1. International Laboratory Capacity Building (Lab Cap)
American Society for Microbiology
International Laboratory Capacity Building (Lab Cap)
Steven Specter, PhD, Chair of the ASM International Laboratory Capacity Building Committee (Lab Cap)

2. American Society for Microbiology
The oldest & largest life science organization in the world
Membership >42,000 worldwide (30% reside outside the United States)
ASM members represent 26 disciplines of microbiological specialization plus a division for microbiology educators
Publications and journals
Translated books
11 journals covering the spectrum of microbiology
Microbe – the News Magazine of ASM
Meetings and conference
ASM General Meeting
Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy (ICAAC)

3. International Affairs
Ensuring that ASM's products & services effectively serve its international membership & the broader international microbiological community;
Establishing collaborative relationships with international societies & organizations;
Fostering access to microbiological knowledge worldwide;
Developing programs that address issues of global concern.

4. International Affairs
The International Affairs Department is under the following structure:
International Committee
International Membership Committee
International Education Committee
International Laboratory Capacity Building (Lab Cap) Committee

5. International Laboratory Capacity Building (Lab Cap) Program
Capacity Building of Global Clinical Microbiology Laboratories
Cooperative agreement with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – signed in Fall 2005
Technical support to the CDC’s Global AIDS Program (GAP) & U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiatives – activities initiated in Fall 2006
Technical support to the CDC’s Global Disease Detection Program for five sites of the International Emerging Infections Programs (IEIP) – activities to commence Fall 2007

6. American Society for Microbiology – Comparative Advantage
ASM’s main strength is its more than 42,000 members, >5,000 of which are clinical microbiologists. ASM is rapidly able to engage numerous experts as volunteers to provide clinical microbiological technical assistance.
Other key points:
Many ASM clinical microbiologists are nearing retirement and/or have the capacity to travel in their current positions; and
Many ASM clinical microbiologists have spent years developing quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) programs, managing labs, instituting good laboratory practices (GLPs), and training on and designing diagnostic tools/procedures.

7. American Society for Microbiology – Comparative Advantage
Upon requests for technical assistance, ASM sends out calls to its massive membership to quickly mobilize world renown experts.
Examples include:
October 2006 request for TB diagnostic experts – database of 200 qualified individuals compiled in 1 month
August 2007 request for TB lab infrastructure design and renovation experts – current database includes 52 qualified individuals, compiled in 2 weeks

8. PEPFAR-funded Countries Currently Requesting Technical Assistance (TA) from ASM
Botswana – OIs/TB
Cote d’Ivoire - TB
Kenya - OIs
Mozambique – OIs
Namibia – TB
Nigeria – TB/OIs
Zambia – TB/OIs
Zimbabwe - SOPs

9. OI/TB Diagnostic Capacity Building
Botswana
ASM to provide technical support for strengthening clinical laboratory diagnostics for common OIs, as well as to the National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory (NTRL) for TB diagnostics.

10. TB Diagnostic Capacity Building
Côte d’Ivoire
ASM to provide technical assistance to the national TB laboratory network for infrastructure design and renovation of labs to support TB culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST); support for training in Lowenstein-Jensen and liquid (MGIT 960) culture, DST, and identification.

11. OI/TB Diagnostic Capacity Building
Kenya
ASM is working with CDC-Kenya and the Kenyan National Public Health Laboratories (NPHL) to establish a central microbiology laboratory at the NPHL to serve as a reference microbiology laboratory. This will strengthen the organizational structure of the NPHL to establish and offer clinical microbiology services to HIV/AIDS patients countrywide.
Kenya is also interested in expanding their TB culture capacity with the BD MGIT 960 at multiple sites, which ASM may help support.

12. OI Diagnostic Capacity Building
Mozambique
ASM to provide technical assistance to its laboratory system, specifically for the strengthening of diagnostics for common OIs through laboratory infrastructure improvement and training of laboratory personnel.

13. TB Diagnostic Capacity Building
Namibia
Since Fall 2006, ASM is assisting the Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) to:
Renovate central TB lab for efficient and quality testing and establishing a safe work environment
Strengthen TB lab staff at central and peripheral labs
Improve quality of testing for TB smear microscopy, culture, & drug susceptibility testing (DST)

14. OI/TB Diagnostic Capacity Building
Nigeria
ASM to develop a comprehensive QA/QC system for TB; suggest improvements to the AFB Microscopy training curriculum currently used in Nigeria; provide technical expertise on the structural design of new and existing labs for TB culture/DST; and improve training for simple OI diagnostics (emphasis on microscopy).

15. OI/TB Diagnostic Capacity Building
Zambia
Since Fall 2006, ASM has offered support with strengthening basic bacteriology and the implementation of new technologies for AFB microscopy, blood culture, TB culture, and DST.

16. SOP Writing Capacity Building
Zimbabwe
During a 2-week TA mission, ASM assisted CDC-Zimbabwe & ZINQAP to:
Review the National Clinical SOPs for accuracy & content
Develop & include procedural details required by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that were not in the original SOPs
Transcribe SOPs into the ISO format
Develop QC procedures that would meet minimum ISO standards.

17. ASM Lab Cap Successes Large pool of technical experts to select from
ASM membership >42,000
Providing timely advice on laboratory renovations, equipment and supply needs
Detailed lists on lab renovation requirements, equipment and supply needs have enabled countries to better allocate their funds
Mentoring that has enabled visible, immediate results in improving laboratory diagnosis of TB and OIs
Maintenance of relationships with in-country laboratorians
ASM consultants’ expertise has lead to constant requests from in-country laboratorians to have them return and ongoing, even remote relationships have been maintained

18. ASM Lab Cap Successes
Collaborations with key individuals from international agencies such as CDC, WHO, International TB Union, Merieux Foundation, FIND, leading to development of experience-based best practices
Pulling from strong international collaborators to gain information on activities already ongoing in-country and harmonizing our efforts accordingly
Developing and harmonizing international training tools for TB and OIs
Developing specific national strategic plans and scopes of work for each consultant
Shorter term contracts leading to more frequent monitoring and evaluation of deliverables

19. ASM Lab Cap Challenges
Limited comprehension of TB/OIs and the long-term commitment needed to build capacity
Underestimation of the amount of TA needed to implement TB and OI procedures
Limited resources (i.e. training materials, SOPs, etc) available for OI diagnosis in low-income settings
Misunderstanding of technical consultancy vs. implementing partner roles
Inconsistencies in ability to communicate with in-country USG contacts
Lapses in three-way communication between CDC-ATL, CDC-country staff, and CoAg partner

20. Most Successful Operating Environments
Supportive Ministry of Health and National Programs
Good working relationships between National Reference Lab and corresponding National Programs
Collaboration between National AIDS Program and Microbiology-related Programs (i.e. NTP)
TB Expert and/or Microbiologist within USG team
Facilitates proper planning; creates continuity in activities; enables knowledge sharing

21. ASM International Affairs Staff
Lily Schuermann, Director
Lynee Galley, Manager
Mah-Sere Keita Sow, Manager
Todd Peterson, Manager
Alexis Greenan, Coordinator
Jessica McLean, Coordinator
Jennifer Sanwogou, Coordinator

22. American Society for Microbiology
Visit the ASM Website at
American Society for Microbiology
1752 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone
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