National Leader in Virus Genome Sequencing, Minn. Public Health Lab
Whole-genome sequencing is a technology that has proven a game-changer for fighting infectious diseases. Using whole-genome sequencing, scientists can map out an entire genome, i.e., a complete set of genetic material, of a pathogen, i.e., virus or other microorganism that causes disease.
The Minnesota Public Health Laboratory uses whole-genome sequencing primarily to investigate outbreaks and track the spread of and changes in pathogens. The lab can also quickly pivot to devoting the technology to a major public health crisis. n 2020, it and other laboratories across the world used whole-genome sequencing to analyze SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The Minnesota Public Health Laboratory was the first to discover a gamma variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, along with other major achievements. Tracking variants, or new versions of the virus, was key to keeping treatments up-to-date and effective. Thanks in part to this work, a COVID-19 vaccine was developed in less than one year. No previous vaccine had been created in less than 4 years.
After the COVID-19 pandemic receded, the lab has continued tracking SARS-CoV-2 and has also become a premier laboratory in the world for sequencing the genome of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The Sequencing and Bioinformatics unit was created within the lab’s Infectious Disease Laboratory to concentrate on this work.
Taking national and international leadership roles
As the Minnesota Public Health Laboratory’s reputation for the whole-genome sequencing of pathogens has grown, it has taken on a leadership role among American labs. It is the lead of the central region of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Advanced Molecular Detection Program. The central region also includes Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
The Advanced Molecular Detection Program is committed to identifying emerging pathogens, improving vaccines, solving outbreaks, and developing faster tests. As the lead of its central region, the Minnesota Public Health Laboratory trains other state labs in sequencing techniques and helps resolve any individual issues that arise. The CDC also tapped Minnesota’s lab to create national trainings about bioinformatics and tracking the genomes of the flu virus.
As part of another CDC program, Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence (PGCoE), the Minnesota Public Health Laboratory created a university course for the University of Minnesota about whole-genome sequencing and pathogen genomics, the study of the genetic material of dangerous microorganisms. Scientists from the Minnesota Public Health Laboratory are often asked to give lectures at universities abut whole-genome sequencing.
In 2025, the Minnesota Public Health Laboratory was chosen to expand its expertise on a global scale. The Association of Public Health Laboratories maintains a “twinning” program that matches American state public health laboratories with those of other countries. Minnesota’s lab has been paired with the national lab of Jordan, a country in the Middle East. The Minnesota Public Health Laboratory delegation traveled to Amman, Jordan to train their colleagues in laboratory techniques such as preparing samples for whole genome sequencing and bioinformatics, which is the use of computation and data analysis to understand genetic data.
The benefits of the Minnesota Public Health Laboratory’s expertise in whole-genome sequencing are felt across the globe. Not only does its work sequencing the genomes of pathogens help combat infectious diseases that are worldwide threats. It also helps other labs conduct similar work so that the global public health infrastructure can better contend with challenges to public health.
Return to the 2025 Public Health Laboratory Newsroom.