Everything you need for Lab Week 2016

Lab Week is right around the corner! April 24-30 we will join several other laboratory associations to celebrate the vital contributions laboratory professionals make to protect public health and safety. APHL will be particularly focused on the laboratory professionals who make up our community – the dedicated individuals working at local, state, environmental and agricultural laboratories which comprise the public health laboratory system.

Follow APHL on Twitter and Facebook for our special Lab Week content! And make sure you are subscribed to our blog so you don’t miss any posts!

While we celebrate you, we also use Lab Week to increase awareness and demonstrate the importance of public health laboratories in our communities. We also encourage you to do the same! Here are some resources to help launch your own Lab Week celebration.

Social Media

Join the conversation using #LabWeek on any social network that uses hashtags (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) 

Sample tweets:

• It’s #LabWeek! What better time to hug a laboratory scientist? http://bit.ly/LabWeek
• Detection. Response. Repeat. #LabWeek http://bit.ly/LabWeek
• Emerging infectious disease making its way around the world? There’s a lab for that. #LabWeek http://bit.ly/LabWeek
• Suspicious white powder sent to government offices? There’s a lab for that. #LabWeek http://bit.ly/LabWeek
• Worried about contaminants in your air, water or soil? There’s a lab for that. #LabWeek http://bit.ly/LabWeek
• Just an upset tummy or one case of many in a foodborne outbreak? There’s a lab for that. #LabWeek http://bit.ly/LabWeek

Graphics for web and social media are below.

Proclamations

Encourage your mayor and/or governor to officially declare April 24-30, 2016 as Lab Week. Here are some sample proclamations to send to their offices:

• Sample Mayor’s Proclamation — Lab Week 2016
• Sample Governor’s Proclamation — Lab Week 2016

Graphics

• There’s a Lab for That – Lab Week (sized for Twitter)
• There’s a Lab for That – Lab Week (sized for Facebook)
• There’s a Lab for That (square)
• Medical Laboratory Professionals Week official (color)
• Medical Laboratory Professionals Week official (B&W)

What exactly do public health laboratories do? Share these stories that highlight their work:

• Virginia: PFGE and whole genome sequencing show Salmonella outbreak who’s boss
• Addition of lysosomal storage disorders to newborn screening panels is complex and highly emotional
• Responding to the Animas River disaster: Who’s testing what?
• Small but mighty Zimbabwe lab team meets challenges in reaching HIV testing goals
• When you have the flu, it isn’t just about you

Encourage others to consider laboratory careers! Share these stories:

• Lab sciences grad program brought me from the yogurt factory to public health
• Moving from academia to public health: Did I make the right choice?
• From The Lorax to the Laboratory

Celebration ideas:

• Celebrate Lab Week internally with a social event, banners or other decorations.
• Open house for media, elected officials, school groups, staff families and other members of the public
• Career day for local middle and high school students interested in STEM disciplines
• Write an op-ed piece for local newspapers and/or magazines to highlight the valuable contributions your public health laboratory staff are making in your community, city and/or state.
• Are you the lab director or section manager? Think of fun and meaningful ways to thank your staff for their dedication to public health.

National Environmental Laboratory Professionals Week (NELPW) toolkit

APHL Trainings
Get your team together during Lab Week for this webinar: Emerging and Resurging Infectious Diseases: 2016 happening April 26, 2016.