informatics
APHL, FDA and Partners Call for New Work Group Volunteers
by Melanie Kourbage, PhD, MA, APHL consultant
Acohesive, meaningful connection across a network of subject matter experts is the necessary human element of an integrated food safety system. To that end, APHL is working to assemble a Food / Feed Informatics Work Group to collaborate on issues related to informatics and information management that are of concern to food and feed testing laboratories, including but not limited to, FDA’ s Electronic Laboratory Exchange Network( eLEXNET), a central food testing repository that will allow for the sharing of food and feed testing data.
In partnership with the Food and Drug Administration( FDA), the Association of Food and Drug Officials( AFDO), and the Association of American Feed Control Officials( AAFCO), the group is being created as part of an Integrated Laboratory System Cooperative Agreement. It will be responsible for developing solutions that are re-usable across food / feed laboratories and sharing resources and tools that have made a difference in other laboratories.
Members will represent a diverse field of food / feed laboratory scientists, informatics specialists, LIMS administrators, and some of the laboratory’ s key partners, including state-level epidemiologists and regulatory officials. In addition, APHL is looking for volunteers from large laboratories with mature informatics capabilities, as well as from smaller laboratories that require less complicated technical setups. This mix of informatics maturity will provide valuable diverse perspectives.
APHL is working with partners and laboratory leaders to draft an agenda for the first year, with an anticipated start date of spring 2017. APHL and FDA are encouraging participation and input from the entire food safety community about any challenges confronting the food and feed laboratory community for this work group to address.
For more information about this work group, please email Vanessa Holley( Vanessa. holley @ aphl. org).
10th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis
April 18 – 20, 2017 Atlanta Marriott Marquis Atlanta, GA
�oin your colleagues for two days of sessions, networking and exhibits at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, GA, April 18 – 1�, 2017. This year the meeting will run concurrently with the �ational TB Controllers Conference, April 1� – 21.
Conference Highlights:
� �eynote address from Phil LoBue and Tim �odwell
� Latest Advances in TB diagnostics
� Poster session with �TCA conference
Find details at www. aphl. org / TBCon