How Infectious Disease Outbreaks Have Shaped the DC Public Health Laboratory

Katherine Morris has worked with the Public Health Laboratory in Washington, D.C. in several capacities for over 4 years. With a background in Epidemiology, Katherine began working with the DC Public Health Laboratory in 2016, amidst the Zika virus outbreak.  Over the years, she has helped to increase the laboratory’s capacity to handle surges, including working to streamline laboratory processes, assisting in emergency response outreach and training, and increasing communication and laboratory data exchange between local hospitals, clinics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  As with many other state and local public health laboratories, the DC Public Health Laboratory was put to the ultimate test last year when the WHO declared a global emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Katherine worked tirelessly with the team at the Public Health Laboratory to ensure the laboratory could keep up with the sudden demand for fast, efficient, and accurate testing by implementing electronic test ordering and reporting (ETOR) through the use of web portals.

Topics from the Bench is a series of talks provided by HORIZON to our laboratory client base. The talks are given by various consultants and experts within the industries which use the HORIZON LIMS. These talks are also posted to HORIZON’s YouTube page.