In-person, Virtual and Hybrid: APHL Invests in Conferences and Events

In 2025, APHL began the process of standing up a new Conferences and Events department, centralizing APHL event activities into one team. This strategic move proved immediately crucial as a series of external factors began causing several APHL events to be rescheduled or cancelled. Through the efforts of the new team, APHL was able to mitigate risk and penalties and continue to hold a variety of valuable conferences and events throughout 2025, including three signature events that exceeded attendance expectations.

ID Lab Con 2025 was the first APHL signature event to be held amidst much uncertainty about participation. APHL forged ahead and in the end, the event gathered more than 420 participants across four days of valuable education, including a busy pre-conference day featuring six pre-conference sessions on topics such as next-generation sequencing, regulatory compliance, biosafety practices, diagnostic approaches to emerging diseases and much more. APHL members relished the invaluable opportunity to come together as many labs faced operational challenges and an uncertain future. Bringing together an audience comprising public health microbiology laboratory professionals, clinical and academic microbiologists, infectious disease epidemiologists, researchers and infection preventionists, as well as over 35 exhibitors and nearly 100 poster presentations, the ID Lab Con 2025 event proved a huge success in only its second occurrence. The next ID Lab Con will be held in 2027 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The APHL Annual Conference again faced some headwinds as many federal employees found they were unable to travel to this important annual event. Nevertheless, the event beat expectations with a final attendance of 1,199 attendees, over 200 poster presentations and over 100 exhibitors in a packed exhibit hall. Starting with an exciting slate of preconference workshops, including in-depth discussions on biosafety in the age of artificial intelligence, One Health partnerships and effective laboratory communication strategies, the conference agenda reflected the ever-evolving role of public health laboratories in protecting communities, from emerging technologies to global health collaboration. Dr. Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, was featured as this year’s Dr. Katherine Kelley Distinguished Lecturer. His insights on the future of public health leadership kicked off a strong program of speakers and topics reflecting the crucial role of public health laboratories. Engaging plenary sessions featured the One Health response to HPAI H5N1, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation sharing a holistic perspective on cultural and environmental health and reflected interdisciplinary collaboration. The “Cycle of Preparedness” session explored explore how laboratories maintain operational resilience amidst natural disasters, pandemics and other crises. From exploring microplastics to strengthening the newborn screening system, the agenda addressed both today’s pressing concerns and tomorrow’s challenges.

The Newborn Screening Symposium gathered more than 550 people to share advancements in newborn screening and genetics and rekindle their passion for this life-saving work. The symposium addressed state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing and policy issues important to public health newborn screening systems. Topics included molecular technologies, current and upcoming conditions, quality improvement, communicating with families and the public, short- and long-term follow-up and more. Featuring over 60 exhibitors and over 120 posters in the busy trade show hall, the event offered a variety of valuable business and educational networking opportunities. The next Newborn Screening Symposium will be held October 10–14, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Overall APHL produced over 80 meetings and events ranging in size from 10 to 1,200 participants, each bringing APHL members together to foster valuable learning and networking opportunities and, perhaps most importantly, delivering an essential chance for connection across a variety of laboratory program areas.