Wadsworth Center One of Four Laboratories in the Nation Chosen to Pilot Use of a Web Application and Next Generation Sequencing to Fight HCV TransmissionThe CDC estimates that between 2.7 and 3.9 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C. You might be familiar with the TV announcements that say at least half of those born between 1945 and 1965 don’t know they have HCV, but did you know that HCV infections have risen over 150% in teens and young adults in recent years?

An article published recently in EBioMedicine describes a new multiplex serologic assay developed by Wadsworth Center’s Diagnostic Immunology Laboratory Director, Dr. Susan Wong, in collaboration with Dr. Pei-Yong Shi of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). It is anticipated that this test will soon be approved for use on clinical specimens.

How can scientists, who represent approximately 2.5% of the total workforce, communicate effectively with the rest of us? This was the topic of an interactive workshop held recently at the Wadsworth Center. The American Society of Microbiology’s (ASM) Eastern New York Branch sponsored the event for their undergraduate, graduate and post–doctoral trainee chapter. Among those in attendance were students and post-docs from the Wadsworth Center, Albany Medical College, UAlbany, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and West Point Military Academy.

Pushing the Boundaries of Cryo-Electron MicroscopyWe’ve all left a water bottle in the freezer overnight only to find it bulging the next morning. That’s what water does when it freezes. It expands, right?Not always.Did you know, it is possible to freeze water without it expanding?Water expands when it freezes because ice crystals form. Since ice crystals damage cell structure, two freezing methods that don’t result in crystal formation are used in cryo-electron microscopy:

FERN was formed in response to the anthrax attacks that followed 9/11. It was then and is now a network of local, state and federal laboratories which contributes testing capability and capacity, relieving the burden to other agencies that also test food samples. Over time, the mission of FERN has broadened to include food safety and public health emergency and outbreak testing.Because food could be contaminated, intentionally or not, by many types of agents, there are FERN microbiology, chemical, and radiation laboratories. Wadsworth Center is home to all three.

In a November 4 press release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned that Candida auris had been detected for the first time in the US in four states: New York, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey.

Former Arbovirus Laboratory Director and ProMED Co-founder Jack Woodall January 13, 1935 – October 24, 2016 Dr. Woodall lived in many countries and worked in even more throughout his lifetime. What follows is by no means a complete list:

For bacteria, sharing genetic information can be critical to survival. It can also make them fitter, better pathogens, and more able to evade the immune system and resist antibiotics. One way bacteria share their genetic information is by a process called conjugation, in which DNA is transferred from a donor to a recipient strain. Incorporation of the donor genetic information into the recipient chromosome can confer novel functions to the resulting transconjugant cells.

“This is special. This is really special,” says Nellie Dumas, Associate Director of the Bacteriology Laboratory in regard to Wadsworth Center’s Clinical Laboratory Information Management System (CLIMS), an electronic way of tracking sample information from submission to reporting.  Why is CLIMS so special? Is it because of the impressive numbers: approximately 3,100 users outside of Wadsworth Center, 3,000 facilities, 1.8 million specimens and 16 million results to date?