CDC’s Advanced Molecular Detection (AMD) program strengthens public health laboratories nationwide by integrating laboratory, bioinformatics, and epidemiology technologies and delivering coordinated workforce development and training.
The Central Region AMD Training Leads function as a cohesive team to develop the AMD workforce in Central Region states (Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota) while also collaborating with public health entities in other states to develop skills and deliver training assistance.
Jake Garfin - Minnesota’s Bioinformatic Regional Resource (BRR) Lead acts as a regional consultant. The BRR provides bioinformatic support to labs and health departments within the region on workflow development, data analysis, and coorination with IT departments.
Jessica Jencks - Minnesota’s AMD Training Lead (BTL) provides support to labs in the Central region on pathogen-specific training and cross-cutting AMD training to help staff develop the critical skills necessary to extract, analyze, and interpret sequencing data.
Chris Carter (Kansas) & Dan Evans (Minnesota)- The Central Region’s Genomic Epidemiology Training Co-Leads (GETLs) (A new training lead position - currently in their Pilot Year) Are the workforce development SMEs specializing in Genomic Epidemiology for their defined region, and with a specific focus on Genomic Epidemiology, they develop, implement, and facilitate regional AMD trainings sessions and peer-to-peer trainings.