​​The conference schedule ​for the 10th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis is listed below. Presentations with links have been authorized to be posted on this website, but duplication is not authorized without the express written permission of the authors. If permission is granted, please cite both the author and “10th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis." 

Tues​​day, April 18, 2017 

Opening Session and Keynote

Moderator: Paula Vagnone, MT(ASCP), M​​​innesota Department of Health

W​​elcome to the 10th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects​​ of TB​​

​​​​​​​Paula Vagnone, MT(ASCP), Minnesota Department of Health

Opening Remar​​ks

​​Philip LoBue, MD, FACP, FCCP, Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, CDC

Keynote Address​​​: ​​​Diagnosing and Treating Drug Resistant TB in the 21st Century Using NGS and Intelligent Decision Support Tools

​​Timothy Rodwell, MD, PhD, MPH, University of California at San Diego and Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics (FIND)

Is​​​ There a Better Way to Do This? A Snapshot of a Few TB Laboratory Workflows!

Moderator: Ryan Jepson, M(ASCP), State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa

Cart Off the Savings with Lean​​

​​​Jennifer Eastman, PhD, HCLD/TS(ABB), Alaska State Public Health Laboratory

It's the Massac​​husetts Way: Using the MALDI-TOF to Identify Mycobacteria Species

​​​Tracy Stiles, M(ASCP), William A. Hinton State Laboratory Institute (MA)​

Is Thi​​​s Heaven? No, It's Identification of Mycobacterium sp. from Culture Using PCR!

​​​Ryan Jepson, M(ASCP), State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa 

Line It up: Another​​ Identification Option - The Line Probe Assay

​​​Paula Vagnone, MT(ASCP), Minnesota Department of Health

The Times They Are-a-Cha​ngin' - Updates in Drug Susceptibility Testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Moderator: Frances Tyrell, MT(ASCP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Improving MGIT PZA Susceptibility Testing - A Multi-la​​​​boratory Evaluation of Alternative Inoculum Dilutions

​​Glenn Morlock, MS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

​​MIC = Many Inherent Challenges

​​​Marie-Claire Rowlinson, PhD, D(ABMM), Florida Bureau of Public Health Laboratories

​​Updates to the CDC MDDR Service

​​​Beverly Metchock, DrPH, D(ABMM), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

​​A Review of the National TB DST Reference Center

​​​Anne M. Gaynor, PhD, Association of Public Health Laboratories

​A Tale of Two Reports: The Trends Manuscript and Aggregate Report

Moderator: Stephanie P. Johnston, MS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

​US PHL Trends in MTBC Testing 2009-2013

​​​Frances Tyrell, MT(ASCP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

​​CDC Aggregate Report 2012-2015

​​​​Monica Youngblood, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

​Highlighting the Work in Our PHLs

Moderator: Angela Starks, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

Ev​​​aluating the Significance of Equivocal Mycobactertial Smear Results

​​​Jessica Gentry, Indiana State Department of Health

​​The Molecular 'MDR Screen' is an Important Tool in the Diagnosis and Initiation of Appropriate Therapy in TB Patients in the State of Florida

​​Calin Chiribau, PhD, MLS(ASCP), Florida Department of Health - Bureau of Public Health Laboratories

​​​​Evaluation of a Multiplexed PCR and Melt Curve Analysis Method for Rapid Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex (MTBC) from Positive MGIT Broth

​Stacy White, PhD, Arizona Bureau of State Laboratory Services

​​​Evaluation of a Two-week 7H10 Agar Proportion Method for Isoniazed and Refampin Drug Susceptibility Testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Compex

​​Jan Owen, BS, Texas Department of State Health Services

​​Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Molecular Testing: Keeping Up with the Joneses or Performing Appropriate Testing?

Moderator: Jafar H. Razeq, PhD, HCLD(ABB), Katherine A. Kelley Public Health Laboratory, Connecticut Department of Public Health

Co​​nsiderations for the Use of Next Generation Sequencing in the TB Laboratory

Lauren Cowan, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & Kelly Wroblewski, MPH, Association of Public Health Laboratories

​​Implementing Whole-Genome Sequencing on Clinical Isolate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex in New York

​​Kimberlee A. Musser, PhD, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health

​Perspective from an APHL/CDC TB Whole Genome Sequencing Pilot Lab

​​Kevin Sohner, BS, Ohio Department of Health Laboratory

​Alternative Specimen Types for TB Identification Using Xpert MTB/RIF

​​​Dorothy Baynham, MT(ASCP), Tennessee State Department of Health

Exploring Developments in TB Research

Moderator: Ailyn Perez-Osorio, PhD, Washington State Department of Health

​​​​Acquired Resistance to New TB Drugs (Delaminid and Bedaquiline)

​​​​Sebastien Gagneux, PhD, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute

​​​​A New Paradigm for the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

​Robert Hunter, MD, PhD, University of Texas Health Sciences  Center

​​​Updates from the CDC Applied Research Team

​​​​ James E. Posey, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

TB Case​ Studies: Lessons from the Field

Moderator: Jafar H. Razeq, PhD, HCLD(ABB), Katherine A. Kelley Public Health Laboratory (CT)

​Approaches to Solving a False Positive Mystery

​Denise Dunbar, Texas Department of State Health Services

​​All We Need Are 3 Colonies

​Alla Ostash, BS, Washington State Department of Health

​​​The Concentration That Kills: A Case Study Evaluating TB Recovery and the Potential Impact of an Increased Concentration of Sodium Hydroxide

​​Ryan Jepson, M(ASCP), State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa​​

​

​​Closing Remarks

​​Paula M. Vagnone, MT(ASCP), Minnesota Department of Health​

​​

Po​​sters (List of All Abstracts)​

1. T​esti​ng Algorithms for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex using Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction: When to implement GeneXpert assay? 

