2 President ’ s Message 3 CEO ’ s Message

4 APHL Internship Pool Offers Summer Relief to Wisconsin

INDUSTRY MATTERS

10 From Small to Large and Back Again : Planning for Automated Processes Present & Future MEMBERSHIP

6 APHL 2024 : Laboratory Science and Public Health Meet in Milwaukee

12 Rapid Candida auris Screening and Echinocandins Resistance Detection Through an Automated High- Throughput Extraction and Real-time PCR Solution

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 , genetic disorders

in newborns and other diverse health threats .

FROM THE BENCH

8 North Carolina ’ s Coordinated Response to Lead Contamination in Food : An Insider ’ s Perspective

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APHL PROGRAMS

14 Riding the Wave of Public Health Laboratory Funding into the Future

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 .

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Environmental Health

20 Environmental Microbiology Outbreak Response : New Resources to Help Address Critical Needs

Global Health

22 Innovating AR Data Reporting to WHONET in Zambia

24 Building Partnerships & Strengthening Workforce Development within Asia-Pacific

Infectious Diseases

26 Removing Barriers by Bringing Testing to the Community

27 A Little Help from the NGS Quality Initiative : Validation of Carbapenem- Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ( CRAB ) Whole Genome Sequencing

Informatics

28 Sharing Success Stories to Advocate for Funding Needs : A Call to Action

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Public Health Preparedness and Response

29 Strengthening the Biosafety Workforce

30 Key Findings from the APHL 2023 All-Hazards Laboratory Preparedness Survey

Quality Systems and Analytics

31 Southeast ColLABorators Convene Regional Consortium In-Person Tabletop Exercise

Training and Workforce Development

32 Recruiting Tomorrow ’ s Leaders : Local Outreach Initiatives Partner with Public Health Laboratories and Academic Institutions

33 Cultivating Positive Environments for an Evolving Workforce

2023 – 2024 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Timothy Southern , PhD President

Megan Crumpler , PhD 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

Scott Shone , PhD , HCLD ( ABB ) Public Health Institutional State Representative

Pamela Higgins , PhD Public Health Associate Institutional Member Representative​

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

Daphne Ware , 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 .