Dr. Linda Styer earned a doctoral degree in medical entomology and a masters degree in epidemiology from the University of California, Davis.  In 2003, she joined the Wadsworth Center, first as a post-doctoral scientist in the Arbovirology Laboratory, and then as a Research Scientist in the Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory.  

The Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory serves as the public health reference laboratory for human immunodeficiency (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing in New York State. Dr. Styer’s research interests include the development of new serologic or molecular diagnostic tests for the detection, quantification, or characterization of bloodborne viruses and the evaluation of FDA approved diagnostic tests and diagnostic testing algorithms. During the COVID-19 pandemic response, the laboratory developed a high-throughput microsphere immunoassay to detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in dried blood spot specimens and then further developed the capabilities of this assay and employed it for use in several surveillance studies.