for our laboratory.’ I think that’ s the wrong approach,” Urban said.

Urban’ s view is if someone has great training in chemistry and they tell him it is their passion, his team is going to think about a project and area where those passions and prior training can be utilized in the best possible way. He gives the example of a fellow applicant who had a degree in neuroscience but had never done any chemistry. After graduation, she moved to Alaska to give glacier tours. Urban, however, saw that almost every science course she took, she got a perfect score. And he realized she was interested in science and had the ability to master whatever she set her mind to.

“ She moved to Alaska for the sense of adventure. She wants to do something new, unfamiliar— bingo, fantastic. She was our top applicant,” Urban said. He added that the interview was essentially a conversation between himself as the mentor, the supervisor of the PFAS laboratory and the lead bench scientist.

Closing Argument

“ One of the strengths of the program is that we’ re able to recruit outside of our normal pool, and our normal pool is almost exclusively Marylanders, but recruiting someone from upstate New York or from Alaska or anywhere else, those pools are very different for us and ones we don’ t really get to tap into,” Urban said.

Ultimately, Urban believes there are three main perks to the Career Pathways Programs.

“ Flexibility, additional staffing and discretionary funding for projects,” said Urban.“ If you look at it through the lens of those three things, I think this program is a winner.” g

“ We had a wonderful time being ambassadors for OSPHL,” said Microbiologist 2 Allie Sayer.“ It was an excellent opportunity to engage with the students of Oregon and southwest Washington and talk with them about what we do here at the public health laboratory. We also had fun comparing booths with other exhibitors and coming up with new ideas to connect with our community for next time.”

Seeking opportunities to collaborate with other laboratories can enhance the overall outreach and recruitment process. It simultaneously alleviates some of the pressure while also allowing for more input of voices, enhancing the quality of the event. Outreach and recruitment initiatives are an important part of public health, but they do not need to be as daunting as they first seem with the right support. g

Simplify Method Development and Results Interpretation:

A new resource from APHL, the Overdose Biosurveillance Dashboard was developed to assist non-fatal overdose biosurveillance programs testing for substances included in the Expanded Strategy Recommended Panel. This interactive resource assists with epidemiological interpretation of laboratory toxicology results and provides key analytical information for laboratory method development.