CAPHLD HIGHLIGHTS

APHL Annual Conference 2026

APHL 2026 Annual Conference, was held in Baltimore, Maryland, from May 4–7, 2026, marking the organizations 75th anniversary. This milestone year had setting record setting, 1,475 in-person registrant and highlighted the important work of public health laboratories nationwide.

At the conference, APHL recognized several California representatives for their contributions in advancing Public Health Science. Some of the award categories included:

• Gold Standard Award – Awarded to Carol Glaser, Public Health Medical Officer, Center for Laboratory Sciences, California Department of Public Health for significant contribution to the technical advancement of public health laboratory science and practice.

• LEAD Award – Awarded to Jeremy Corrigan, Director, San Diego County Public Health Laboratory for exemplifying leadership, mentorship and longstanding service within the public health laboratory community.

  
  

• Healthiest Laboratory Award – Awarded to Local jurisdictional award winner: Napa-Solano-Yolo-Marin County Public Health Laboratory for its strong commitment to safety, environmental process, policy and employee wellness.

  
  

• Board of Directors Service Award – Awarded to Megan Crumpler, Laboratory Director, Orange County Public Health Laboratory for her service in guiding APHL’s strategic direction and priorities.

  
  

This year many California representatives, contributed and participated in various conference activities such as planning committee members, poster committee members and as subject matter expert speakers for several plenary sessions:

California representatives named in the Preliminary Program:

1. APHL Board of Directors (California)

   • Anthony Tran, DrPH, MPH, D(ABMM), MT(ASCP) — Public Health Institutional State Member; California Department of Public Health. (Role shown; no specific speaking/moderating session listed in the PDF.)

   • Megan Crumpler, PhD, HCLD(ABB) — Past-President; Orange County (CA). (Role shown; no specific speaking/moderating session listed in the PDF.)

2. APHL 2026 Planning Committee (includes California-based members)

   • Anthony Tran, DrPH, MPH, D(ABMM) — California Department of Public Health (Planning Committee member; no session-level speaking/moderating info in the PDF)

   • Godfred L. Masinde, PhD, MBA, HCLD(ABB) — San Francisco Public Health Laboratories (Planning Committee member; no session-level speaking/moderating info in the PDF)

3. Poster Planning Committee (California)

   • Raeann Leal, DrPH, MPH, CPH — San Diego County Public Health Laboratory (Poster Planning Committee; no individual poster titles/speakers in the PDF)

   • Jianwen She, PhD — California Department of Health, Center for Laboratory Sciences (Poster Planning Committee; no individual poster titles/speakers in the PDF)

California speakers participated in several key conference sessions, including:

Key Talks:

• Celebrating 75 years of the Emergence and Importance of Environmental Laboratory Testing (Participating Speaker: Kazukiyo Kumagai, PhD, MPH, MEng, FRSPH, FSHASEJ, Chief, Air Quality Section, Environmental Health Laboratory Branch, Center for Laboratory Sciences, California Department of Public Health).

• Rapid Phenotypic Carbapenemase Activity Detection Using the MBT STAR® Carba Kit*: Implementation, Impact and Lessons from a Public Health Laboratory presented by Bruker Scientific, LLC (Participating Speaker: Paul Temprendola, Supervising Public Health Microbiologist, Public Health Services — Laboratory, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency).

• Enhancing Influenza Surveillance in San Francisco: Validation of Roche’s UC-TIB-FluA-GT Assay (Influenza A virus subtyping) on Roche cobas® 5800 Utility Channel. (Participating Speaker: Lina Castro, PHM, MPH, M(ASCP)cm, TS(ABB), San Francisco Public Health Laboratory)

• Got Raw Milk? Navigating Challenges in Raw Dairy Product Regulation (Participating Speaker: Anthony Tran, DrPH, MPH, D(ABMM), Director, State Public Health Laboratory Deputy Director, Center for Laboratory Sciences, California Department of Public Health).

• Weird Science: Solving Public Health Puzzles (Participating Speaker: Anthony Tran, DrPH, MPH, D(ABMM), Director, State Public Health Laboratory Deputy Director, Center for Laboratory Sciences, CA Department of Public Health).

• Discovering Your Lab’s Unique Value (Moderator: Samantha Hallis, PhD, TS/HCLD(ABB), SM(ASCP)CM, Assistant Laboratory Director, San Diego County Public Health Laboratory

  
  

Annual award winners at the APHL 2026 Annual conference at Baltimore, Maryland

 Overall, the 2026 conference highlighted the depth, expertise and collaborative spirit of California’s public health laboratory community. From award recognitions to scientific talks and committee leadership, California participants played an essential role in shaping this milestone year.

P​resident​

Scott Shone,​ PhD, HCLD(ABB)

Director, North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health​

President-Ele​​ct

​​Sharon Massingale, PhD, HCLD/CC(ABB)

Director, Alabama​ Department of Public Health

Reference: 2026 APHL Annual Award Winners ; APHL 2026 Annual Conference