WSLH News
March 01, 2024WSLH Brown Bag Webinar - Scientific Diplomacy in a Global Age

In 2018, the U.S. State Department appointed WSLH Director and UW Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Jamie Schauer as a Science Envoy for Air Quality, highlighting American scientific strategies and […]

February 09, 2024Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellowship Program Video

The University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics, in conjunction with the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH), UW Health and Prevention Genetics, has produced a video highlighting the unique features […]

January 25, 2024WI State Lab of Hygiene - CDC AR Lab Network videos now on YouTube

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought a film crew to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene in March 2023 for a video shoot in the Communicable Disease Division […]

January 25, 2024Mei Baker Appointed to National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Newborn Screening Committee

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has appointed WSLH Newborn Screening Laboratory Director and UW Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Mei Baker to its ad hoc Committee on Newborn […]

January 08, 2024Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2024 Holiday Schedule

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday. The table below lists the […]

December 05, 20232023 Holiday Schedule

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The table below lists the hours […]

November 10, 2023Thanksgiving 2023 Holiday Hours

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene will be closed on Thursday, November 23, 2023 for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our Specimen Receiving departments will observe the following hours of operation for […]

November 02, 2023WISC-TV: Signal in the sewer: How wastewater helps scientists detect early increases in COVID-19, the flu and more

WISC-TV recently ran an in-depth story on wastewater surveillance testing at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene for COVID and other pathogens, as well as the partnership between the WSLH, […]

November 02, 2023UW Pediatrics - Mei Wang Baker continues as a prolific genetic researcher and director of newborn screening

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Pediatrics recently profiled Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Newborn Screening Director and Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Mei Baker. […]

November 02, 2023UW School of Pharmacy - Playing Forensic Toxicology ‘Whack-a-Mole’

Assistant Professor Heather Barkholtz holds a unique joint appointment with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy and the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Forensic Toxicology section. The UW-Madison Pharmacy […]

August 28, 2023Labor Day 2023 Holiday Hours

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations for the Labor Day holiday. As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH […]

August 23, 2023CDC Director Tours the WSLH

CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen toured the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s Agriculture Drive facility on August 16th. The WSLH is the first state public health laboratory Dr. Cohen has […]

August 23, 2023X-ALD Newborn Screening Demonstration Project

The Wisconsin Newborn Screening program will begin a newborn screening for X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) demonstration project on September 20, 2023. Information for Primary Care Providers Information for Parents

August 21, 2023WSLH Publishes 2022-2023 Annual Report

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s 2022-2023 annual report – Transforming Challenges, Finding Solutions – is now available. The report traces the continuum of the WSLH’s COVID-19 pandemic response activities […]

July 26, 2023WSLH Brown Bag webinar: Shifty Characters - Cannabinoids and Opioids

Cannabinoids and opioids are two of the most commonly identified substance classes in Wisconsin’s impaired drivers. That said, these two classes of compounds are having profound impacts on our society, […]

July 13, 2023Wisconsin named National Center of Excellence for wastewater surveillance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has named the Wisconsin Wastewater Surveillance Program a National Center of Excellence for wastewater surveillance within the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS). Wisconsin […]

July 11, 2023Newborn Screening Card Fee Increase Effective 7/11/2023

On Wednesday, July 5, Governor Tony Evers signed the Wisconsin 2023-2025 Biennial Budget (2023 Wisconsin Act 19), which directed the Newborn Screening Card Fee to increase to $195.00 per card. […]

June 19, 20234th of July 2023 Holiday Hours

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations for the July 4th holiday. As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH […]

May 16, 2023SARS-CoV-2 Test Criteria Changing at the WSLH

After more than three years, the world is now in a very different stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency has ended, and the World Health […]

May 10, 2023Wastewater Surveillance at APHL ID Lab Con

Dr. Dagmara Antkiewicz (2nd from right) with the WSLH Wastewater-Based Epidemiology team and WSLH Environmental Toxicology, gave an update on the WSLH’s use of wastewater surveillance for COVID and other […]

May 02, 2023Memorial Day 2023 Holiday Hours

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Memorial Day holiday. The table below lists the hours of operations […]

January 10, 2023APHL Fellow Never Saw Herself Working in a Lab – And Now It’s Where She’s Meant to Be

Lexi Duncan joined the WSLH PFAS research laboratory in February 2021 as one of four inaugural Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Environmental Health Laboratory Fellows. According to APHL, the […]

January 10, 2023Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2023 Holiday Schedule

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday. The table below lists the […]

January 10, 2023Communicable Disease Serology Assay Changes

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023 the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Communicable Disease Division (CDD) will change testing to the new Abbott Alinity i instrument for several serological hepatitis, […]

January 06, 2023Tiny Creatures Tell Huge Environmental Tales

As an undergraduate, Nina Desianti became fascinated with diatoms – microscopic single-celled algae with cells walls constructed of silica that live in aquatic environments. Their shapes, their colors, their sizes, […]

