The Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP) within the Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, has regulatory oversight of laboratories testing environmental samples collected in New York State. These laboratories analyze for a wide range of contaminants, including mercury, lead, PCBs, and “forever chemicals” (PFAS). As part of its mandate, ELAP conducts on-site inspections to ensure laboratory compliance.  

In the September 2025 issue of Clinical Microbiology Newsletter, a new three-part collaborative series, “Laboratory Diagnosis of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria,” was published with Wadsworth Center’s Dr. Kimberlee Musser as a coauthor.  Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are increasingly recognized as significant pathogens responsible for lung and other infections, particularly among individuals with underlying lung disease or weakened immune systems. NTM are frequently associated with nosocomial outbreaks, often traced to contaminated water sources. 

A National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Grant (T32) titled “RNA Science and Technology in Health and Disease” was awarded to the University at Albany, State University of New York, for $1.8 million over the next five years to support seven RNA Fellows each year from the graduate education programs that comprise the RNA Institute.  

On July 15, 2025, Wadsworth Center’s Nuclear Chemistry Laboratory (NCL), within the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, onboarded their third Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) fellow in the past three years.  

The Laboratory of Viral Diseases hosted a two-day enterovirus molecular characterization workshop on July 28th and 29th. The training was sponsored by the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and included scientists from state public health laboratories in New Jersey, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, California, Massachusetts, and Nebraska.  

Dr. Joseph Orsini, Director of the Newborn Screening Program’s Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, represented the Wadsworth Center at the Hunter’s Hope Medical Symposium, held July 15-16, 2025, in Ellicottville, NY. He has attended this annual symposium since 2008, which brings together scientists, clinicians, newborn screening professionals, and families to advance understanding of Krabbe Disease and other leukodystrophies. 

The Wadsworth Center, the public health laboratory of the New York State Department of Health, has been selected to serve as the central reference testing laboratory for a major international clinical trial aimed at preventing multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in vulnerable populations.

Dr. Spencer Bruce, Director of the Bioinformatics Core at the Wadsworth Center, recently took part in the Bioinformatics Leadership Program, held June 23-27, 2025, at the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.  

The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, with support from the Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hosted a 2025 Scientific Meeting on Candida auris in Miami, Florida from June 5-6, 2025.  

The Wadsworth Center’s Newborn Screening Program published their 2024 annual report, which provides an overview of screening results for each of the mandated conditions on the New York State panel. The 2024 panel included more than 50 conditions. In 2024, 246,895 specimens from 206,728 infants were screened, corresponding to an average of nearly 1,000 specimens for 50 conditions each day (50,000 screens performed daily). A total of 1,866 infants screened positive for one of the conditions on the panel and were referred for diagnostic testing, evaluation, follow-up and treatment.