The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems in the United States and globally. We support member laboratories and partners with services, information and advocacy to ensure an effective and robust public health laboratory system that keeps our communities safe.
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Vision: A healthier world through quality laboratory systems.
Our Mission: To shape national and global health outcomes by promoting the value and contributions of public health laboratories and continuously improving public health laboratory systems and practices.
Our Values: Community, Empowerment and Impact, Innovation, and Scientific and Professional Integrity
Strategic MapAPHL is the national association representing state and local laboratories in the United States that serve the public’s health by monitoring and detecting health threats to protect Americans. Our core members are laboratories— public health, environmental, agricultural science, chemical and food safety laboratories—known collectively as “public health laboratories.” Our network includes over 130 member laboratories, 50 corporate partner organizations and 1,600 individuals. Representatives from federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, corporations and interested individuals also participate in the association.
In addition to our work in the United States, we support global health security by developing and strengthening effective national laboratory systems and expanding access to quality diagnostic testing services around the world. We operate offices in 11 countries and support work in many more. With over 70 years of experience managing public health laboratory programs, APHL is internationally recognized as a leader in laboratory science and practice.
We regularly partner with federal agencies, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to develop and execute national public health initiatives. We collaborate with laboratory and public health partners to secure effective monitoring, detection and response to health threats. During public health emergencies, we also function as a coordinating center for public health laboratory responses.
APHL's values guide the work we do every day. We strive to promote our core values within our association and support efforts to uphold these values in our member organizations.
We help our members engage policy makers to build understanding of the important work of public health laboratories. We increase public trust by telling our members’ stories of impact through our publications and media, and we assist our members by helping them to identify diversified funding opportunities.
We support the public health laboratory workforce by providing environments where our members can engage with one another through meetings and conferences. We continue to adapt the scale and scope of our Career Pathways and professional development programs to equip public health laboratory leaders and the emerging public health laboratory workforce with the tools to navigate their professional landscape.
We address gaps in technical methods and data by offering technical assistance and consultation for public health informatics needs and through data services, such as the APHL Informatics Messaging Services (AIMS), a platform that powers secure public health data exchange across all 50 states. We also coordinate with subject matter experts to develop resources for our members—supporting a continually educated workforce and helping to reshape national and global public health systems.
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