The primary objectives of the Office of Research & Technology are to support the Wadsworth Center’s exceptionally large breadth of interests and activities in its pursuit of improving public health.  The office offers a range of services to facilitate collaborations among investigative programs and to increase extramural research funding.

The office provides technical, organizational and administrative support for grant applications by investigators with a special emphasis on multi-investigator and Center-wide efforts.

The Wadsworth Center maintains extensive scientific core facilities in support of its investigators and their collaborators. These facilities provide expertise and access to specialized equipment and services, advise investigators and help them in using the equipment, and train junior researchers in the latest technologies. Each core is headed by a scientist expert in the core’s particular instrumentation and techniques. Some also provide hands-on training for students and postdocs.

Welcome to the website pages of the NYSDOH Wadsworth Center’s Laboratory of Viral Disease (LVD). In the following pages you will find many interesting and helpful resources. While navigating through them, you can explore Virology news, current test menus and ordering information, as well as recent publications and presentations by LVD staff.  Additionally, there are descriptions of the various laboratory sections within the LVD and contact details should you require more information. Thank you for your interest.

The Rabies Laboratory, located at the Wadsworth Center’s Griffin Laboratory in Guilderland, provides New York State with rabies-related laboratory services. Testing performed by the laboratory includes:

• Animal specimen testing
• Human serology testing
• Ante- and post-mortem testing

Additional studies involve:

The Wadsworth Center Parasitology Laboratory is the New York State public health reference laboratory for parasitic infections. Laboratory responsibilities include:

• Clinical diagnosis utilizing various diagnostic methods
• Development of molecular assays for pathogenic parasite detection

Scientists in the Parasitology Laboratory also pursue research questions while collaborating with colleagues both inside the NYSDOH and with outside universities and private laboratories.

The Mycology Laboratory serves as a comprehensive reference facility for all NYSDOH licensed clinical laboratories including: hospitals, academic medical centers, county health departments and commercial laboratories.

The laboratory houses a fungal culture collection repository, an outstanding resource for assay development, distribution and sale.

Around the world, tuberculosis is responsible for over one million deaths per year. The recent emergence of multi- and extensively drug resistant strains (MDR and XDR, respectively) represents a threat to public health worldwide, particularly when associated with HIV. 

The Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory (BVL) focuses on clinical and public health laboratory activities related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV).  The BVL is involved in a wide range of testing, surveillance, and applied research activities. Laboratory services include:

The Wadsworth Center Bacteriology Laboratory serves as the New York State public health reference laboratory for bacterial identification and research. The laboratory is responsible for the identification of bacterial pathogens of public health significance as well as collaboration with New York State and New York City epidemiologists across multiple areas. The laboratory is involved in a wide range of testing, surveillance, and applied research activities. 

Arbovirus is a term used to refer to a group of viruses that are transmitted by arthropod vectors. New York is host to a number of endemic mosquito-borne arboviruses which include West Nile virus introduced in 1999, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, Jamestown Canyon virus, La Crosse virus, Trivittatus virus, South River virus, Potosi virus, Cache Valley virus and Highlands J virus. New York is also home to the tick-borne Powassan and Deer Tick viruses.