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APHL Annual Conference
More than 700 participants attended APHL 2019 that was held in St. Louis, MO June 3-6, 2019. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered the opioid crisis, infectious disease, environmental health, informatics, biomonitoring, food safety, WGS and emergency preparedness. The Katherine Kelley Distinguished Lecturer was Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician and author of
What the Eyes Don't See, about the Flint lead water crisis.
More than 700 participants attended the 2018 APHL Annual Meeting and Twelfth Government Environmental Laboratory Conference that was held in Pasadena, CA June 2-5, 2018. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered next generation sequencing, infectious disease, environmental health, informatics, legalized marijuana, biomonitoring, food safety, newborn screening, and emergency preparedness. The Katherine Kelley Distinguished Lecturer was Maryn McKenna, acclaimed journalist and bestselling author of
Big Chicken,
Super Bug and
Beating Back the Devil.
More than 700 participants attended the 2017 APHL Annual Meeting and Eleventh Government Environmental Laboratory Conference that was held in Providence, RI form June 11-14, 2017. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered next generation sequencing, infectious disease, environmental health, informatics, legalized marijuana, biomonitoring, food safety, newborn screening, and emergency preparedness. The Katherine Kelley Distinguished Lecturer was Isaac Ashkenazi, an international expert for crisis management and leadership.
More than 575 participants attended the 2016 APHL Annual Meeting and Tenth Government Environmental Laboratory Conference that was held in Albuquerque, NM from June 6-9, 2016. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered next generation sequencing, infectious disease, environmental health, informatics, legalized marijuana, biomonitoring, food safety, newborn screening, and emergency preparedness. The Katherine Kelley Distinguished Lecturer was Oz Pearlman, mentalist and Magician.
More than 575 participants attended the 2015 APHL Annual Meeting that was held in Indianapolis, IN from May 18-21, 2015. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered next generation sequencing, infectious disease, environmental health, informatics, legalized marijuana, biomonitoring, food safety, newborn screening, and emergency preparedness. Keynote speakers included Thomas Burke, PhD, US Environmental Protection Agency and Christopher Portier, PhD, Environmental Defense Fund.
More than 500 participants attended the 2014 APHL Annual Meeting that was held in Little Rock, AR from June 1-4, 2014. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered next generation sequencing, infectious disease, environmental health, informatics, legalized marijuana, biomonitoring, food safety, newborn screening, and emergency preparedness. Keynote speakers included Glenn Paulson, PhD, US Environmental Protection Agency and Glen Mays, PhD, MPH, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services and Systems Research, University of Kentucky.
ID Lab Con
The first ever APHL ID Lab Con was held March 13-15, 2023 at the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel in Atlana, GA. The conference drew over 525 laboratorians, epidemiologists and public health reserachers from the United States and 5 other countries. Participants represented federal, state and local public health laboratories, clinical laboratories, academic laboratories and industry partners. Meeting topics included discussion of next generation sequencing and its utility in infectious disease surveillance and diagnostics, presentations on utility of wastewater surveillancehighlights on recent outbreak investigations and reflections on how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped and changed the US laboratory system.
The InFORM 2017 Conference, a combined meeting of PulseNet, OutbreakNet and Environmental Health Specialists, was held November 6-9, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County hotel in Garden Grove, CA. The meeting drew over 640 laboratorians, epidemiologists and environmental health professionals from the United States and 9 other countries. Participants represented federal, state and local public health, food and environmental regulatory agencies. Meeting topics included discussion of whole genome sequencing and its utility in foodborne surveillance systems, highlights on past outbreak investigations and the emerging role culture-independent diagnostics will have on current surveillance systems.
The InFORM 2015 Conference, a combined meeting of PulseNet, OutbreakNet and Environmental Health Specialists, was held in Phoenix, AZ, November 17-20, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotel. The meeting drew over 475 laboratorians, epidemiologists and environmental health professionals from the United States and 8 other countries. Participants represented federal, state and local public health, food and environmental regulatory agencies. Meeting topics included discussion of whole genome sequencing and its utility in foodborne surveillance systems, highlights on past outbreak investigations and the emerging role culture-independent diagnostics will have on current surveillance systems.
The InFORM 2013 Conference, a combined meeting of PulseNet, OutbreakNet and EHS-Net, was held in San Antonio, Texas, November 18-21, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio hotel. The meeting drew over 400 laboratorians, epidemiologists, and environmental health professionals from the United States and 8 other countries. The keynote address was given Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner, US Food and Drug Administration. Meeting topics comprised food science, reports/recaps of 2012-2013 outbreaks including Salmonella, hepatitis A, E. coli, norovirus, Listeria, and cyclosporiasis, enteric zoonoses and One Health, next generation sequencing and other new technologies, subtyping of bacterial pathogens, training and assessments.
Newborn Screening Symposium
The 2023 APHL/ISNS Newborn Screening Symposium was a truly international event. The symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, Innovate! sessions and social events. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, current and candidate conditions, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up, quality assurance/quality control, the emergence of newborn screening in low-and-middle-income countries and communituing with parents and advocates.
