"Hereditary hemolytic anemia (HHA) is a group of heterogeneous disorders with diverse genetic etiologies. The clinical presentation ranges from mild hemolytic anemia to severe, transfusion-dependent hemolytic anemia with varied complications. In neonates, one of these complications is unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia, which may lead to neurotoxicity. Next generation sequencing (NGS) studies facilitate the identification of these complex multigene disorders."

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, hundreds of serological tests have been developed, including more than 80 tests that received U.S. Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization. These tests represent different formats and have different viral antigen targets. The tests also detect different antibody isotypes and report qualitative or semi-quantitative or quantitative test results. Hundreds of studies have been published using multiple antibody assays, however, it is challenging to compare results or aggregate data since the assays were not calibrated to an international standard.

To address this challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO) generated an International Standard for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. This webinar will provide attendees with an overview of how this standard was developed, how it supports serological assay development, and its role in the pandemic. The calibration of serological assays to a common unitage will improve our understanding of the virus epidemiology, and vaccine and therapeutic efficacies."

"In July 2021 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an update to the sexually transmitted infections Treatment Guidelines including diagnostic considerations for a number of sexually transmitted infections. Come hear what is new and how it may impact your current or future testing. Speakers will address topics such as testing for Mycoplasma genitalium and detection of antimicrobial resistance markers, numerous testing needs for Neisseria gonorrhoeae including test of cure as well as a two-step algorithm for herpes simplex virus testing."

Join us for a lunchtime discussion with Dr. Collen Fitzpatrick as she speaks about the practical aspects of forensic genealogy.

About this event

The New Jersey Association of Forensic Science presents

Date and time:  Wed, December 8, 2021, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM CST

Practical Aspects of Forensic Genetic and Genealogy & What It’s Revealing about the Criminal Justice System

Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, Identifinders International LLC
Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) has evolved from a miracle cure for the common cold case to its recognition as a practical tool that can be used to generate investigative leads in cases that were thought to be unsolvable. Arguably, FGG is now to DNA identification what CODIS was in the 1990s.

In this webinar, Dr. Fitzpatrick will provide insight into the practical implementation of FGG by law enforcement agencies interested in developing their own in-house FGG units. She will also explore what FGG has revealed to us about the criminal justice system in the form of missed opportunities to solve decades-old crimes through CODIS. While FGG does not require an offender to be in an FGG database to be identified, he (or his immediate family member in the case of familial searching) must be present in CODIS to achieve a hit. For this reason, many offenders identified through FGG had fallen through the cracks and continued to offend. To illustrate how effective FGG is compared to conventional CODIS identification, Dr. Fitzpatrick will present the results of a survey taken of 100 cold cases solved through FGG, categorized according to date of the offense and criminal record of the offender.

She will conclude with a discussion of public opinion as a major influence on the continued use of crowd-sourced FGG databases as an integral part of this game-changing investigative tool.

This webinar is kindly sponsored by:

"The speaker will present three infectious diseases cases caused by bacteria not frequently isolated in the clinical microbiology laboratory. Each case presentation will provide the patient history, laboratory testing procedures used in each case, and a review of the bacteria involved in each case."

This webinar is ideal for those purchasing or upgrading a LIMS. Learn the best way of building a business case for your LIMS, and how to get your LIMS project through the approval hoops in your organization and into reality.

Date - Thursday 9th December 2021
Time - 07:00 PDT, 10:00 EDT USA, 15:00 UK, 16:00 Europe

We'll discuss:

• --Why you need to build your case for a LIMS
• --Understanding the LIMS value proposition
• --Building your business case
• --Calculating the return-on-investment
• --Considering the intangible benefits
• --Bringing the team with you
• --Driving the project to completion

Learn the skills to build your business case for a LIMS. Sign up today.

"Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) of clinical samples can be daunting due to the presence of high abundance, uninteresting molecules in the tissues or due to the way that the samples are processed and preserved. For example, the presence of hemoglobin from red blood cells can suppress the signal from other, lower abundance proteins that may be more relevant to the disease being studied.

A second challenge is that most clinical tissue samples are banked as formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue specimens, which present difficulties for the detection and imaging of biomolecules.

In this webinar, we will present new sample preparation strategies for overcoming these issues and producing high quality MSI data."

"Automation systems allow for faster sample processing and remove a major portion of human factor out of the equation. However, human interaction is not completely removed from automated processes. For that reason, sample integrity and user safety are still a concern with high-throughput labs. Knowing what to consider when selecting the appropriate containment will set up a lab for higher success by reducing risks.

During this session, participants will learn about how to select proper containment enclosures for their high-throughput systems. Considerations for liquid handlers, cell sorters, and other instruments will be covered."

"CLSI guideline QMS26, Managing Laboratory Records, is the newest addition to CLSI’s quality management library. Laboratory records provide the ability to trace what was done, by whom, when, the results, and any necessary follow-up. Records also provide the objective evidence of whether or not the laboratory meets applicable regulatory and accreditation requirements. Just as for its counterpart, laboratory documents, a laboratory’s records management approach should also contain the elements of an overall program for managing the records and the process for moving a single record through its life from creation to disposal. This webinar overviews the parts of a paper-based or electronic records management program and explains each activity in the records lifespan process."

"As pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing becomes more familiar for its role in the refinement of treatment(s) to reduce risk of adverse responses and improve efficacy of medications, clinicians, clinical laboratory directors and managers, and pharmacists will have questions about how to work with and scale PGx (and other high-value molecular testing).

