PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
The LRN Turns 20: Two Decades of Detecting
Threats from Anthrax to Zika
By Tyler Wolford, MS, senior specialist, Laboratory Response Network
In 2019, the Laboratory Response Network
(LRN) will celebrate 20 years of public
health preparedness and response for
biological, chemical, radiological and
emerging threats. The nationwide,
all-hazards network has come far since
1999, when public health laboratory (PHL)
scientists were largely classically-trained
microbiologists. With rapid detection of
threat agents now a priority, they had
to transition quickly from culture to
molecular-based methods. But sample
testing was only one piece of the puzzle.
PHLs also had to build partnerships with
first responders, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), Department
of Defense and others to respond to
evolving public health threats.
In the beginning, only a few public health
laboratories had the capability to respond
to a limited number of biological threats
such as anthrax. Now the LRN is a robust
network of over 130 federal, state and
local public health, veterinary, agriculture,
military, and water- and food-testing
laboratories. Over time, these facilities
have expanded their capabilities to
respond to chemical and radiological
threats and to emerging threats such as
H1N1 in 2009 and, most recently, Zika in
2016. It takes determination, adaptability
and passion to build, maintain and evolve
a robust response network, as described
by two veterans of the network.
Building a Laboratory Response
Network
“In 1999, I accepted the challenge of building
the LRN program at the State Laboratories
Division (SLD) with mixed feelings because I
had never worked with first responders or the
FBI and had very little interaction with our
community laboratory partners. The diagnostic
testing part of my job was equally challenging
because I’m a classical microbiologist by
@APHL
training and real-time polymerase chain
reaction and time-resolved fluorescence were
very new. I got involved in training with
the National Laboratory Training Network,
learned how to develop and conduct tabletop
exercises, train sentinel clinical laboratories
and much more.
“For years, SLD had lagged behind the
private laboratories in the acquisition of
advanced detection systems and laboratory
information systems for secure data exchange.
Because of the influx of CDC Public Health
Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) funds,
in 2002 we were able to acquire modern
instrumentation that dramatically improved
our detection capabilities. We now have a
total of eight microbiologists, three chemists
and one administrative staff member. SLD
has taken significant strides over the years
to manage and use newly acquired resources
to address the threat of emerging infectious
diseases including Ebola and Middle Eastern
Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus.”
“This has been a very rewarding experience
that is rapidly evolving. To be successful as a
public health scientist in the future, it is vital
that we are able to adapt to our changing
environment with new research, instruments
and technologies. If we restrict ourselves to
only what we know and feel comfortable with,
we will hinder the progression of addressing
the needs of the population by limiting
the ability to detect and prevent infectious
diseases.”
The success of the network is continually
dependent on the knowledge and skills
of public health scientists. It is important
to sustain current knowledge, but also
to expand skill sets to meet the demand
of an ever changing network. The future
depends on the next generation of
public health scientists; success depends
on their willingness to adapt and
determination to go above and beyond. n
The Evolution of Public Health
Scientists
Rebecca Sciulli, MS, MT
Acting Laboratory Director,
Hawaii Department of Health,
State Laboratories Division
PublicHealthLabs
(from l to r:) Alexis Peterson, Derek Harauchi, Cheryl-Lynn
Daquip and Rebecca Sciulli, Hawaii Department of Health,
State Laboratories Division. Photo: HDHSLD
to address population issues surrounding
disease and injury prevention, education and
policy making. Likewise, I have embraced the
many changes that have occurred in public
health as well as the Laboratory Reponse
Network. Some remarkable advancements
such as whole genome sequencing and mass
spectrometry have decreased turnaround
time while providing a deeper understanding
of current and emerging pathogens to help
protect the health of our communities.
Michael J. Perry, MS, MS Ed.
Associate Director, Biodefense
Laboratory, New York State Department
of Health–Wadsworth Center
“The role of public health has a slightly
different meaning from person to person. Over
my ten years as a public health scientist, I
have been able to understand the important
interdisciplinary role that public health takes
APHL.org
Michael J. Perry, MS, MS Ed., associate director,
Biodefense Laboratory, New York State Department
of Health–Wadsworth Center
Fall 2018 LAB MATTERS
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