The 2022 APHL Newborn Screening Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, Meet the Manufacturers sessions, Innovate! sessions and social events. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, current and candidate conditions, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.
The 2021 APHL Newborn Screening Virtual Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, Meet the Manufacturers sessions, Innovate! sessions and virtual social events. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, current and candidate conditions, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.
The 2020 APHL Newborn Screening Virtual Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session and virtual social events. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, current and candidate conditions, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.
The 2019 APHL Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session, awards luncheon, welcome reception, off-site social and tour of the Illinois State Newborn Screening Laboratory. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, current and candidate conditions, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.
The 2017 APHL Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session, awards luncheon, welcome reception, off-site social and tour of the Louisiana State Newborn Screening Laboratory. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, candidate conditions, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.
The 2016 APHL Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session, awards luncheon, welcome reception, off-site social and tour of the Missouri State Newborn Screening Laboratory. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, candidate conditions, CCHD, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.
The 2014 APHL Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session, awards luncheon, welcome reception, off-site social and tour of the Long Beach Newborn Screening Laboratory. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, candidate conditions, point-of-care for CCHD, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.
The 2013 Joint Meeting of the Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium and the International Society for Neonatal Screening featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session, awards luncheon, welcome reception, off-site social and tours of the GA Public Health Laboratory and the Newborn Screening and Molecular Biology Branch at CDC. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included new and emerging technologies, candidate conditions, common issues and solutions, clinical outcomes and short and long-term follow-up.
For questions related to the Newborn Screening and Genetics Testing Symposium or inquiries of the APHL Newborn Screening and Genetics program, contact
Jelili Ojodu, director, Newborn Screening and Genetics.
National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis
More than 120 participants attended the 13th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis which was held in Atlanta, GA, June 12-13, 2023. Over the past year, public health laboratories have encountered new challenges in what is now accepted as the endemic era of COVID-19. Profound changes have occurred in the TB arena, particularly regarding treatment with new drugs and new regimens. These advances generated new needs for the health professionals therefore new requirements for diagnostics. Laboratories also faced the discontinuation of some of the cornerstone assays for mycobacterial detection and identification and had to start to adapt by integrating novel technologies into their workflows. In the face of these changes, our dependence on strong partnerships is more important than ever.Sessions offered opportunities to collaborate and network with our fellow TB clinicians and TB care and prevention program officials. From the keynote address by Dr. Claudio Köser "Waiting on the World to Change" to the story of a TB survivor there was something for everyone at this year’s conference. It is an exciting time for public health laboratories and important topics were discussed inspired by the 2023 National TB Conference’s theme of Partnership, Innovation and Equity. We also honored the work of Steven Wu, a laboratorian working in a public health laboratory for TB diagnosis through the: “On the Front Line of TB Testing,” award, Kathleen Milloy was presented with the "Ed Desmond TB Laboratorian Award" and Julie Tans-Kersten was awarded the first "Dave Warshauer lifetime achievement award".
More than 140 participants joined both virtually and in-person at the 12th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis hosted in Atlanta, GA, June 12-14, 2022. The conference examined a wide range of topics, including the expanding role of next generation sequencing for both clinical and surveillance purposes, and exciting updates such as the WHO mutations catalogue. Sessions explored the landscape of antimicrobial susceptibility testing for
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, changes in testing guidelines and the importance of shifts in TB treatment regimens on the TB laboratory. Speakers discussed the impact that COVID-19 has had on TB, inside and outside of the laboratory, and on TB identification and control. During the session, "Real World Impact of TB," panelists provided a glimpse into the incredible response efforts that took place since we last convened in 2019, focusing on two major events that impacted the TB community: a multi-state TB outbreak stemming from an infected bone product and an unprecedented effort by the federal government, known as Operation Allies Welcome, which brought tens of thousands of Afghan nationals to the US to resettle. We also honored the work of three TB laboratory professionals: Yvette Vergnetti was presented with the "On the Front Lines of TB Testing Award;" Tanya Halse was presented with the "Ed Desmond TB Laboratorian Award;" and Denise Dunbar was presented with the "TB Lifetime Achievement Award." The keynote address was given by Dr. Lisa Armitige, the Assistant Medical Director at Heartland National TB Center and an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Tyler Health Center.
More than 130 participants attended the 11th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis which was held in Atlanta, GA, April 23-24, 2019. With speakers from over 18 jurisdictions the sessions highlighted the day-to-day efforts of our public health laboratories including implementation of next generation sequencing methods, MALDI-‘TOUGH’ and exploring the role of MIC data. The conference featured a session with a panel of TB professionals including a TB physician, an epidemiologist, and a laboratorian discussing how to interpret TB Laboratory reports and followed that up with a session about the people in the laboratory as we discussed working in a multi-generational workforce and how to retain knowledge. From the keynote address by Dr. Derrick Crook on cutting-edge sequencing data to Saturday Night Fever the story of a TB survivor there was something for everyone at this year’s conference. We also honored the work of Hector Rivas, a laboratorian working in a public health laboratory for TB diagnosis through a new award: “On the Front Line of TB Testing,” and three long-time experts in the field, Grace Lin, Dave Warshauer and Bev Metchock with the “TB Lifetime Achievement Award.”
