COLUMNS

2 President ’ s Message 3 CEO ’ s Message

4 Milwaukee Serves as Pilot for Internship Program Participation at Annual Conference

FROM THE BENCH

6 Supercharging the Workforce with Generative AI in Dallas County

INDUSTRY MATTERS

12 How Investing in AI Helps the Public Health Mission

13 Enhancing Public Health Laboratory Operations : Standardize Technologies with Flexible Applications

FEATURE

7700 Wisconsin Avenue , Suite 1000 Bethesda , MD 20814 Phone : 240.485.2745 Fax : 240.485.2700 info @ aphl . org aphl . org

The Association of Public Health Laboratories ( APHL ) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public ’ s health in the US and globally . APHL ’ s member laboratories protect the public ’ s health by monitoring and detecting infectious and foodborne diseases , environmental contaminants , terrorist agents , genetic disorders in newborns and other diverse

health threats .

8 Piecing Together Cyclospora : A Puzzle for Public Health Labs

10 Tracking Severe Lead Poisoning from Imported Products in California

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Environmental Health

22 NWSS Centers of Excellence Live Up to Their Name

24 Public Health Laboratories : Preventing Lead Poisoning Then and Now

Food Safety

26 Building a Blueprint for Excellence in Food Safety

27 A Strong Sustaining Member Relationship Drives Success in Resolving Testing Issues

Global Health

28 Using Machine Learning to Evaluate Text Responses from a Laboratory Data Repository

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DIGITAL EXTRA 37 APHL 2024 Poster Supplement

APHL PROGRAMS

16 Harnessing AI to Advance Public Health Laboratories

Infectious Diseases

29 Building Arbovirus Testing Capability in Puerto Rico

Informatics

30 AI , Automation and Public Health Laboratories

Public Health and Preparedness Response

31 Enhancing Laboratory Safety , Preparedness and Response through In-person Workshops

34 Celebrating 25 Years of the Laboratory Response Network

Training and Leadership

35 Public Health Laboratory Ambassadors Program : A Year in Review

LAB MATTERS STAFF

Gynene Sullivan , MA Editor

Brittany Robertson Art Director

David Fouse Advisor

To submit an article for consideration , contact Gynene Sullivan at gynene . sullivan @ aphl . org .

2024 – 2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Megan Crumpler , PhD President

Scott Shone , PhD , HCLD ( ABB ) President-elect

Godfred Masinde , PhD , MBA , HCLD ( ABB ) Secretary-Treasurer

Sharon Massingale , PhD , HCLD / CC ( ABB ) Public Health Institutional State Representative

Michael Pentella PhD , D ( ABMM ) Public Health Institutional State Representative

Anthony Tran , ​ DrPH , PhD , MPH , D ( ABMM ), MT ( ASCP ) Public Health Institutional State Representative

Pamela Higgins , PhD Public Health Associate Institutional Member Representative​

Deborah Severson , BSMT ( ASCP ) Public Health Institutional Local Member Representative​

Leslie Wolf , PhD , HCLD ( ABB ) Public Health Institutional Local Member Representative​

Timothy Southern , PhD Past President

Scott Becker , MS Ex Officio , Chief Executive Officer , APHL

The production of this publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement # NU60OE000104 , funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of , nor an endorsement by , CDC , HHS or the US Government .