Wadsworth Center is a science-based community committed to protecting and improving the health of New Yorkers through laboratory analysis, investigations and research, as well as laboratory certification and educational programs. Scientists at Wadsworth Center: Study ongoing public health issues, from drug resistance to emerging infections and environmental exposures Investigate basic biological processes that contribute to human health and disease Employ modern methods, such as biomarkers of exposure, and state-of-the-art technologies, among them a resource for visualizing biologically relevant molecules As the state's public health reference laboratory, Wadsworth: Responds to urgent public health threats as they arise, from bioterrorism to SARS to synthetic cannabinoids to Legionella outbreaks Develops advanced methods to detect microbial agents and genetic disorders Measures and analyzes environmental chemicals