What is the Biosafety Peer Network?

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

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

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

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 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.

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! 

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.

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:

• Oregon State Public Health Laboratory
• Oregon Public Health Division Tuberculosis Program
• Michigan Department of Health & Human Services Tuberculosis Control Program
• Bovine TB testing of wild deer wraps up after disease found at Michigan cervid farms (February 8, 2022)
• What is Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB)? (CDC Fact Sheet)
• 12th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis
• World TB Day
• APHL Tuberculosis webpage
• APHL Blog – Tuberculosis blog posts
• Lab Culture Ep. 8: Leaders for a TB free world

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

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)