APHL Annual Meeting

2015 APHL Annual Meeting & Ninth Government Environmental Laboratory Conference

More than 575 participants attended the 2015 APHL Annual Meeting that was held in Indianapolis, IN from May 18-21, 2015. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered next generation sequencing, infectious disease, environmental health, informatics, legalized marijuana, biomonitoring, food safety, newborn screening, and emergency preparedness. Keynote speakers included Thomas Burke, PhD, US Environmental Protection Agency and Christopher Portier, PhD, Environmental Defense Fund.

2014 APHL Annual Meeting & Eighth Government Environmental Laboratory Conference

More than 500 participants attended the 2014 APHL Annual Meeting that was held in Little Rock, AR from June 1-4, 2014. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered next generation sequencing, infectious disease, environmental health, informatics, legalized marijuana, biomonitoring, food safety, newborn screening, and emergency preparedness. Keynote speakers included Glenn Paulson, PhD, US Environmental Protection Agency and Glen Mays, PhD, MPH, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services and Systems Research, University of Kentucky.

2013 APHL Annual Meeting & Seventh Government Environmental Laboratory Conference

More than 500 participants attended the 2013 APHL Annual Meeting that was held in Raleigh, NC from June 2-5, 2013. The four-day conference addressed elements specific to laboratory preparedness. In particular, sessions covered influenza, environmental health, informatics, nanotechnology, community building and laboratory leadership, biomonitoring, food safety, seafood testing, global health accreditation and emergency preparedness. Keynote speakers included William Roper, MD, MPH, University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Health Care System and Harvey Fineberg, MD, Institute of Medicine.

InFORM Conferences

InFORM 2015 Conference (Integrated Foodborne Outbreak Response and Management)

The InFORM 2015 Conference, a combined meeting of PulseNet, OutbreakNet and Environmental Health Specialists, was held in Phoenix, AZ, November 17-20, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotel. The meeting drew over 475 laboratorians, epidemiologists and environmental health professionals from the United States and 8 other countries. Participants represented federal, state and local public health, food and environmental regulatory agencies. Meeting topics included discussion of whole genome sequencing and its utility in foodborne surveillance systems, highlights on past outbreak investigations and the emerging role culture-independent diagnostics will have on current surveillance systems.

InFORM 2013 Conference (Integrated Foodborne Outbreak Response and Management)

The InFORM 2013 Conference, a combined meeting of PulseNet, OutbreakNet and EHS-Net, was held in San Antonio, Texas, November 18-21, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio hotel. The meeting drew over 400 laboratorians, epidemiologists, and environmental health professionals from the United States and 8 other countries. The keynote address was given Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner, US Food and Drug Administration. Meeting topics comprised food science, reports/recaps of 2012-2013 outbreaks including Salmonella, hepatitis A, E. coli, norovirus, Listeria, and cyclosporiasis, enteric zoonoses and One Health, next generation sequencing and other new technologies, subtyping of bacterial pathogens, training and assessments.

PulseNet Update Meetings/OutbreakNet Meetings

Proceedings from the

16th Annual PulseNet Update Meeting

 and

8th Annual OutbreakNet Meeting

The 16th Annual PulseNet and 8th Annual OutbreakNet Meeting was held in Atlanta, GA, August 27-30, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta hotel in Buckhead. The meeting drew nearly 400 laboratorians, epidemiologists, and environmental health professionals from Australia, Canada, South Korea and the United States. Participants represented federal, state and local public health and food regulatory agencies.

The theme for this year’s meeting was “Modernizing Outbreak Detection Through Teamwork." Drs. Charles Brokopp, President of APHL, and Jennifer Wright, CDC, opened the meeting during the Welcome Session which was held the evening of August 27. The keynote address was given by Eric Schlosser, Atlantic Monthly, which was titled, “Private Interests and Public Health."

The meeting began on Tuesday, August 28 with opening remarks from Dr. Chris Braden, Director of CDC's Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, followed by a day and a half of combined sessions for PulseNet and OutbreakNet. Meeting topics included how and when to best communicate messages to the media and public during outbreak investigations; legal considerations and laws governing foodborne outbreak investigations; next generation/whole genome sequencing methods; and emerging culture independent methods and their threat to public health surveillance systems such as PulseNet and OutbreakNet.

Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposia

2016 Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium

The 2016 APHL Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session, awards luncheon, welcome reception, off-site social and tour of the Missouri State Newborn Screening Laboratory. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, candidate conditions, CCHD, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.

2014 Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium

The 2014 APHL Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session, awards luncheon, welcome reception, off-site social and tour of the Long Beach Newborn Screening Laboratory. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included laboratory updates, molecular advances, candidate conditions, point-of-care for CCHD, clinical outcomes, short and long-term follow-up and quality assurance/quality control.

2013 Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium

The 2013 Joint Meeting of the Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium and the International Society for Neonatal Screening featured presentations drawn from submitted abstracts from around the world, including invited oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibits, a Meet the Manufacturers session, awards luncheon, welcome reception, off-site social and tours of the GA Public Health Laboratory and the Newborn Screening and Molecular Biology Branch at CDC. The meeting addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to national and global public health. Topics included new and emerging technologies, candidate conditions, common issues and solutions, clinical outcomes and short and long-term follow-up.

For questions related to the Newborn Screening and Genetics Testing Symposium or inquiries of the APHL Newborn Screening and Genetics program, contact Jelili Ojodu, Director of Newborn Screening and Genetics.

TB Conference

9th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis

More than 150 participants attended the 9th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis which was held in Atlanta, GA, June 8-9, 2015. Speakers addressed the utility of the latest developments in TB diagnostics including the use of whole genome sequencing and MALDI-TOF. Other issues discussed covered building efficiencies in service utilization, assuring biosafety and new developments in TB research. The keynote address was given by Dr. David Dowdy from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

8th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis

More than 150 participants attended the 8th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis which was held in San Diego, CA, August 19-21, 2013. Speakers addressed the utility of the latest developments in TB diagnostics including the use of pyrosequencing for the molecular detection of drug resistance; whole genome sequencing and MALDI-TOF. Other issues discussed covered building efficiencies in service utilization, assuring biosafety and global TB laboratory issues. The keynote addresses were given by Dr. Phillip Hopewell from San Francisco General Hospital and Dr. Madhukar Pai, McGill International TB Centre.  

Contact Terry Reamer, CMP, Senior Specialist, Meetings 240.485.2776 terry.reamer@aphl.org