Dr. Carlos Saavedra-Matiz and Dr. Denise Kay of the Wadsworth Center’s Newborn Screening Program.
Dr. Carlos Saavedra-Matiz and Dr. Denise Kay of the Wadsworth Center’s Newborn Screening Program participated in the 2026 Newborn Screening Molecular Training Workshop, co-sponsored by the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The workshop was held in Atlanta, Georgia, from June 1-5, 2026.
Dr. Saavedra-Matiz has served as Co-Director of the workshop since 2018, helping lead one of the nation’s premier training programs for molecular testing in newborn screening. Faculty members from newborn screening laboratories across the United States provide lectures and hands-on laboratory instruction designed to strengthen molecular testing capacity nationwide. The workshop equips laboratory professionals who are new to molecular testing and analysis with practical experience and foundational knowledge in areas including the purpose of molecular testing, contemporary molecular methods, assay validation, quality control and quality assurance, data analysis, and result interpretation. Dr. Saavedra-Matiz presented three lectures covering the fundamentals of DNA sequencing, laboratory mathematics, and case studies in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) screening. Dr. Kay delivered a lecture on molecular analysis for cystic fibrosis screening.
The 2026 workshop included 14 trainees representing 14 state newborn screening programs, providing an important opportunity to strengthen national laboratory capacity and promote best practices in molecular newborn screening. The leadership of Wadsworth Center scientists in this nationally recognized training program reflects the Center’s ongoing commitment to advancing newborn screening science and improving the early detection of serious genetic disorders across the United States.