Lab Matters Fall 2024 | Page 5

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ’ S MESSAGE

“ May you live in interesting times .” ~ Anonymous

As many do in the public health community , we do our work through many different circumstances . And as public health laboratorians , we are used to “ doing more with less .” But in the past several years , the “ doing more with less ” paradigm has pivoted to “ doing more through change ” or “ doing more through ambiguity .”

Due to more pressure from outside influences , our members find themselves confronted with new and different iterations of public health responses through new pathogen-specific events — like highly pathogenic avian influenza or mpox — that continue to stress public health response systems . While the clarion call for dedicated “ warm base ” funding has not gone away , each new event that affects APHL ’ s membership gives us a little bit more experience and a little bit more information . So when we do need to surge and respond to an emergency , we have a greater degree of readiness than before . It may not seem like it when the response first starts ( because of the initial “ chaos ” involved in standing up systems and getting to know all the partners involved ), but in fact , we are more ready than we have ever been before .

But even as the world changes and evolves around us , the public health community is well-versed in adaptation — it is what we have done , it is what we always do . The recent US Food and Drug Administration ruling on laboratorydeveloped tests ( LDTs ), while not a shock , still felt unexpected . Our members have been using LDTs for decades to advance diagnostics within their own laboratory , with a goal to share their findings and discoveries with the greater public health community . Our adherence to rigorous quality control and regulations provides the optimum environment for innovations like LDTs . And while it is still early days of the ruling , APHL will be convening a task force to help our member laboratories work through some of the challenges that have been posed by this ruling . We also encourage members to share information and also ask questions by sending them to ldtquestions @ aphl . org .

Another way we can continue to work on innovations is connecting with our public health partners around the globe . As the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced , disease and disasters know no borders . I had the opportunity to attend the Global Health Security Agenda Conference earlier this summer , and it was eye-opening ; the importance of the role the US plays in health security cannot be understated . APHL has now established offices in 10 countries to support laboratory systems and are active participants in changing public health laboratory systems for the better . The association has also restarted its twinning initiative , pairing US public health laboratories with laboratories in Africa , Asia and Eastern Europe . It is a way to establish connections across different systems , as well as enable communications between like-minded scientists in other settings . We will be continuing the dialogue with our colleagues in the CDC Global Health Center , as well as our in-country partners in the many ministries of health to build that leadership infrastructure — through the Global Laboratory Leadership Programme .

Not long ago , I heard one of our newer members wishing to live in “ precedented times ,” instead of “ unprecedented times .” While it is true that none of us has ever experienced anything quite like the times we are currently living in , I believe that the sentiment is not unique to one generation or another . Every day is different and every era will be different as well . What will continue to be as steady as ever , however , will be the passion and perseverance of our public health laboratory community . So I encourage you to reach out to each other , to connect and to support each other . APHL is here to help you make those connections , and , knowing that we have your back , hopefully that makes our changing times a bit less ambiguous . g

But even as the world changes and evolves around us , the public health community is well-versed in adaptation — it is what we have done , it is what we always do .”

Scott Becker , MS Chief Executive Officer , APHL