Read the press release New York Expands Global Health Leadership by Joining WHO’s International Response Network.

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

As a part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Lead Poisoning Prevention Initiative, the CDC Foundation is building and strengthening laboratory capacity for blood lead level testing, which is critical for early detection and monitoring of lead exposure. Because symptoms of lead poisoning are typically subclinical, most affected individuals are unaware of their exposure. Blood lead level testing is the most reliable way to confirm exposure.

The National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (NITRD) invited the Wadsworth Center Chief of Bacterial Diseases, Dr. Kimberlee Musser, to participate as a distinguished faculty member at the NITRD International Conference on Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (NICON 2026) held February 12-15, 2026 in New Delhi, India.  Dr.

Bacteria are often thought of as simple, solitary organisms, but many species can coordinate their behavior as a group, a process called quorum sensing. When enough bacteria accumulate in one place, they release and detect small chemical signals that trigger collective behaviors, including the production of toxins and other factors that make infections difficult to treat. 

From February 24-26, multiple Wadsworth Center laboratories hosted an Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Fellow from the Colorado State Public Health Lab. The main purpose of the visit was for the fellow to gain experience with the New York State Environmental Laboratory Approval Program’s (ELAP) accredited method for enumerating Legionella in environmental samples using the internationally recognized ISO 11731:2017 standard. 

Scientists at the Wadsworth Center have developed a new online resource to help researchers better understand Mycobacterium abscessus (MABS), an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that can cause difficult-to-treat infections.  Drs. Anil Ojha and Pallavi Ghosh of the Division of Genetics, together with Dr. Pascal Lapierre of the Bioinformatics Core, created the MABS Pangenome Explorer, an interactive, web-based tool designed for rapid exploration of the M. abscessus pangenome (https://abscessus.wadsworth.org/)

On February 28, 2026, communities around the world observed Rare Disease Day, an annual event held on the last day of February to raise awareness and promote advocacy for individuals living with rare diseases. Globally, an estimated 300 million people live with one of more than 10,000 identified rare diseases. In the United States, a disease is considered rare if it affects fewer than 200,000 people. While each condition is uncommon individually, rare diseases collectively affect 1 in 10 Americans, including approximately 1.8 million New Yorkers.

On February 18, 2026, Spectrum News NY1 joined James V. McDonald, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, for a tour of the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences. The visit was part of a feature commemorating the Department’s 125th anniversary. 

On February 10, 2026, the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS) hosted the 2026 United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 State/Territory Laboratory Group Meeting at the Biggs Laboratory facility at Empire State Plaza. The annual meeting convenes environmental laboratory leaders and partners from federal, state, and territorial agencies across EPA Region 2, which spans New York to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Dr. Thomas Bartlett, a new Principal Investigator in the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Genetics, was invited to present his research at the annual Dartmouth College Microbiology & Molecular Pathogenesis Program (M2P2) Retreat, held February 12–13, 2026, in Fairlee, Vermont. The M2P2 retreat convenes scientists from across New England, New York, and eastern Canada to share cutting-edge research in microbiology and infectious disease. In his seminar, “LOST IN TIME AND SPACE: How does Staph aureus decide when and where to divide?” Dr.

Dr. Spencer Bruce, Director of the Bioinformatics Core at Wadsworth, recently presented during the February State Public Health Bioinformatics (StaPH-B) Monthly Call. StaPH-B is a bioinformatics consortium created by subject matter experts affiliated with the Association of Public Health Laboratories. The consortium represents bioinformaticians from across the United States and internationally who are focused on addressing common barriers to bioinformatics implementation in state and public health laboratories.

Scientists in the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Genetics published a study in the journal, mBio, (DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03445-25) identifying an unknown molecular switch that controls how dangerous Vibrio bacteria transition from acting as individual cells to functioning collectively. The study focused on the master regulator of bacterial “group decision-making,” or quorum sensing, in Vibrio vulnificus – a pathogen responsible for severe seafood-associated and wound infections.

The New York State Newborn Screening Program at the Wadsworth Center has been selected to participate in BEACONS (Building Evidence and Collaboration for GenOmics in Nationwide Newborn Screening), a national research study evaluating the use of optional, supplemental newborn genome sequencing within existing public health newborn screening systems. The goal of BEACONS is to assess how genome sequencing can be responsibly, equitably, and sustainably integrated into public health newborn screening programs across the United States.

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. 

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.

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.