FDA is using a secret weapon in tackling foodborne illness outbreaks: Register for FDA’s July 13 Grand Rounds to find out about this new technology

FDA Grand Rounds

The July 13 FDA Grand Rounds webcast: What innovative technology is FDA using to get contaminated food out of the food supply?

Register here for CE Credit

The FDA-established GenomeTrakr: How a Large Network of Sequencing Laboratories is Transforming Food Safety and Public Health

Thursday, July 13, 2017

12:00 p.m. -1:00 p.m. EST

Presented by 

Marc Allard, PhD
Research Microbiologist
FDA's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition 

5 Things You'll Learn From this FDA Scientist:

1. What is whole genome sequencing (WGS) and how does FDA use it?
2. How does WGS improve outbreak investigation and FDA responses?
3. What are the broader uses of WGS for FDA as a whole?
4. Where is the WGS data housed at NCBI NIH?
5. Where are antimicrobial resistance databases kept and how do you query them?

About the Presentation

Foodborne disease outbreaks are responsible for about 48 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths every year in the U.S., according to CDC data. As the world becomes even more interconnected, FDA has recognized the urgency of creating new approaches and better tools to detect food contamination and stop outbreaks in their tracks. 

The FDA-established GenomeTrakr is an innovative response to this global public health challenge that uses a cutting-edge technology called Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).  This presentation will discuss the example of the 2015 Virginia sprout outbreak, where Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) provided the lead.