20 Years of CLIMS
“This is special. This is really special,” says Nellie Dumas, Associate Director of the Bacteriology Laboratory in regard to Wadsworth Center’s Clinical Laboratory Information Management System (CLIMS), an electronic way of tracking sample information from submission to reporting.
Why is CLIMS so special?
Is it because of the impressive numbers: approximately 3,100 users outside of Wadsworth Center, 3,000 facilities, 1.8 million specimens and 16 million results to date?
READ MORE
about
20 Years of CLIMS
Wadsworth Center Scientists Participate in the 14th Annual International Conference on Public Health and Emerging Microbial Threats
Wadsworth Center Scientists, including graduates of the Masters of Science in Laboratory Sciences Program, laboratorians, research scientists, principal investigators, and the current and former Directors took part in the conference recently held at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center Scientists Participate in the 14th Annual International Conference on Public Health and Emerging Microbial Threats
Poster Day Kicks off the 31st Year of Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology Seminars
Recently, the 10th annual Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology (LCM) Poster Day was held at the David Axelrod Institute.
LCM Research Seminars take place monthly, September through June. This annual poster session kicks off the 31st year of seminars.
Wadsworth Center staff from multiple sites attended. Highlights of eleven posters, all previously presented at scientific meetings locally and nationwide, follow.
READ MORE
about
Poster Day Kicks off the 31st Year of Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology Seminars
Wadsworth Center Cultivates a Culture of Biosafety Awareness and Best Practice
Failing to work with a microorganism at the correct Biosafety Level (BSL) in the laboratory has the potential to place people at risk of accidental exposure to infectious agents, so it is not a surprise that the June 5, 2014 incident at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was such a high profile one.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center Cultivates a Culture of Biosafety Awareness and Best Practice
Wadsworth Center Virology Laboratory Receives Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Funding for CaliciNet Outbreak Support Center
Norovirus is a primary cause of acute gastroenteritis and foodborne disease in the United States where, according to the CDC, it is responsible for "19 - 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis, 1.7 - 1.9 million outpatient visits and 400,000 emergency room visits per year. It also contributes to between 56,000 - 71,000 hospitalizations and 570 - 800 deaths per year, mostly among young children and the elderly."
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center Virology Laboratory Receives Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Funding for CaliciNet Outbreak Support Center
Wadsworth Center Chosen as a Pilot Site for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS)
New York’s Wadsworth Center Laboratory was one of five state public health laboratories selected by the Association of Public Health Laboratories as a pilot site for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).
The Wadsworth Center Bacteriology and Mycobacteriology Laboratories will sequence all strains from patients in New York State, including New York City, with this highly comprehensive testing approach that assesses all 4.4 million bases of the MTBC genome.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center Chosen as a Pilot Site for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS)
Wadsworth Center Receives Award From NIH
NYSDOH Lab Part of a Consortium to Investigate Effects of Environmental Factors During Early Development on the Health of Children and Adolescents
ALBANY, N.Y. (September 23, 2016) - New York State Department of Health today announced that its renowned laboratory, Wadsworth Center, has been awarded $1.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the launch of a seven-year initiative called Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO).
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center Receives Award From NIH
Wadsworth Center’s Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory Participates in the HIV Nucleic Acid Testing Referral Demonstration Project
In 2014 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) made the first changes to the recommended HIV testing algorithm in a quarter of a century. According to the new scheme, a small portion of all specimens will require a final test not performed by most laboratories-a nucleic acid test or NAT.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center’s Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory Participates in the HIV Nucleic Acid Testing Referral Demonstration Project
Dr. Sudha Chaturvedi Fights Fire with Fire - Literally Using One Fungus to Fight Another
White-nose syndrome, first identified in the US in New York during the winter of 2006-2007 has killed millions of North American bats, and as of May 2016, has been confirmed in 29 states and 5 Canadian territories.Threatened and endangered bat species alike are affected. In some locations, the little brown bat population is 10% of what it was before white-nose syndrome.
