Although Manasi Passi-Simhan’s freshman year at UW-Madison may have been mostly virtual in the classroom, her participation in the Undergraduate Research Scholars (URS) program provided in-person learning at the WSLH Trace Elements Clean Lab and a promising start to a long research career.

According to UW-Madison, “URS is dedicated to enhancing the academic experience of UW-Madison students by providing first- and second-year undergraduates, and transfer students in their first year at UW with opportunities to earn credit for participating in research and creative practice with UW-Madison faculty and staff.”

Manasi (right) was paired with WSLH Assistant Scientist Sean Scott, PhD, (left) to conduct lead isotope research on dried blood spots. This summer Manasi and Sean continue their collaboration as she participates in the UW Honors Summer Sophomore Apprenticeships program and they look at the history of metals deposition in ponds in the UW Arboretum.

Sean was awarded a URS Exceptional Mentorship Award for their work. According to URS Director Hannah Bailey, “The relationship between URS Mentors and their URS Scholars is unique on our campus. This high-impact mentorship practice provides early undergraduates with valuable skills that help them pursue scholarship at the next level.”

We asked Manasi to tell us about her experience over the past year and her plans for the future.

 

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself –

I am a rising sophomore at UW-Madison, majoring in Biology and Environmental Studies with a focus in evolutionary and population biology. I am from Milwaukee, WI, and some of my interests include swimming, documentary/film-making, astronomy, and hiking.

What interested you about participating in the Undergraduate Research Scholars program?

I was looking for a way to gain some research experience in a university setting and felt like URS did a good job of bridging that gap between high school and university for new students. Additionally, URS appeals to a large range of majors, from the humanities to STEM, which I found to be really exciting.

How were you matched with Sean as a mentor? 

As a URS scholar, we are asked to list our top 5 research topics from a master list. We are then paired with one or two of our five choices for an interview. Luckily, I was paired with my top research choices, which was how I got the chance to join Sean in the WSLH lab.

Tell us a bit about the research you did this past year at the WSLH and also the research project you are working on this summer?

Over the past school year, I worked on developing a methodology to measure blood spots for Pb (lead) isotope ratios to come up with a more effective way of tracing Pb poisoning. The data was collected through the use of a multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer and provided us with the conclusion that blood spots could be used to measure isotopic ratios fairly accurately with little interference. With further testing and peer review, the use of blood spots to trace Pb poisoning could become a strong candidate for state health departments in the future.

This summer, I chose to focus my research on the Pb analysis of two ponds in the UW Arboretum. My project looks at the accumulation of metals in sediment caused by storm water runoff. By sampling differing layers of the core samples, we can effectively create a historical timeline of the ponds based on the changing Pb sources.

What did you like most and least about the research project? 

I find the hands on experience paired with the one-on-one nature of the research to be really fun. It’s nice to have a mentor that is so enthusiastic about their field of research as it makes it even more interesting.

One drawback of the research project is the amount of time it takes to process the samples prior to measuring and analyzing – definitely a lot of pipetting!

How did the pandemic affect your research project – or did it not affect it? What was it like being a freshman in college during the pandemic?

Having started university in the middle of a pandemic, Zoom meetings and emails (opposed to face to face discussions) became a daily occurrence. Thankfully, I was one of the lucky few who was able to work in-person every month which made the research far more interactive.

What are your plans for the future? How do you think participating in the URS program will help you accomplish these goals?

I plan on completing my degree and hopefully continuing my research with my mentor as well. I am thankful to have gotten the chance to start the research experience so early in my career as I feel like I have a much better understanding of what research really is on a university level; I hope to be able to incorporate all I have learned into my profession one day as well.

 

WSLH Communicable Disease Division scientists developed a quantitative RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 as part of a CDC-led study looking at the effectiveness in real-world conditions of the mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The results of the study were published in the June 30th New England Journal of Medicine.

The study, which ran from December 14, 2020 to April 10, 2021, involved 3,975 health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers from Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas and Utah. Study participants submitted nasal swab specimens on a weekly basis that were tested at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute (qualitative RT-PCR testing) and the WSLH (quantitative RT-PCR testing to measure viral load, which is the amount of virus in the body).

Out of the 3,975 study participants, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 204 participants – 5 of whom were fully vaccinated, 11 partially vaccinated and 156 unvaccinated. The adjusted vaccine effectiveness was 91% with full vaccination and 81% with partial vaccination.

“This research shows the real-world effectiveness of the vaccines, not just effectiveness in a controlled clinical study,” said WSLH Communicable Disease Division Director Dr. Al Bateman. “The research also showed that for the small number of vaccinated people who become infected, they are still somewhat protected as they have lower viral loads, are less sick, and are sick for a shorter duration of time.”

Based on the WSLH’s long-standing experience and relationship with CDC on influenza testing and surveillance, CDC asked Bateman and WSLH Virology Team Lead Erik Reisdorf to develop a quantitative RT-PCR test method that could measure viral loads for this project. The WSLH testing was performed by Microbiologists Erika Hanson and Kyley Guenther.

“This research also builds on our years-long collaboration with Marshfield Clinic Research Institute,” Bateman said. “To have a major national study utilize two Wisconsin laboratories says a lot about the scientific expertise we have in our state.”

