A Master's degree program to educate public health laboratory professionals

Objectives - Public health laboratories are responsible for providing analytical responses to bioterrorism and infectious disease outbreaks, but there exists a shortage of individuals trained and qualified to perform this work. This master's degree program is designed to produce individuals with an education in the biological sciences and extensive experience in a state public health laboratory.

Methods - The Public Health Laboratory Science program is a collaborative effort between Southern Illinois University and the state health department laboratory. Required course work includes subjects such as genetics and biochemistry. Extensive experience is acquired by working in different laboratory test sections 15-30 hours per week.

Results - The first cohort of students completed the program in May 2007. Acquired skills include: use of BSL-3 laboratory; bioterrorism agent sample analysis; RT-PCR; rabies sample preparation and analysis; GC/Chlamydia analysis; water and dairy analyses for pathogens; parasitology; blood lead analysis by GF-AAS. Students have been FDA certified and CLIA assessed for different methods, and are qualified to take the ASCP Technologist exam for Molecular Pathology. They provide a practical surge capacity for the Springfield lab. Current projects include development and validation of methods for the analysis of bioterrorism agents by Time Resolved Fluorescence, and E. coli 026 analysis by immunoassay and Western blotting.

Conclusions - The PHLS was designed to meet a public health laboratory workforce shortage. It provides a graduate education for the students, sample analysis assistance and increased bioterrorism surge capacity for the laboratory, and an expanded public health venue for the university.