhibit hall. This year we were joined by 68 exhibitors, all of whom were sharing new and interesting products, services and technologies with meeting attendees. In today's episode, we chat with representatives from Roche, Bio-Rad Laboratories and Hologic.

Learn more about APHL's corporate membership and other opportunities.

Hello, Pasadena! Day 1 of the APHL Annual Meeting Jun 03, 2018

We are in sunny Pasadena, California for the 2018 APHL Annual Meeting! Here is a little look at what we did on the first day. Stay tuned for updates every day through June 5.

2018 APHL Annual Meeting and Twelfth Government Environmental Laboratory Conference

Join the conversation using #APHL on:

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Bitten by the public health bug: How I found my lab niche May 24, 2018

The people who work in public health laboratories make a difference in your community daily. In this third episode, members of the Emerging Leader Program cohort 10 sit down with their peers to hear how their public health laboratory careers have made an impact.

ELP cohort 10 members featured in this episode:

Dana White has been working in the public health lab for 16 years and is now the state training coordinator at the Mississippi Public Health Lab.
Dr.Ona Adair has been working in the public health lab for nine years and is now the Chemistry Division director at the South Carolina Public Health Laboratory.
Dr. Harmeet Kaur worked in the Placer County Public Health Laboratory for four years and is currently a LabAspire Assistant Director Fellow.
Kristen Durie has been working in the public health lab for six years and is now the chemistry quality assurance manager at the New York State Food Laboratory.
Matt Bradke has been working in the public health lab for 16 years and is now the chemical terrorism laboratory supervisor at the Arkansas Public Health Laboratory.

Interviewees:

Degina Booker has been working in the public health lab for 40 years and is now the administrative services director for the Mississippi Public Health Lab.
Dr. Burton Wilcke, Jr., now retired, has worked in public health laboratories for over 35 years in Vermont, Michigan and California. Dr. Wilcke remains active in the public health laboratory community as a member of both the APHL Workforce Development Committee and the Global Health Committee.
Dr. Musau WaKabongo, now retired, was the Public Health Laboratory Director at the Placer County Public Health Laboratory and has worked in several public health laboratories in California for 13 years.
Dr. Maria Ishida has been working in public health for 11 years and is now the director of the New York State Food Laboratory.

Are you thinking about a career in a public health laboratory?

What if there were no public health labs? May 17, 2018

Maybe the saying is true: you don’t know what you had until it is gone. For the families in this episode, the absence of public health laboratories turned their worlds upside down and negatively impacted both the present and future. These families represent us all and highlight the vulnerabilities that would exist if there were no public health laboratories working continuously to keep our communities and populations safe.

This is the second episode in the series produced by members of the Emerging Leader Program cohort 10.

Emerging Infectious Disease Response:

APHL’s Infectious Disease Program

Laboratory Response Network (LRN)

Interviewer: Kate Wainwright, PhD, D(ABMM), HCLD (ABB), MPH, MSN, RN, deputy director, Public Health Protection and Laboratory Services, Indiana State Department of Health

Expert: Peter Shult, PhD, director, Communicable Disease Division; associate director, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Newborn Screening:

APHL’s Newborn Screening Program

NewSTEPs

Baby’s First Test

Interviewer: Josh Rowland, MBA, MT(ASCP), manager, Training and Workforce Development, Association of Public Health Laboratories

Expert: Miriam Schachter, PhD, research scientist 3, New Jersey Department of Health, Newborn Screening Laboratory

Foodborne Illness:

APHL’s Food Safety Program

5 Things You Didn’t Know (but Need to Know) About Listeria

Interviewer: Samir Patel, PhD, FCCM, (D)ABMM, clinical microbiologist, Public Health Ontario; Toronto, Canada

Expert: Vanessa Allen, MD, MPH, medical microbiologist, chief of microbiology, Public Health Ontario; Toronto, Canada

Narrator: Erin Bowles, B.S., MT(ASCP), Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network coordinator and co-biosafety officer, Communicable Disease Division, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Contributor: Emily Travanty, PhD, scientific director, Laboratory Services Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Special thanks to Jim Hermanson at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene for his help in recording this episode.

