More than 600 state, county, city, and local public health lab directors, as well as staff from state environmental and agricultural laboratories, will make their way to Rhode Island this weekend to discuss issues, trends, and technologies relative to emerging infectious diseases, environmental health, emergency preparedness, food safety, and more.

Organization: Association of Public Health Laboratories

Conference: 2017 APHL Annual Meeting and 11th Government Environmental Laboratory Conference

Venue: Rhode Island Convention Center

City: Providence, Rhode Island

Following a series of preconference workshops, the APHL Annual Meeting starts on Sunday afternoon with the opening plenary session. A panel composed of professors and state and government researchers will discuss the latest public health efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance. Also on the agenda:

Tour time. On Wednesday afternoon, APHL will offer attendees the chance to tour the Rhode Island State Health Laboratories. Participants will get to see their colleagues’ work in action, ask questions, and hopefully learn a thing or two that they can bring back to their own labs.

Get to Know APHL. At the APHL Experience in the exhibit hall, attendees can either relax in the lounge while recharging their devices—or they can learn more about APHL. The association will be hosting a number of demos and sessions in the space to familiarize attendees with its offerings. For instance, they can hear more about APHL’s Return on Investment Tool or Global Health Program.

Raffle it off. APHL will be hosting an exhibit hall raffle. When attendees visit a tradeshow booth, they can ask booth personnel to sign the box corresponding to their booth number. When all of the boxes are filled, attendees can turn in their raffle cards for a chance to win a prize. Top prizes include airline tickets, gift cards, and registration to next year’s APHL Annual Meeting.

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