Table of Contents
2025 Midwest AMD Symposium #
Group photo of attendees, speakers, and organizaers at the 2025 Midwest AMD Symposium in Lansing, MI.
Event Overview #
Pulling back the curtain: exploring the inner workings of genomics workflows in public health
October 21-22, 2025 ~ Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, Bureau of Laboratories ~ Lansing, MI
The Midwest AMD Symposium is an annual, in-person training event for public health bioinformaticians, epidemiologists, laboratorians, administrative personnel, and associated partners and collaborators affiliated with AMD activities across the Midwest public health workforce region. Through a combination of educational presentations, group discussions, case studies, and interactive workshops, participants attend this event to learn about emerging AMD topics, become inspired with ideas to implement in their organizations, and connect with experts and colleagues across the Midwest region and beyond. The 4th-annual Midwest AMD Symposium explored the inner workings of genomics workflows in public health with the theme of “pulling back the curtain”.
Event Organizers
Michigan Department of Health & Human Services
- Heather Blankenship, PhD - Genomics Technical Director
- Arianna Miles-Jay, PhD, MPH - Genomic Analysis Unit Manager
- Macy Pell, PhD - AMD Training Lead & Analyst
Event Participation
Total in attendance = 63
- 15 Speakers from 5 different State health departments
- 48 Trainees from 19 different organizations across the country
Event Programming #
Session 1 - Setting the stage
- Introduction to clinical laboratory regulations
- Exploring different takes on genomics validations
Session 2 - Behind the scenes of bioinformatics
- Overview of bioinformatics and building adaptable pipelines through modularization
- Selecting bioinformatic tools for public health
Session 3 - AMD in the limelight
- Interpreting genetic relatedness through different lenses
- Genomic epidemiology case studies: Hepatitis C virus, Healthcare associated infections, H5N1 Influenza virus
Session 4 - The show must go on
- Diverse perspectives on structuring collaborative AMD programs
- Identifying solutions to common AMD challenges
Event Resources #
Funding Acknowledgement #
This training event was made possible through funding provided under the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases Cooperative Agreement (CK24-0002), Project D: Advanced Molecular Detection to the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by presenters and organizers of this event do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Services, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.