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The Wadsworth Center proudly hosted a Light Microscopy Imaging Workshop from June 9-13, 2025, focused on advancing research and collaboration in biomedical imaging.  Organized by Rich Cole and Danielle Hunt from the Center’s Advanced Light Microscopy and Image Analysis Core, the event welcomed 43 participants from institutions across the region, including the University at Albany, Albany Medical College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Rochester, and the Neural Stem Cell Institute. 

Dr. Thomas Bartlett and Dr. Siân Owen from the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Genetics attended the 2025 Boston Bacterial Meeting (BBM) in Cambridge, MA – one of the nation’s premier microbiology conferences, drawing over 500 experts annually.  

Dr. Patrick Parsons, Director of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the Wadsworth Center, was invited to present at the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Community of Practice Food Chemistry meeting.  

Read more about the Wadsworth Center's academic engagement in the Summer 2025 issue of the Association of Public Health Laboratories' Lab Matters.

The Wadsworth Center’s Bacterial Diseases Laboratory recently provided urgent diagnostic support in a severe pediatric infection case involving suspected Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome (SSSS).   A methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus isolate was submitted from a child with an aggressive skin infection so extensive that it required care in a burn unit. By the time the isolate was received, the infection had also spread to family members, including a sibling who was subsequently hospitalized. 

The global challenge of antibiotic resistance continues to drive innovative research into bacterial growth and division. Dr. Thomas Bartlett, a newly appointed principal investigator in the Division of Genetics at the Wadsworth Center, chaired the Cell Division session at the prestigious Gordon Research Conference on Bacterial Cell Biology and Development, held in Manchester, NH. Dr.

In June 2025, the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS) participated in Operation Mohawk Arrow, a multiday, full-scale emergency preparedness exercise coordinated with the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

  Members of the Bacteriology and Parasitology Laboratories participated in “Wellness Day” at Tesago Elementary School in Clifton Park, engaging students in an exciting and educational public health experience. The outreach team included Ashley Alderman, Kate Wahl, Ashley Marcinkiewicz, Lynn Leach, Paris Strong, John Jurczynski, Majie Foster, and John Kelly, and was led by Kara Mitchell and James Chithalen.  

A recent case from New York’s Newborn Screening Program (NBSP) highlights the essential partnership between state and county health departments in ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment for newborns with rare but serious conditions.

Raman spectroscopy, a widely used technique for qualitative chemical analysis, has taken a significant step forward into the realm of quantitative applications thanks to a new method co-developed by Dr. George Donati of the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences, in collaboration with research partners in Brazil. 

Dr. Susan Madison-Antenucci, Chief of Bloodborne & Parasitic Diseases at the Wadsworth Center, spoke at the New York Medical College symposium titled “Vector borne Infections in the Hudson Valley – There’s More Than Just Lyme Out There.”The goal of the event was to raise awareness of the broader spectrum of tickborne diseases, supporting faster diagnosis and appropriate treatment for patients throughout the state.

Ms. Beverly Rauch, Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program (CLEP) Director at the NYS DOH’s Wadsworth Center, delivered a featured presentation at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Blood Banks Association of New York (BBANYS). 

The Obstacle Imagine the 35th Waste-Management and Education Research Conference (WERC), a national engineering competition, is rapidly approaching. Your team, Mycosorb Environmental, is using fungi to absorb metals from mining waters, but culture after culture gets contaminated and doesn’t grow well due to temperature and humidity issues. You finally get your mycoremediation columns up and running, and now you can’t find an instrument to identify and quantitate the metals. When you finally find one, it isn’t working!

New York State Department of Health Press Release Related links:

Five-Year Contract Enables Department to Advance Understanding of the Bacterium Causing Lyme DiseaseRead the New York State Department of Health press release.

Center Will Be a Major Contributor to Federal Influenza SurveillanceSee the New York State Department of Health Press Release

The Wadsworth Center has partnered with the Association of Public Health Laboratories to host the Public Health Lab Academy!

From environmental projects characterizing and quantitating contaminants in our water, food and even inside us, to infectious disease projects addressing antimicrobial resistance, “one of the world’s most urgent public health problems”, and studying factors that contribute to emerging infections, these seed grant-supported projects span a wide range of fields.

APHL Honors 2024 Newborn Screening Award Winners 

Wadsworth Center and SUNY Global Health Institute collaborate to create the New York State Global Health Interface Platform. The partnership is to provide training for future public health and biomedical research professionals and strengthen international grant opportunities. Read the New York State Department of Health Press Release