All News

The application period is closed. Check back Spring 2020.   About the Wadsworth Center Fellowship Program The mission of the Wadsworth Center Fellowship Program is to provide scientists with broad experience in laboratory science and research in infectious disease, genetics, environmental health or translational medicine. Fellows will gain broad experience at one of the nation’s premier public health laboratories, renowned for developing and utilizing high complexity testing using advanced technologies and state of the art equipment.

Dr. Derbyshire joins the ranks of distinguished scientists recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 1874 - from Thomas Edison and Linus Pauling, to four of the 2018 Nobel Prize laureates. AAAS recognized Dr. Derbyshire “for distinguished contributions to the fields of molecular biology and microbial genetics, particularly in DNA exchange by transposition and conjugation in mycobacteria.”

Every three years, the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) bestows the Richard M. Taylor Award on an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of arbovirology throughout his or her career. 

Wadsworth Center scientists from the Mycobacteriology and Bacteriology Laboratories, the Bioinformatics and Statistics Core, and the Sequencing Core, supported, developed and validated a test based on whole genome sequencing that provides comprehensive resistance detection for TB. The TB Laboratory started work on a whole genome sequencing resistance test about five years ago. After demonstrating that the test provided rapid, accurate and comprehensive drug prediction, they began using it as the first line of testing on Oct. 1, 2018.

As announced in the Executive Budget Briefing Book

On the heels of receiving the 2017 Diagnostic Virology Award, an international career achievement award, Dr. Kirsten St. George, Chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases, was presented with the Alumni Award from the University of South Australia (UniSA) in Adelaide.

Each year, Wadsworth Center’s Arbovirology Laboratory undertakes the seasonal surveillance of mosquitoes for arboviral pathogens. Surveillance is important for control of vector-borne viruses. First, it tells us which mosquito species are present and where. Different species are capable of transmitting different pathogens, so this is crucial information. Second, it allows us to know exactly which pathogens are being carried by the mosquitoes present. Together, this informs the public, informs mosquito control efforts, and alerts physicians.

This colorful crustacean comes to us as part of a larger research investigation into environmental exposures among the Upstate New York Chinese community. The NIH-funded, home-based study looked at some unique cultural foods, personal care products, and traditional Chinese medications as potential sources of exposure to toxic metals and metalloids.

The stuff we carry around says a lot about us. If I were to dump my purse right now, you'd find a shell from my last trip to the ocean, a garnet from a hike up north and a penny pressed from an amusement park. Bacteria tell us a lot about themselves from the stuff (genes) they carry around as well. Just as you can tell where I've been from the contents of my purse, scientists can tell where bacteria have been from the contents of their genes.

Wadsworth Center's Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Regional Laboratory was chosen by CDC as one of four labs in the AR Lab Network to serve as a pilot site, "printing" with new drugs rather than ink, in order to find the most effective antibiotic.

Magnitude of Disease Impact Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is a group of closely related and very important pathogens, infecting a quarter of the world’s population; New York State ranks 3rd in the nation for highest number of cases, approximately 800 new cases diagnosed per year.

In commemoration of the organization’s twentieth anniversary, the Hunter’s Hope Foundation presented Wadsworth Center’s Dr. Orsini and Duke University School of Medicine’s Dr. Kurtzberg with the Legacy of Hope Award. Co-recipients in the area of science and medicine were recognized for their contributions to newborn screening and the work of the organization during the 2018 Hunter’s Hope Family and Medical Symposium.

Merck's ILÚM Health Solutions Will Invest up to $48 Million and Create up to 115 New Jobs Over Five Years    

We are seeking an outstanding scientist at the Assistant or Associate Professor level to establish a competitive, grant-funded research program. Research areas of specific interest include studies on basic biological processes in bacteria, and mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance. Applicants employing innovative, cutting-edge techniques to these areas are especially encouraged to apply.

Why A just-released CDC report concluded that disease caused by tick, mosquito and flea bites more than tripled in the US between 2004 and 2016, and that 9 new diseases were either discovered or detected here for the first time during that same period.West Nile virus - just one example

Times Union article about Dr. Joachim Frank, Nobel laureate and former Wadsworth Center research scientist.

Wadsworth Center's Virology Laboratory contributes results of influenza type/subtype identification as well as antiviral resistance testing to the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report compiled by the New York State Department of Health. 

2017 marks the first year the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has sponsored fellows in the Antimicrobial Resistance Track.Per the sponsors, “The fellowship’s mission is to introduce scientists to public health laboratory science while building the workforce needed to detect and respond to existing and emerging forms of [antibiotic resistance] AR.”

Dr. Susan Wong, Director of the Diagnostic Immunology Laboratory at the Wadsworth Center, recently traveled with a team from Columbia University’s Global Health Program to serve as a resource for evaluating laboratory testing issues.

Groundbreaking work performed in Albany leads to revolution in science and medicine Dr. Rajendra Agrawal has long expected his former Wadsworth Center colleague Dr. Joachim Frank to win the Nobel Prize. This year, it happened. On October 4th, Dr. Frank was named one of three winners of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Dr. Frank shares the prize with Drs. Richard Henderson of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England and Jacques Dubochet from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.