Photo Feature: The year that was

Vol. 10, No. 1

Jan. 2018

Photo Feature: The year that was

The events of 2017 reflect how SHL fulfills its mission to protect and improve “the quality of life by providing reliable environmental and public health information through the collective knowledge and capabilities of our organization.” Here are some highlights of this work from 2017.

Stephany Cochran (right) works with the GERMinators – three sixth grade Student Mentorship recipients — to identify bacterial colonies that have grown in a petri dish.

A member of the Cedar Rapids HazMat response team runs one of several field identification tests to determine the identity of an unknown sample.

Cars containing ethanol lay in Jack Creek after derailing on a trestle. SHL tested the creek water and found that biochemical oxygen demand levels were within the normal range.

The State Hygienic Laboratory confirms a case of rabies in a cat from northern Iowa.

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UI Newborn Screening Follow-up nurse Emily Phillips holds a new manual for health providers that she co-authored with Ashley Comer, SHL newborn screening program coordinator.

Kerri Basten (left), clinical lab analyst, poses with teachers Heather Davidson and Lisa Skilang, who spent their summer at SHL as part of the Teacher Externship Program.

AWARE volunteers prepare to pull wheels and an axle from the river.

Intern Katie Petersen (left) and student employee Emily Adam work together in the Ankeny lab.

A study of newborn blood samples tested at the State Hygienic Laboratory determined that one in five Iowa newborns had high blood lead levels.

An elderly man from central Iowa was the first flu-related death in the state for the 2017-2018 season.

Pam Mollenhauer (right), SHL director of the Office of Public Policy, and her daughter Lindsey listen to a speaker at the Women for Water event.

The 2017-2018 Student Mentorship recipient Isabella Steffensmeier (left) works with Karen Owens, environmental lab specialist, in the Environmental Microbiology lab