December 19, 2022WSLH Screening Method Named 1 of 6 WARF Innovation Award Nominees

WSLH Newborn Screening Director and UW Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Mei Baker and WSLH Newborn Screening Chemist Dr. Brian Conti were named 1 of 6 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) […]

December 19, 2022Tracking the COVID Virus via Genomic Dashboards

As part of our response to the COVID pandemic, WSLH scientists have been performing genomic sequencing to track how the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the virus that causes COVID) changes over time. […]

December 19, 2022Mei Baker Named Everyday Life Saver in Newborn Screening

WSLH Newborn Screening Director and UW Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Mei Baker received the Everyday Life Saver Award in Newborn Screening at the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) 2022 […]

December 19, 2022UW Soil and Forage Analysis Lab moves to WSLH

By Jori Skalitzky, UW–Madison CALS Office of External Relations The University of Wisconsin–Madison Soil and Forage Analysis Lab, a trusted resource for soil testing services utilized by farmers, gardeners, researchers […]

December 08, 20222022 Holiday Schedule

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The table below lists the hours […]

November 14, 2022Thanksgiving 2022 Holiday Hours

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene will be closed on Thursday, November 24, 2022 for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our Specimen Receiving departments will observe the following hours of operation for […]

August 29, 2022Labor Day 2022 Holiday Hours

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations for the Labor Day holiday. As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH […]

August 23, 2022New Mycoplasma genitalium Test

On Thursday, September 1, 2022 the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) will begin testing for Mycoplasma genitalium using the Aptima Transcription-Mediated Amplification (TMA) assay. This assay uses nucleic acid […]

July 07, 2022Monkeypox Testing Information

Stay up to date with Monkeypox testing information at the WSLH on our Monkeypox-2022 web page.

June 28, 20224th of July 2022 Holiday Hours

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations for the July 4th holiday. As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH […]

May 12, 2022Memorial Day 2022 Holiday Hours

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Memorial Day holiday. The table below lists the hours of operations […]

April 06, 2022WSLH Named a Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Centers of Excellence

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene is one of six wastewater-based epidemiology centers of excellence announced today by Ceres Nanosciences (Ceres). The Centers of Excellence program is supported by an […]

April 04, 2022WSLH Staff Contribute to National Wastewater Surveillance and Outreach Publications

WSLH staff made major contributions to two recently released Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) publications. Senior Scientist Martin Shafer provided a large portion of the content to APHL’s “SARS-CoV-2 […]

March 03, 2022APHL Lab Matters Article a Reminder about Other Pathogens Circulating

WSLH Communicable Disease Division Director Dr. Allen Bateman was interviewed and quoted for the lead Association of Public Health Laboratories Spring 2022 Lab Matters article about balancing SARS-CoV-2 testing with […]

January 26, 2022WSLH CDD and Genetics Featured in UW SMPH Quarterly Magazine

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health publishes the magazine Quarterly. The latest issue has two stories highlighting Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene work in Communicable Disease […]

January 05, 2022Illuminating the Dark: Molecular Networking as a Novel Psychoactive Substance Identification Strategy

Heather Barkholtz, assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy and the WSLH Forensic Toxicology section, was awarded a $270,000+ grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), […]

January 04, 2022Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2022 Holiday Schedule

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday. The table below lists the […]

December 22, 2021WisCon Photo One of UW’s Faves of 2021

The photographers for UW Communications chose their favorite photos of 2021 and Bryce Richter’s photo below of WisCon Consultant Danica Harrier and Program Manager Ernie Stracener made the cut. In […]

December 22, 2021ASBMB Today - Meet Data Scientist Kelsey Florek

WSLH Senior Data Scientist Kelsey Florek sat down for an interview with ASBMB Today, the member magazine of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, to talk about what […]

December 15, 2021Impaired Driving/OWI BLOOD Kit Vendor Change (as of 01/01/2022)

In accordance with Wis. 343.305, the WSLH provides specimen collection kits to law enforcement agencies, hospitals and clinics for the purpose of an OWI investigation. The contract with the current […]

December 01, 20212021 Holiday Schedule

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The table below lists the hours […]

December 01, 2021Pompe disease Emergency Rule

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has added, by emergency rule, screening for Pompe disease to the Wisconsin Newborn Screening Program’s panel of conditions. This rule will go into […]

November 09, 2021Thanksgiving 2021 Holiday Hours

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene will be closed on Thursday, November 25, 2021 for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our Specimen Receiving departments will observe the following hours of operation for […]

October 01, 2021TECL Scientists and UWO Grad Student Collaborate on Horicon Marsh Heavy Metals Research

UW Oshkosh graduate student Sarah Woody spent this past summer looking at heavy metal concentrations in sediment, plant and muskrat tissue at Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. Sarah collaborated with […]

October 01, 2021WSLH, UW and Oregon School District Research Bears Fruit

Since 2015, scientists in the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Communicable Disease Division (CDD) have been collaborating with Dr. Jon Temte, UW professor of family medicine and UW School […]