Meeting an Urgent Public Health Workforce Need: Development of the CDC Laboratory Leadership Service Fellowship Program

Abstract

Laboratory scientists of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health laboratories play a fundamental and increasingly complex role in implementing public health programs while ensuring laboratory safety and quality. In 2014, a series of laboratory safety incidents highlighted the need for improvement in federal and other government laboratories. One component of the CDC's response to these incidents was a new career-entry fellowship program, the Laboratory Leadership Service (LLS). Offering laboratory safety and quality training and leadership development for laboratory scientists, LLS is intended to create a pipeline of future laboratory leaders who prioritize quality and safety as a core part of their laboratory science and practice throughout their careers. LLS incorporates evidence-based practices such as the service-learning model, a competency-based curriculum, ongoing stakeholder engagement, and program evaluation to maximize the program's success. This article describes how the CDC created LLS as a workforce development measure to respond to an urgent public health need—to improve laboratory safety and quality—and presents key factors for success in quickly establishing the program.