   ​​Authors: S. Hall, N. Robinson; Alabama Bureau of Clinical Laboratories, Montgomery, Alabama
   

2. Evaluation of a Multiplexed PCR and Melt Curve Analysis Method for Rapid Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) from Positive Broth

   Authors: ​​R. Alex, D. Francis, N. Fukushima, S. Gower, J. Jaruvangsanti, S.D. White; Arizona State Public Health Laboratory, Phoenix, Arizona​

3. Identification and validation of new mechanisms of isoniazid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis ​

   ​Authors: J.L. Kandler¹, M.N. Ezewudo^{1, 2}, S.P. Burns¹, J.E. Posey¹; 1) Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, 2) Critical Path Institute, Tucson, Arizona

4. The Molecular ‘MDR Screen’ is an Important Tool in the Diagnosis and Initiation of Appropriate Therapy in TB Patients in the State of Florida​

   ​Authors: C. Chiribau¹, M-C. Rowlinson¹, S. Forhan¹, A. Ashkin¹, H. Perera¹, D. Ashkin¹, M. Lauzardo², D. Urbine²; 1) Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, Florida, 2) University of Florida, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Gainesville, Florida

5. Evaluation of Gene Xpert MTB/RIF in 70 culture positive cases of tuberculous meningitis

   ​Authors: K. Sharma¹, M. Modi², A. Sharma³, P. Ray¹, S. Verma³; 1) Department of Medical Microbiology, 2) Department of Neurology, and 3) Department of Internal Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

6. Evaluation of Multi targeted Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) for Rapid Diagnosis of Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis

   ​Authors: K. Sharma¹, N. Batra¹, M. Modi², A. Sharma³, P. Ray¹, S. Verma³; 1) Department of Medical Microbiology, 2) Department of Neurology and 3) Department of Internal Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

7. Evaluating the Significance of Equivocal Mycobacterial Smear Results

   ​​​Authors: J. Gentry, E. Doraci, L. Maggard, B. Watson, S. Blosser, Indiana State Department of Health Laboratory, Indianapolis, Indiana

8. Mycobacterium canetti Case Identified in Southeastern Michigan

   ​​Authors: A. Schooley¹, D. Kissner², J. Vanneste¹, S. Church¹, H. Seymour¹, M. Soehnlen¹; 1) Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Laboratories, Lansing, Michigan, 2) Wayne State University School of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine.

9. Frequency of mixed Mycobacterium species infections detected by the INNO-LiPA MYCOBACTERIA v2 hybridization line probe assay from 2015 to 2016

   ​Authors: S.D. Fisher, G. Kupferschmidt, J.T. Wotton, P.M. Vagnone; Minnesota Department of Health, Public Health Laboratory, Infectious Disease Laboratory, St. Paul, Minnesota

10. T-SPOT.TB Screening in High Risk School Children in Clark County, Nevada: Evaluation of Logistics and Cost Effectiveness Relative to an Onsite QuantiFERON-TB Gold Test

    Authors: ​K. Carifo, R. Pancholy, J. Osti, T. Fredrick; Southern Nevada Health District, Las Vegas, Nevada

11. Tennessee Department of Health Laboratory Services Implementation of Genexpert MTB/RIF Testing in Non-sputum Sources

    ​​Authors: D.F. Baynham, P.L. Gibbs, R.K. Morris, R.M. Rasnic; Tennessee Department of Health, Division of Laboratory Services, Nashville, Tennessee

12. Evaluation of a Two Week 7H10 Agar Proportion Method for Isoniazid and Rifampin Drug Susceptibility Testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex

    Authors: K. Jost Jr., D. Dunbar, J. Owen; Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, Texas

13. Optimizing the Public-Private Partnership for Rapid and Accurate TB Laboratory Testing

    ​Authors: K. Pak^{1, 3}, E. Desmond², P. Barry³, Grace Lin²; 1) Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 2) Microbial Disease Laboratory, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California and 3) Tuberculosis Control Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California

14. Public Health and Corrections: A Model of Program Collaboration and Service Integration (PCSI)

    ​Authors: T. Stein-Hart¹, J. Cummins¹, M. Wright², P. Gibbs³, J. Gibson³, R. Steece³, C. Wester¹, K. Williams², J. Warkentin¹; 1) Tennessee Department of Health, 2) Tennessee Department of Corrections and 3) Tennessee Department of Health Division of Laboratory Services

15. Adaptation of the use of the GeneXpert Assay for the detection of Rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex in culture​

    ​​Author: A. Abuarqoub; Illinois Department of Public Health, Chicago, Illinois
    ​​