PRESIDENT’ S MESSAGE
Reflections on a Milestone
It is these connections, participating in APHL’ s leadership and watching APHL’ s membership grow and change every year that reflect that it is never too late to become a leader in public health.”
Scott Shone, PhD, HCLD( ABB) President, APHL
As a ninth grader in Mr. Solomon’ s honors biology class, I knew right away that I wanted to do science. The first day we were able to look into a microscope was a watershed moment in my life that dictated my career and cemented my passion for scientific rigor. Throughout my undergraduate and graduate experiences, I realized that I really wanted to do public health science, but at the time, the definition of a“ public health laboratory” was not in the academic lexicon. APHL was the organization that not only crystallized it for me but also offered me the opportunity to investigate it further as an Emerging Infectious Disease Fellow.
So now, 22 years into my public health journey, I am a laboratory director who has begun looking at the next generation of leaders. Just as a director has an obligation to train their replacement, the legacy of an association is also generational. When APHL first began in 1951 as the Association of State and Territorial Public Health Laboratory Directors, its overarching mission was to be the voice of those laboratory directors to federal and state public health partners. As the association grew and extended its membership to other public health laboratories, we showed that there is a different way to approach public health. In one instance, the microbiologist may take center stage during an Ebola outbreak. In another instance, the food safety fellow may be instrumental in detecting an outbreak of Listeria. While from the outside it may look like one person, team or department is providing the answers, thanks to APHL, we know we are all a part of the same system.
It is also very thought-provoking to educate new laboratorians about the cyclical nature of public health. We are confronted with a public health emergency, we do the work with little to no recognition, and then the emergency goes away. We may receive funding related to the emergency, so we build systems, innovate laboratory practices and hire and train staff to respond. But once the emergency funding goes away, we have to change and adapt to continue to deliver core services to our communities. As public health laboratories find themselves again on the downswing of the funding cycle, our most important duty is to train and coach the next generation on how to navigate these challenges.
While my foray into public health laboratories was very intentional, there are many career paths that can lead to public health. Nowhere is that more evident than the fellows and interns that have come through APHL’ s Fellowship and Internship programs over the years. Indeed, within my own laboratory in North Carolina, I am always delighted to hear the stories of how my colleagues found public health and, in turn, public health laboratories.
It is these connections, participating in APHL’ s leadership and watching APHL’ s membership grow and change every year that reflect that it is never too late to become a leader in public health. No matter your position in the laboratory, no matter when you join our community, your contributions will improve the lives of more people than you know. g
2 LAB MATTERS Spring 2026 PublicHealthLabs @ APHL. org
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