Sept. 23: Role of Public Health Laboratories in National Health, Safety are Topics of Minnesota State Mankato’s 36th Leonard Ford Lectures
Mankato, Minn. – James Chithalen, the deputy director of the Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, will deliver two lectures on the role of public health laboratories in national health and safety Wednesday, Sept. 23 in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s 36th Leonard A. Ford lectureship.
Both lectures are free and open to the public.
Chithalen will give a technical talk at 9 a.m. on Sept. 23 titled “The Science Behind the Public Health Laboratory.” Chithalen’s technical talk will be held in Centennial Student Union’s Ostrander Auditorium.
Abstract on Chithalen’s morning technical talk: Public health laboratories (PHLs) are the foundation of local and global health security, bridging the gap between clinical medicine and population-based disease prevention. While healthcare providers focus on individual patient diagnosis and treatment, PHLs analyze biological, environmental and chemical threats at a population level. As PHLs are typically governmental laboratories, they are also tasked with analyzing any “weird” patient samples that arise with low enough frequency that limits commercialization, making PHLs both clinical and surveillance entities. Modern PHLs are moving towards agnostic testing including metagenomic sequencing and high-resolution mass spectrometry to detect the true unknowns that may be lurking.
Chithalen will present a general talk at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 titled “How Can You Make a Difference with Science?” Chithalen’s general talk will also be held in Centennial Student Union’s Ostrander Auditorium.
Abstract on Chithalen’s evening general talk: Public health laboratories help protect communities by turning complex scientific testing into practical actions that improve public health. These laboratories identify diseases, detect environmental hazards, support outbreak investigations and monitor health trends across entire populations. They also provide specialized testing for rare or emerging health threats that many other laboratories cannot perform. The information generated by public health laboratories helps guide health policies, improve safety, prevent the spread of disease and support rapid responses during public health emergencies. Because their work directly protects people and saves lives, public health laboratories play a vital role in the nation’s health and safety.
Excerpt from Chithalen’s online biography: Chithalen joined the Wadsworth Center from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, where he served as the chemistry program manager in the Bureau of Laboratory Services, overseeing the LRN-C, FERN and Biomonitoring Chemistry Units. Before joining the New Hampshire DHHS in 2017, he led programs at the California Department of Public Health for seven years, including as section chief of the Microbiology and Biomonitoring Section, unit supervisor of the LRN-C Level 1 Laboratory, and as a research scientist in the Chemical Agent & Biotoxins Unit. Chithalen earned his doctorate degree in biochemistry from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology at the University of California, Berkeley from 2005-2008.
The Leonard A. Ford Lectureship is sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Geology in Minnesota State Mankato’s College of Science, Engineering & Technology.
For more information, please contact Christine Cords, office manager in the Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Geology, at 507-389-1963, or christine.cords@mnsu.edu.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 15,721 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.
