2 President’ s Message

Environmental Health

21 Beyond the Smoke: Emergency Coordination and Environmental Testing Response to the 2025 Los Angeles Fires

22 Training Yields Readiness: Lessons Learned from a North Dakota Radiation Response

Global Health

23 Mapping a Path to Laboratory Surveillance in Bangladesh

Infectious Diseases

24 The NGS Quality Initiative Peer Network: Improving Sequencing Quality through Information Sharing and Collaboration

Informatics

25 Managing Sustainable Public Health Data Exchange at the National Level

COLUMNS

3 CEO’ s Message

Membership

4 APHL 75th Anniversary: Membership

6 Member Profile: Georgia Department of Agriculture Laboratory

7 Member Profile: Maryland Department of Health Laboratories Administration

Career Pathways

8 Vermont Laboratory Discovers What a Difference a Fellow Can Make

9 Public Health Laboratory Ambassadors Engage Students Across the Country in 2025

Industry Matters

10 Equity, Accuracy and Stewardship: Rethinking Vaginitis Diagnosis for Women Everywhere

APHL PROGRAMS

11 Rapid Detection and Sequencing of Influenza A in Agricultural Samples: Lessons From Cambodia and Why It Matters for US Food Security

FEATURE

26 The Results Are In! Data Modernization at Public Health Laboratories Is a Work in Progress

27 When Systems Fail: Building Resilient Laboratory Informatics Through Comprehensive COOP Planning

Public Health Preparedness and Response

30 Why Public Health Emergency Preparedness Funding Matters for Public Health Laboratories

32 NIH Launches Biosafety Modernization Initiative

Training Workforce and Development

33 APHL and FDA Partner on Cronobacter Detection Training

34 The Intersection of Public Health and One Health

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

12 Quality, Safety, Traceability: Protecting the Food Supply for US Consumers

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

18 APHL Committee Instrumental in Enhancements to FDA Food Chemistry Data Review Protocols

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, genetic disorders

in newborns and other diverse health threats.

LAB MATTERS STAFF

Gynene Sullivan, MA Editor Brittany Robertson Art Director 19 Strengthening Foodborne Outbreak Response with CIFOR in Kentucky 20 From Training to Trust: How PulseNet International Is Strengthening Foodborne Disease Surveillance

David Fouse Advisor

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

2025 – 2026 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Scott Shone, PhD, HCLD( ABB) President

Sharon Massingale, PhD, HCLD / CC( ABB) President-elect

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

Kara Levinson, PhD, MPH, D( ABMM) Public Health Institutional State Member Representative

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

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

Luke Short, PhD, HCLD( ABB) Public Health Institutional Local Member Representative​

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

Pamela Higgins, PhD Public Health Associate Institutional Member Representative

Megan Crumpler, PhD, HCLD( ABB) Past President

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

Projects in this publication were supported by Cooperative Agreements # NU2GGH002365, NU2GGH002485, NU2GGH002494, NU2HGH000112, NU2HGH00032, NU2HGH00080, NU2RGH001917, NU38PW000005, NU3HCK000003, NU47CD000001 and NU60OE000104 funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention( CDC); U18FD007046 and U2FFD008200 funded by the US Food & Drug Administration( FDA); and U22MC24078 funded by the Health Resources & Services Administration( HRSA). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC, FDA, HRSA, the US Department of Health and Human Services or the US Government.