DomesticPreparedness met Scott J. Becker, Executive Director, Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL). The APHL executive director discusses the role of public health laboratories in major health emergencies and tells how their disease-testing capabilities can assist both bioterrorist and chemical-incident responses under the multi-tiered Laboratory Response Network (LRN).
DomPrep has divided the 38 minute interview into five segments.
Download full audio interview to your MP3 player.
Listen to Audio Segment One An Overview of APHL’s Strategic Plan
The APHL role as integrator for the nation’s public health laboratories. APHL’s 2006-2009 strategic plan and its emphasis on workforce capabilities.
Duration: 9 Minutes 33 Seconds
Listen to Audio Segment Two The Role of Public Health Labs
How public health laboratories respond to a local public health emergency through disease testing. The APHL linkages with local and national laboratory systems.
Duration: 5 Minutes 43 Seconds
Listen to Audio Segment Three The National Laboratory Training Network (NLTN)
How the NLTN serves state and local public health communities. Specifics on its training program, most notably the preparedness training for bioterrorism events.
Duration: 4 Minutes 31 Seconds
Listen to Audio Segment Four Working With the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
APHL input to development of the DHS Target Capabilities List. The Laboratory Response Network (LRN), comprising clinical “sentinel” labs, “reference” public health labs, and national labs at both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Army Medical Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).
Duration: 5 Minutes 50 Seconds
Listen to Audio Segement Five APHL and Emergency Preparedness
APHL’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Program and its focus on activities that prepare public health laboratories to carry out their rapid-response missions. Bioterrorism preparedness. A focus on the response to the 2001 anthrax attack on the postal system. Chemical terrorism preparedness.
Duration: 12 Minutes 50 Seconds
Scott J. Becker serves as the executive director for the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), a position he has held since 1997. As the Association's chief staff executive, Scott is responsible for the programmatic and fiscal operations of APHL, as well as for policy development and strategy. Under his leadership, APHL has doubled in the number of staff, tripled its programs for members and quadrupled its budget. In 1999 he was recognized as one of the nation's top association executives under 40.Prior to joining APHL, Scott served as the deputy executive director of the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). Earlier in his career, while on sabbatical from ASPH, he spent one year directing a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative in integrating HIV/AIDS into health professions curricula, from the WHO headquarters in Geneva.