Public health labs do that?! Apr 25, 2018

Public health laboratories do a great deal of work that impacts the daily lives of everyone in America. Do you know exactly how much they’re doing? The first episode produced by members of the Emerging Leader Program cohort 10 looks at some of the work performed by public health lab scientists.

(*indicates ELP cohort 10 member)

Water Quality Testing

Interviewer: *Amanda Hughes, program manager of ambient air quality monitoring, State Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa

Experts: Michael Schueller, assistant director of operations, State Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa Nancy Hall, program manager, Environmental Microbiology, State Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa

Water quality testing at the State Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa

Alcohol Testing

Interviewer: *Gitika Panicker, microbiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Expert: Laura Bailey, director, Office of Alcohol Testing, Arkansas State Public Health Laboratory

Alcohol testing at the Arkansas State Public Health Laboratory

Influenza Testing

Interviewer: *Shondra Johnson, laboratory information management system administrator, Missouri State Public Health Laboratory

Expert: Jessica Bauer, molecular unit manager, Missouri State Public Health Laboratory

Seasonal influenza testing at the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory

Bioterrorism

Interviewer: Avi Singh, food lab lead microbiologist, Washington State Public Health Laboratory

Expert: *Denny Russell, bioterrorism coordinator, Washington State Public Health Laboratory

Foodborne Outbreak Linked to Flour

Interviewer: *Rebecca Lindsey, Whole Genome Sequence Project lead, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Experts:

Heather A. Carleton, bioinformatics team lead, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Samuel J. Crowe, National Outbreak Reporting System team lead, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

E. coli outbreak linked to flour (CDC)

Shiga Toxin–Producing E. coli Infections Associated with Flour

What is the APHL Emerging Leader Program? Apr 23, 2018

What is the Emerging Leader Program (ELP)? APHL staff, Pandora Ray and Kajari Shah, share how the ELP got its start and how it has progressed. This year's ELP cohort is producing three episodes for Lab Culture that will be released over the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

APHL Emerging Leader Program

Leaders for a TB Free World Mar 23, 2018

Every year on March 24, APHL recognizes World TB Day, a day to focus on the valuable work of our members and partners. While tuberculosis is often considered a disease of the past, it is resurging and presenting significant new public health challenges including drug resistance. This World TB Day, we are sharing an insightful conversation between two TB laboratory leaders: Dr. Marie-Claire Rowlinson, assistant laboratory director, Bureau of Public Health Laboratories, Florida Department of Health and Dr. Beverly Metchock, team lead, TB Reference Laboratory, CDC Division of Tuberculosis Elimination.

Links

APHL TB program

World TB Day Resources

National Tuberculosis Controllers Association

The Tenacity of Tuberculosis: MDR-TB (blog post)

APHL's International Team Meeting Dec 21, 2017

In November, Scott Becker, APHL’s executive director, traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa for the second APHL International Team Meeting. While he was there, he sat down with five members of the APHL international team to discuss their work and what led them to pursue a career in laboratory science.

The APHL International Team Meeting allows for US-based APHL leadership and global health program staff and consultants working in-country to discuss organizational operations and key programmatic successes and challenges. In most cases, this is the only time during the year that these individuals have an opportunity to meet face-to-face. Participants from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Guinea, Sierra Leone and APHL’s US headquarters were all in attendance.

Interviews include:

Levi Vere, Laboratory Quality Monitoring Manager, APHL Zimbabwe
Shanette Nixon, Global Health Consultant, APHL
Esther Vitto, Laboratory Program Support, APHL Sierra Leone
Mohamed Fofanah, Associate Specialist, Administration and Finance, APHL Sierra Leone
Rufus Nyaga, LIS Technical Consultant and Project Manager, APHL Kenya

APHL’s Global Health Program

Mudslides in Sierra Leone

Zimbawe After Mugabe

What is the Biosafety Peer Network? Oct 24, 2017

The Biosafety Peer Network (aka the Visiting Biosafety Official Program) links US local, state, and territorial public health laboratories with US-affiliated Pacific Island laboratories to facilitate mentoring and information sharing among biosafety officials and officers. The exchange is intended to foster a collaborative community, advance biosafety and biosecurity in laboratories, and ultimately improve public health laboratory biosafety and biosecurity across the US. So what exactly does the Biosafety Peer Network do? Three members of this network -- Rebecca Sciulli (Hawaii), Paul Fox (Hawaii) and Anne Marie Santos (Guam) sat down for a conversation about their work.

