Lab Culture – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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

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

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)

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.

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

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 

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)

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)

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, 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