Before COVID most of us probably never thought about how the organisms that cause disease inherit their genetic material and how that impacts their ability to be “successful” pathogens.  Drs. Todd Gray and Keith Derbyshire at the Wadsworth Center have been thinking about this for a long time. 

Over 10 people per hour, nearly 300 per day, every day lose their lives to drugs nationwide. 

Some of the work of the cores, such as media preparation, is based on techniques that go back over a hundred years, even to the beginnings of what became the Wadsworth Center. Other Wadsworth Center cores perform high-quality antigen production, sophisticated image analysis and manipulation, and sequencing and bioinformatic analysis that may be completed in hours to days rather than weeks or months, often providing comprehensive assessment of a full bacterial genome.

Only laboratories that hold a New York State clinical laboratory permit are authorized to perform testing on specimens originating from New York. Review of laboratory-developed tests (LDT) begins after the clinical laboratory permit application has been submitted.  Please refer to our Obtain a Permit page. LDT review is not offered as a stand-alone service. 

Established by NIH in 2019, the goal of HHEAR is to promote the characterization of the totality of human environmental exposures called the "exposome". The exposome includes chemical, physical, and biological stressors as well as lifestyle and social environments that affect a person.

Read about Dr. Janet Lynch's journey in the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) article, "Laboratory Call Proves Strong for One Fellow."

Dr. Kirsten St. George, Chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases at Wadsworth Center, 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.

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.

There is national interest in the Laboratory-Developed Test (LDT) review process implemented by the Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program (CLEP) of the New York State Department of Health.  CLEP has been reviewing LDTs since 1991.  Our review process has changed over the years, but our current review policy is described in detail on our website https://www.wadsworth.org/regulatory/clep/clinical-labs/obtain-permit/test-approval. Under the current policy, a committee of sub

At this year’s annual meeting of the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), two Wadsworth Center scientists were honored.   Elizabeth Nazarian, MT (ASCP) received the Silver Award for her contributions including her work to establish the Northeast Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory at Wadsworth Center, her role in developing over 50 laboratory developed tests and authoring 40 papers.

Rana Rahmat, a member of the Public Health Preparedness and Response Team from the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), expected her visit to Wadsworth Center to help her directly observe, better understand, and fully experience the important work happening across all our laboratories.

Department Celebrates the Many Contributions of the Wadsworth Center

The New York State Department of Health announced that as of Monday, October 2, 2023, all samples received by the New York State Newborn Screening Program will be screened for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV). The New York State Newborn Screening Program was recently awarded a contract from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to provisionally add cCMV to its screening panel for a period of one year. The free testing will be conducted during a baby’s routine newborn screening.

Lyme disease presents an ever-increasing burden to the public and the public health system, with an estimated 476,000 cases per year nationwide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In addition, many patients continue to suffer pain, fatigue, and brain fog long after being treated for their initial infection.

Read the New York State Department of Health Press Release.

Read the New York State Department of Health Press Release

The Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory provides pediatric HIV testing to diagnose or exclude HIV infection in infants who are born to people living with HIV.  We are making changes to the Pediatric HIV Testing Service to enhance our ability to detect small amounts of HIV RNA in pediatric samples and improve the efficiency and security of requesting tests and obtaining results.

Wadsworth Center scientists Dr. Kimberlee Musser, Dr. Marie Claire Rowlinson, and Tanya Halse were among the featured highlights from the National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis hosted by the Association of Public Health Laboratories in the latest edition of its quarterly magazine, Lab Matters.

We are excited to announce the New York State Newborn Screening Program was recently awarded a contract from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to provisionally add congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV) to our screening panel.  All babies will be tested for this infection.  Parents will be able to opt-out of the cCMV screen.  This testing will start during summer of 2023 and end in summer 2024 and more information about it can be found here.