One molecular testing laboratory has found success with rapid integration of its software engagement tools for medication therapy management (MTM)—including genotype-guided recommendations for drug selection and dosing—into the EMR of major hospitals.

This webinar, from Dark Daily, brings Jeremy Stuart, PhD, MPH (NRCC), Chief Science Officer and Laboratory Director at Precision Genetics, to describe the development of the software tools that proved essential for the scaling of molecular testing at South Carolina-based Precision Genetics. Stuart will explain how digital integration essential to scaling their COVID-19 testing efforts has positioned the lab to expand operations to deliver effective pharmacogenetic-based guidance to providers in the areas of psychiatry and perioperative medicine."

"During this COCA Call, clinicians will learn critical information about molecular approaches for clinical and public health applications to detect the influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Presenters from the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) will review the most up to date guidance on clinical testing for influenza, including situations when influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are co-circulating in a community or other setting. In addition, presenters will provide in-depth discussion on cycle threshold (Ct) values from SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic assays and their correlation with viral load and infectiousness. Presenters will also discuss SARS-CoV-2 sequencing applications for public health."

"This webinar will provide attendees with the basic understanding of the risk assessment process to minimize laboratory risks. Participants will hear the major components of the risk assessment cycle and apply them to real life scenarios inside and outside the laboratory setting. This webinar will also be recorded and made available for those unable to listen live."

"In the past decade, the development of liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technology has transformed the paradigm of medical laboratory, and it has become one of the essential analysis platforms for specialized testing, ranging from trace level hormone analysis to clinical laboratory-developed metabolomics and proteomics. The flexibility of LC-MS platform allowed laboratories to provide on-demand laboratory developed tests (LDTs) to meet various clinical needs, some of which may not be immediately available from commercial in vitro diagnostic portfolio. However, the use of LDTs also burdened the laboratories with assay validation, maintenance and regulatory compliance. The complexity and potential pit-fall of LC-MS technology also presented significant and unique challenges to laboratory quality and risk management. Implementation of effective internal quality control and quality assurance procedure was not only essential for delivering accurate and precise results to the patients, but also a useful safeguard mechanism against laboratory errors and performance failure. In this presentation, several real-life examples will be used to illustrate how LC-MS parameters were utilized and interpreted to minimize laboratory errors."

"The consequences of unsafe food can be serious. The international food safety management standards developed by ISO member countries help organizations identify and control food safety hazards, at the same time as working together with other management standards, such as ISO 9001. Applicable to all types of producer, ISO 22000 provides a layer of reassurance within the global food supply chain, helping products cross borders and bringing people food that they can trust.

Sara Walton, Food Sector Lead, BSI Knowledge Solutions and Amanda McCarthy, Chair of the UK committee for food safety quality, will explain the role of some key standards in ensuring food safety and quality in the supply chain. Amanda will talk about the important international food safety standard, ISO 22000, and its series of supporting standards covering diverse areas of the food chain (manufacturing, packaging, transport and storage, traceability in the food and feed chain) and Sara will introduce some associated standards useful in today’s supply chain, including the new cold chain logistics standard, ISO 23412:2020 which deals with indirect, temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services, and standards which could be useful in sustainability, social responsibility and performance."

"Heavy metals have been identified as causing a wide range of environmental and human health effects including toxicity, neurotoxicity, and genotoxicity that may lead to cancer. There are many exposure pathways, including digestion, dermal absorption, and inhalation. Heavy metals bio-accumulate, and effects may manifest over time, so identifying and minimizing lifetime exposure is key to reducing health impacts. One exposure pathway is inhalation, so this webinar focuses on heavy metals in ambient air and emissions sources.

Sources for inhalation of heavy metals are generally associated with particulate matter from industrial emissions—either manufacturing, processing, or point-of-use of products containing heavy metals. They are found during remediation and/or re-development of sites where heavy metals have been used, stored, or disposed. Exposure may come from both dust and aerosols created during on-site cleanup activities."

THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON QUALITY AND COMPLIANCE

Why Attend?

"Annoyed by uncomfortable handling in the lab? Workflows in today’s laboratories are becoming ever more condensed, and the strain of laboratory work is constantly increasing – making the ergonomics of laboratory devices and the entire work environment more and more important. Ergonomic aspects are becoming higher priority: Personal health status or corporate sickness levels of employees due to back bone trouble or hand wrist load – everyone tries to reduce the stress.

Ergonomics goes far beyond the "ergonomically designed chair". At the beginning of the 1970s, Eppendorf began optimizing the ergonomics of its laboratory equipment. In 2003, we launched the PhysioCare Concept, which was focused on liquid handling devices such as our pipettes. Today, the PhysioCare Concept -implemented in all Eppendorf products- supports the well-being of our users."

"Join this session to learn:

* Key findings from IDC Healthcare Insights, including recommendations for a new approach to digital transformation for healthcare’s “next normal”
* The key ingredients to facilitate the shift to a multi-service cloud virtualization and edge compute infrastructure.
* How to reduce risk and complexity in migrating from a rigid hardware-centric environment to an agile, software-based, disaggregated environment through the INFRAM maturity model
* How the INFRAM model and the right partner can help develop a detailed, strategic technology plan defines the current technology state, desired future state and the IT infrastructure roadmap to achieve clinical and operational objectives"

"Event Session Objectives

* Recognize the benefits of automated sample preparation in a busy clinical flow cytometry lab.
* Identify key validation steps needed to implement an automated sample preparation system in the clinical setting.
* Examine the clinical utility of automated sample preparation through case study discussion."