READ MORE
about
Dr. Sudha Chaturvedi Fights Fire with Fire - Literally Using One Fungus to Fight Another
Wadsworth Center’s Virology Laboratory Finds Clue in New York City Mumps Outbreak
Considering that the number of mumps cases per year has decreased by more than 99% since the introduction of vaccines against the disease, it is relatively rare these days to hear about a mumps outbreak. But that is just what has happened this summer as more than 45 in the Nassau County city of Long Beach became ill. What makes this outbreak so surprising is that this population has a high vaccination rate.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center’s Virology Laboratory Finds Clue in New York City Mumps Outbreak
Wadsworth Center Graduates its Third Class of Master of Science in Laboratory Sciences Students
In Albany, as in many places, August is the time when college students start back to school. But this August 17th at the Wadsworth Center, the Master of Science in Laboratory Sciences students are just finishing.As the only master’s degree program sponsored by a public health laboratory, students are immersed in the business of public health, from the policy, regulations and standards, to the research that goes into developing diagnostic tests and the testing of clinical and environmental specimens.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center Graduates its Third Class of Master of Science in Laboratory Sciences Students
NYSDOH Wadsworth Center is One of Only Seven in the US Designated by CDC as Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) Regional Laboratories
On August 3, 2016 New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard A. Zucker announced the Wadsworth Center has been awarded $1.8 million to serve as one of seven labs in the nation designated as an Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) Regional Laboratory. These laboratories, strategically placed across the country, will have specialized capabilities allowing rapid detection and identification of emerging antibiotic resistant threats.
READ MORE
about
NYSDOH Wadsworth Center is One of Only Seven in the US Designated by CDC as Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) Regional Laboratories
Wadsworth Welcomes 2016 Summer Undergraduate Scientists
During the summer, the Wadsworth Center hosts undergraduate students from across the country to conduct research under the mentorship of our Principal Investigators.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Welcomes 2016 Summer Undergraduate Scientists
Wadsworth Lab part of CDC antibiotic tests
WASHINGTON – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated Albany's Wadsworth Laboratory as one of seven regional labs to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
Read More at The Times Union.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Lab part of CDC antibiotic tests
Keith Derbyshire Receives Sturman Excellence in Research Award
Twenty-four years at the Wadsworth Center have given Keith Derbyshire, Ph.D., a career’s worth of MEMOs. Not the interoffice paper shuffle made obsolete by email and text messages, but a laboratory dedicated to MEMOs – Mobile Elements in Micro-Organisms.
READ MORE
about
Keith Derbyshire Receives Sturman Excellence in Research Award
Mycobacteriology Laboratory Lends a Hand in New York City Case
Earlier this year, the Wadsworth Center became the first and only state public health laboratory in the nation to perform whole genome sequencing (WGS) of tuberculosis (TB) specimens.
One case illustrates the enormous impact of WGS on TB testing and its central role in rapidly detecting and preventing the spread of drug-resistant TB strains among New York State’s general population.
READ MORE
about
Mycobacteriology Laboratory Lends a Hand in New York City Case
Newborn Screening Director Receives National Award
Dr. Michele Caggana has been honored by the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) for her leadership in improving laboratory screening of newborns for genetic disorders.
Dr. Caggana, director of the Newborn Screening Program at the New York State Department of Health's Wadsworth Center, received the Harry Hannon Laboratory Improvement Award in Newborn Screening at the APHL’s recent Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing Symposium in St. Louis.
READ MORE
about
Newborn Screening Director Receives National Award
Wadsworth Welcomes Dr. Yi-Pin Lin, Lyme Disease Researcher
Lyme disease, transmitted by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common vector-borne disease in U.S. Vector-borne diseases are carried by mosquitoes, ticks or fleas. The bacterium is introduced during a tick bite and then survives in the bloodstream and can spread to the heart, joints, or brain. Infections can result in arthritis, neurological abnormalities or carditis. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 30,000 people are infected annually.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Welcomes Dr. Yi-Pin Lin, Lyme Disease Researcher
NYSDOH Epidiolex® Expanded Access Studies For Treatment-Resistant Epilepsy In Children and Young Adults
STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES COMPASSIONATE USE STUDIES OF CANNABIDIOL FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS WITH TREATMENT-RESISTANT EPILEPSY
Studies to be regulated under FDA’s Expanded Access Program
100 Children and Young Adults in New York Will be Enrolled at Five Sites Statewide
READ MORE
about
NYSDOH Epidiolex® Expanded Access Studies For Treatment-Resistant Epilepsy In Children and Young Adults
Wadsworth Center’s Bacteriology Laboratory Plays a Pivotal Role in New York City's Legionella Outbreak
The Wadsworth Center’s Bacteriology Laboratory played a pivotal role in the recent Legionella outbreak in New York City. The classical approach to Legionella testing is culture, but, as Legionella are slow growing and fastidious organisms and the water samples are usually heavily contaminated with other bacteria, obtaining results can take a long time, delaying the required public health response. In order to support more rapid decision making, Dr.
READ MORE
about
Wadsworth Center’s Bacteriology Laboratory Plays a Pivotal Role in New York City's Legionella Outbreak