Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan of the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS) gave the keynote presentation at the SafePlastChem conference, organized by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) and held in Monte Verità, Switzerland, from January 26-29, 2026. 

In October 2023, the New York State Newborn Screening Program launched a landmark one-year pilot study to screen every infant born in the state for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV). The results of this study, funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, were recently published in JAMA Network Open, confirming the feasibility of using dried blood spots for large-scale cCMV screening. While cytomegalovirus is common and often harmless in most people, infection in utero can lead to severe complications.

Dr. Abhishek Jain of the Wadsworth Center has been selected to serve as a judge for the Bioanalysis Rising Star Award 2026, presented by Bioanalysis Zone, Taylor & Francis Group. Judges for this award are recognized as leading experts in the bioanalytical community, responsible for evaluating and identifying the most promising early-career scientists whose research demonstrates innovation, rigor, and potential to advance the field. Serving as a judge highlights Dr. Jain’s expertise, leadership, and influence in shaping the next generation of bioanalytical researchers.

The New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center and Division of Epidemiology are collaborating on the investigation of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) outbreak in northern New York State. RSV primarily causes clinically significant illness in children under five years of age and older adults, often presenting as influenza-like illness or pneumonia, and commonly requiring hospitalization in severe cases. 

A press release from Governor Hochul announces that construction is underway for the new Wadsworth Center laboratory.

Several Wadsworth Center Research Scientists and their trainees attended the 2026 Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, held January 10-17, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. Participants included Drs. Patrick Parsons, George Donati, and Christopher Palmer; Ms. Kayla Mehigan; and Dr. Sarah El Din, an APHL Postdoctoral Fellow. University at Albany doctoral students Deanna Luneau and Joseph Teson from Dr. Parsons’ laboratory also attended the meeting.

In January 2026, the Wadsworth Center successfully completed routine federal inspections required under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) across the Biggs Laboratory, Griffin Laboratory, and the David Axelrod Institute (DAI). A team of five CLIA surveyors conducted a comprehensive three-day on-site evaluation of clinical laboratory operations. 

The Wadsworth Center Fellowship Program Committee hosted the Winter Fellow Research Symposium on January 22, 2026, at the David Axelrod Institute (DAI) and the Life Sciences Innovation Building (LSIB) Collaboratory. Eight fellows representing three Divisions—the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of Infectious Diseases, and Division of Genetics—participated in the event. 

Beginning in early November 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), initiated an investigation into a multistate outbreak of infant botulism associated with ByHeart Whole Nutrition powdered infant formula. Early epidemiologic findings demonstrated a strong association between illness and consumption of the product, prompting a voluntary recall.

The Wadsworth Center investigated the deaths of five common loons (Gavia immer) collected from New York State waters for suspected type E botulism, a rare type that is usually associated with birds and aquatic environments. Four of the birds were recovered from Lake Erie in Erie County, and one was collected from Lake Ontario in Oswego County. Liver samples from all five loons, along with gastrointestinal contents (pooled samples from the Lake Erie loons and an individual sample from the Lake Ontario loon), were collected on November 19, 2025.