Heather Barkholtz, PhD, joined the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy in a joint faculty position. Dr. Barkholtz will be an assistant professor in the UW School of Pharmacy’s Pharmaceutical Sciences Division working with the WSLH Forensic Toxicology section.

Her position will enhance collaboration between the WSLH and the School of Pharmacy to advance innovation in opioid and drug abuse surveillance and foster translational research, teaching, and outreach that support public health surveillance and testing.

Learn more about Dr. Barkholtz and her goals for her new position

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations for the weekend of July 4th. The WSLH will be closed on Monday, July 5th, in observance of the holiday.

As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH Emergency Pager at 608-263-3280.

 

If you recently received a letter from the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Chemical Emergency Response Unit asking you to take a survey about our brodifacoum testing services, please follow this link to the survey — https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_513rPVMWAeMsFUN

The survey will close on July 31, 2021. Thank you.

Peter Shult, emeritus director of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Communicable Disease Division, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) in a May 19^th virtual ceremony.

The APHL Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals with a history of distinguished service to APHL and who made significant contributions to the advancement of public health laboratory science and/or practice and exhibited leadership in the field of public health and/or influenced public health policy on a national or global level.

“I am deeply honored and appreciative of this award,” Shult said. “However, in my mind, I share this recognition with many individuals, including my Directors (3 in total) over the years who unfailingly mentored, enabled and supported my efforts, my WSLH staff and colleagues who made everything happen and my many collaborators at APHL, CDC and UW-Madison who shared a common vision. This award is all of ours and I thank you all.”

Shult, who retired in early 2021, dedicated his 32 year career to serving the public’s health, public health laboratories and the public health system. A national leader in infectious disease laboratory surveillance, Shult helped lead the APHL/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborative Influenza Surveillance Workgroup, which was responsible for developing a novel approach to strengthen influenza surveillance in the United States.

In the mid-1990s, he developed the innovative Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network (WCLN), one of the first laboratory-based surveillance networks in the United States that serves as a model for public health laboratories across the country.

The true value of the WCLN was demonstrated in the coordinated response of the laboratory network to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the pandemic’s first months, the 130+ WCLN laboratories looked to the WSLH for information and guidance and supported SARS-CoV-2 testing at the WSLH.  As commercial tests received FDA Emergency Use Authorization, the WSLH supported the clinical laboratories in bringing on testing by providing guidance and validation panels. This allowed for more rapid testing closer to the patient and quickly increased testing capacity within the state.

Shult has also contributed significantly to the library of public health knowledge. During his career he has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer reviewed journal articles. Since 1998, he has been a clinical professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, teaching courses on emerging infectious diseases as well as vaccines in a global society. Many of his students have gone on to careers in the field of public health.

APHL says this award “… is not a retirement award, but a true Lifetime Achievement Award.” Shult’s true lifetime impact is best summed up by his nominators –

“His passion, dedication and commitment to the field of public health have made a lasting impact on the lives of those who know him or work with him, but also countless others he has never met. This truly defines the achievement of one who has given his all for others, not for himself, but for humanity; for the public’s health.”

More about Shult’s accomplishments and his Lifetime Achievement Award

More about all of APHL’s 2021 award winners

 

 

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 for our Clinical Specimen Receiving departments. We will have staffing to accept clinical specimens at both our 2601 Agriculture Drive and our 465 Henry Mall facilities on Saturday, May 29th.

As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH Emergency Pager at 608-263-3280.

 

Alana Sterkel, PhD, D(ABMM), SM(ASCP)^CM has been promoted to Associate Director of the WSLH Communicable Disease Division (CDD) and appointed Assistant Professor (CHS) in the University of Wisconsin Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Sterkel has served as a Co-Assistant Director for CDD since 2017.

Dr. Sterkel received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her doctoral research focused on subversion of innate immunity by Blastomyces dermatitidis. Following completion of her PhD, Dr. Sterkel was awarded the Clinical Microbiology Fellowship through the UW Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine with a research focus on clinical infections.

After joining the WSLH, Dr. Sterkel has continued her research, which focuses on host-pathogen interactions and investigating clinical data to answer public heath related research questions. An active project in her lab is to investigate the impact of pollution on the immune response to respiratory infections.

In addition, she teaches courses at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and developed an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited training rotation for UW infectious disease fellows and pathology residents. Dr. Sterkel also presents scientific talks on the local, regional, state, and national levels, and has published more than 20 peer-reviewed publications.

She is a Diplomat of the American Board of Medical Microbiology and serves as a peer-reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine, and the Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease Journal.

The WisCon Onsite Safety and Health Consultation program at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene helps 300+ small businesses a year provide safe and healthy workplaces for their employees and meet federal OSHA requirements – all for free.

During the pandemic, WisCon expanded its consulting and training services to also include a focus on COVID-19 prevention and control. They also are providing COVID-19 Respiratory Protection Program Administrator Training to support the thousands of skilled nursing and residential care facilities in the state.

Learn more about how WisCon helps small businesses and their employees

In early March 2020, the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene was one of only two labs in Wisconsin providing SARS-CoV-2 testing.

But drawing on its decades-long tradition of working closely with clinical labs in the state, the WSLH and the 100+ members of the Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network were able to dramatically expand testing capacity.

Learn more about the history of the WSLH-WCLN partnership and how vital it is to the health of the people of Wisconsin.