Photo: Paul Fox (left) and Rebecca Sciulli (center) giving Anne Marie Santos (right) a tour of the Hawaii Laboratories Division facility to showcase their biosafety practices, as part of the Peer Network program.

Links

Biosafety Peer Network Program Application

Laboratory Biosafety & Biosecurity Resources

Biosafety & Biosecurity Training

My Niece's Positive Newborn Screen Sep 05, 2017

Four years ago, as APHL joined with partners to celebrate the 50th anniversary of routine newborn screening in the United States, newborn screening hit more closely for APHL staff than it ever had before. Michelle Forman, manager of media and Lab Culture host, received a text that her new niece, Sloane, had a positive newborn screen. Her results were out of range for PKU. In this episode, Michelle interviews Sloane's mom, Judith Forman, about that experience.

Past, Present and Future of PulseNet May 24, 2017

PulseNet revolutionized foodborne outbreak detection in the United States. What exactly is it? How did it get started? Why was it so significant? And what does the future of foodborne outbreak detection look like? Brian Sauders, molecular microbiologist at the NY State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and Shari Shea, director of food safety at APHL, answer these questions and more.

Links:

What is PulseNet?

About PulseNet (CDC)

PulseNet success stories

20 years of PulseNet: Preventing thousands of illnesses and saving millions of dollars (cost-benefit analysis)

Awards PulseNet has received

Innovations in American Government Award

CBS News article on PulseNet launch including quotes from Al Gore

1993 Jack in the Box outbreak

Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga Infections Associated with a Raw Scraped Ground Tuna Product

Laboratory Response Network (LRN)

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Laboratory

Shari Shea on Twitter

APHL’s Food Safety Program

APHL-CDC Infectious Diseases Laboratory Fellowship

APHL Marches for Science Apr 26, 2017

APHL was an official and proud partner of the March for Science! We spoke with two people who joined us on Saturday, April 22 about why they were marching for science.

Links:

APHL's March for Science photo album

Official March for Science website

Everything you need for Lab Week 2017

APHL is now on Instagram!

Hill Day 2017 Mar 21, 2017

On March 6, a small group of APHL members and our policy staff visited House and Senate offices as part of our annual Hill Day. Peter Kyriacopoulos, APHL’s senior director of public policy, interviewed the group following their meetings to get their immediate thoughts.

Links:

ELC Program: Essential Funding for Public Health Lab Response

Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity fact sheet

APHL Advocacy Priorities

Hill Day group:

Chris Whelen – laboratory director, Hawaii Department of Health State Laboratories Division

Sara Vetter – manager, Infectious Disease Laboratory, Minnesota Department of Health Public Health Laboratory

Jennifer Rakeman – assistant commissioner, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Denise Toney – director, Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services

Peter Kyriacopoulos – senior director of public policy, APHL

Celia Hagan – manager of public policy, APHL

Nisha Quasba – public policy intern, APHL

Critical Consequences Feb 15, 2017

Did you know that the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) includes critical public health funding? What would the repeal of the ACA mean for public health? Peter Kyriacopoulos, APHL’s senior director of public policy, talks about the CDC-managed Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) program, a source of crosscutting support for public health laboratories funded under the ACA through the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF).

Links:

ELC Program: Essential Funding for Public Health Lab Response (APHL.org)

Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) Cooperative Agreement (CDC.gov)

Critical Public Health Fund Would Be Lost With ACA Repeal

Find your State or Territorial Health Official

Find your US Senators

Find your US Representative

Peter Kyriacopoulos on Twitter