Wadsworth Center scientists Dr. Paul Masters and Dr. Kirsten St. George recently joined Commissioner McDonald and Acting Executive Deputy Commissioner Morne on the New York Public Health Now podcast. The podcast discusses timely topics with front line public health specialists.
Dr. Paul Masters discussed coronavirus basics, his research into the molecular biology of coronaviruses, and how that knowledge informed development of COVID-19 testing at Wadsworth Center. Wadsworth Center was the first state public health laboratory to develop and implement an FDA-authorized test for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in February 2020 – a noteworthy example of “translating science into action.”
Dr. Kirsten St. George spoke about the work of the laboratory and its role leading up, during, and following the COVID-19 public health emergency. Ongoing efforts to identify and sequence COVID-19 variants as well as functional testing of the viruses to determine how the genetic changes correlate with phenotypic characteristics inform future recommendations including the development of updated vaccines.
Listen to both podcasts at https://www.health.ny.gov/commissioner/podcasts/