SPECIAL SECTION: THE LABORATORY RESPONSE NETWORK
The LRN at 20: What’s Next?
By Chris N. Mangal, MPH, director, public health preparedness and response
2019 marks the 20th Anniversary of the
Laboratory Response Network (LRN), a
national security asset for preparedness
and rapid response to biological,
chemical and other high-priority public
health threats. The network, formed by
APHL, CDC and FBI, has been pivotal in
responses from anthrax to Zika and now,
lung injuries associated with vaping or
e-cigarette use. The LRN serves as model
for other systems, offering an effective
mechanism to detect and respond to
public health emergencies of international
concern.
The success of the LRN can be
attributed to its investments in people,
technology and strong partnerships
across various sectors including defense,
law enforcement and public health.
In fact, the network is often credited
with strengthening the US public
health laboratory system, with CDC
providing approximately $70 million
annually to state, local and territorial
public health laboratories via the Public
Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP)
Cooperative Agreement.
Training and Workforce Development
• Strengthening the public health
workforce by providing technical
training and other ongoing professional
development activities
• Providing technical assistance such as
troubleshooting scientific assays and
equipment.
• Providing and/or ensuring access to
proficiency testing and exercises
• Leading the way on biosafety and
biosecurity and supporting laboratories
to ensure they have safe and secure
facilities.
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• Evaluating and implementing systems
for electronic laboratory reporting
while continuing to provide electronic
data messaging standards for
laboratory results that contribute to
sound public health decisions
• Examining data science and the utility
of information collected to better
inform responses
• Engaging member laboratories to
evaluate new technologies
• Exploring new partnerships to
have technologies ready for rapid
deployment during emerging threats.
Systems Maintenance and
Enhancement
The LRN has recognized the importance of
collaborating with other federal agencies
such as the Department of Defense (DoD)
and leveraging their assay development
expertise to deploy new new assays and
platforms for rapid detection of threats,
such as Ebola. For the next 20 years of the
LRN, partnerships will continue to be on
the forefront with continued investments
in:
Quality Systems
Technology Enhancements
• Strengthening public-private laboratory
systems to ensure quality samples are
submitted to the network and it is well
positioned to accurately and timely
respond to all threats
• Providing standardized protocols and
tests
• Maintaining a restricted access website
to house materials that can be accessed
by member laboratories
• Communicating with members
on a routine basis (e.g., quarterly
calls, technical meetings, national
conferences) coupled with help desk
support for member laboratories
• Providing support for maintenance
agreements and other equipment
contracts.
While the LRN is one
network, it has two
distinct components:
Laboratory Response Network for Biological
Threats Preparedness (LRN-B): comprised
of three national laboratories, 130 reference
laboratories and thousands of sentinel clinical
laboratories, this arm of the network detects
biological threats and emerging infectious
diseases quickly and accurately anywhere
in the US. Sentinel clinical laboratories are
the foundation of the network and poised
to rule-out and/or refer biological threats to
reference laboratories such as state and local
public health laboratories
Laboratory Response Network for Chemical
Threats Preparedness (LRN-C): comprised of 54
laboratories nationwide capable of responding
to national, large-scale emergencies by rapidly
identifying chemical agents such as cyanide.
State and local public health laboratories
also use analytical expertise and advanced
instruments from the LRN-C to provide
actionable laboratory results for urgent, local
needs, including the US opioid overdose
epidemic and the outbreak of lung injury
associated with e-cigarette products.
There is a third component, the Laboratory
Response Network for Radiological Threats
Preparedness (LRN-R) which is still is
development and would provide support for the
detection of radiological threats.
As the LRN looks to the next 20 years,
it will be a driver in the emerging field
of data science since results from
technologies in its member laboratories
will be key to rapid responses. The
network will also examine its strategic
vision to determine its role in responding
to emerging threats as well as engaging
private clinical and commercial
laboratories in surge responses. At the
crux of this vision is the importance of
ensuring scientists and the general public
are safe from threats. n
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Fall 2019 LAB MATTERS
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