More than 110 participants attended the 10th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis which was held in Atlanta, GA, April 18-19, 2017. Sessions highlighted different workflows in the TB laboratory including finding efficiencies in the most basic of steps to utilizing high-powered technology such as next generation sequencing and MALDI-TOF. Speakers addressed different approaches to drug susceptibility testing including cutting edge data as well as rethinking our standard paradigms about the pathogenesis of TB. The keynote address was given by Dr. Timothy Rodwell from the University of California at San Diego and Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics and dared the audience to trust him as he walked us through a different vision of the future of TB testing.
More than 150 participants attended the 9th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis which was held in Atlanta, GA, June 8-9, 2015. Speakers addressed the utility of the latest developments in TB diagnostics including the use of whole genome sequencing and MALDI-TOF. Other issues discussed covered building efficiencies in service utilization, assuring biosafety and new developments in TB research. The keynote address was given by Dr. David Dowdy from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
More than 150 participants attended the 8th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis which was held in San Diego, CA, August 19-21, 2013. Speakers addressed the utility of the latest developments in TB diagnostics including the use of pyrosequencing for the molecular detection of drug resistance; whole genome sequencing and MALDI-TOF. Other issues discussed covered building efficiencies in service utilization, assuring biosafety and global TB laboratory issues. The keynote addresses were given by Dr. Phillip Hopewell from San Francisco General Hospital and Dr. Madhukar Pai, McGill International TB Centre.
GenomeTrakr Meeting
The 2023 GenomeTrakr Meeting was held October 24 - 25, 2023 in College Park, MD. Meeting participants heard updates from FDA and GenomeTrakr collaborators, networked with their peers, discussed best practices and common challenges, and learned about how their data is utilized to detect and speed up the response to foodborne outbreak investigations.
The 2022 GenomeTrakr Meeting was held October 19 - 20, 2022 in College Park, MD. It celebrated 10 years of the GenomeTrakr network! The meeting featured presentations from federal, state and academic partners who participate in FDA's GenomeTrakr Network, as well as international collaborators. This year's meeting presenters talked about future directions for the network, exciting new research findings in wastewater and agricultural water surveillance, and connecting with partners to advance public health.
The 2021 GenomeTrakr Meeting was held virtually October 12 - 13, 2021 and featured presentations from federal, state and academic partners who participate in FDA's GenomeTrakr Network, the first distributed network of laboratories utilizing whole genome sequencing for pathogen characterization. The meeting focused on the importance of metadata in detecing and speeding up response to foodborne outbreak investigations.
The 2020 GenomeTrakr Meeting was held virtually October 27 - 28, 2020 and featured presentations from federal, state and academic partners who participate in FDA's GenomeTrakr Network, the first distributed network of laboratories utilizing whole genome sequencing for pathogen characterization. Meeting participants heard about the collaboration between partners to solve outbreaks using WGS data, and new technologies that the network may implement, including metagenomics.
The 2019 GenomeTrakr Meeting, held September 17-18, 2019, featured presentations from federal, state and academic partners who participate in FDA's
GenomeTrakr Network, the first distributed network of laboratories utilizing whole genome sequencing for pathogen characterization. Meeting participants heard about the transition to whole genome sequencing (WGS) from federal and state partners, the collaboration between partners to solve outbreaks using WGS data, and new technologies that the network may implement, including metagenomics.
The 2018 GenomeTrakr Meeting featured presentations from federal, state and academic partners who participate in FDA’s GenomeTrakr Network, the first distributed network of laboratories utilizing whole genome sequencing for pathogen characterization. Meeting participants heard about new data generation and analysis tools, networked with peers, discussed best practices and common challenges, and learned how their data is utilized to detect and speed up response in various foodborne outbreak investigations.
PulseNet/OutbreakNet Regional Meetings
The PulseNet/OutbreakNet East Coast Regional Meeting, held in Tampa, FL January 15-17, 2019, brought together laboratorians, epidemiologists, and environmental health specialists involved with enteric disease outbreak response from the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. Professionals within these regions were able to address and troubleshoot issues around surveillance and outbreak detection and response including the implementation of whole genome sequencing.
The PulseNet/OutbreakNet West Coast Regional Meeting, held in San Diego, CA February 5-7, 2019, brought together laboratorians, epidemiologists, and environmental health specialists involved with enteric disease outbreak response from the Mountain and West regions. Professionals within these regions were able to address and troubleshoot issues around surveillance and outbreak detection and response including the implementation of whole genome sequencing.
The PulseNet/OutbreakNet Central Regional Meeting, held in Omaha, NE March 5-8, 2019, brought together laboratorians, epidemiologists, and environmental health specialists involved with enteric disease outbreak response from the Central and Midwest regions. Professionals within these regions were able to address and troubleshoot issues around surveillance and outbreak detection and response including the implementation of whole genome sequencing.
Contact
For questions related to meetings, contact
Terry Reamer, CMP, senior specialist, Meetings (240.485.2776).