With headquarters in Tallahassee and three laboratories, with the central laboratory in Jacksonville and the two branch laboratories in Miami and Tampa, the Florida Department of Health’s Public Health Laboratories provides service statewide and provides information to over 20 federal and state agencies, 500 licensed clinical laboratories, and 450 certified environmental laboratories. Florida’s public health laboratories are on the forefront to detect new and emerging pathogens.

Testing Services by Location

Jacksonville Lab

The Bureau of Public Health Laboratories in Jacksonville was established in 1903 and is the central laboratory.

The laboratory is located on the northern side of downtown Jacksonville just off I-95 along the banks of Hogans Creek.

Jacksonville lab

Services Provided

Mycobacteriology Testing
(Clinical Specimens or Isolates)

  • AFB Smear and Culture (Monday – Friday)
  • Nucleic Acid Amplification for TB (real-time PCR), Respiratory Specimens,  (Monday – Friday)
  • AFB Culture for Identification (Referred Isolate)
  • TB Drug Susceptibility (Referred Isolate – performed on M. tuberculosis complex isolates only)

Virology Testing

  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Respiratory virus and norovirus surveillance (real-time PCR)
  • Esoteric for viruses such as measles, mumps, rubella, varicella zoster, MERS coronavirus, and enterovirus D68 (real-time PCR)
  • Arbovirus diseases, including west nile, zika, dengue, chikungunya, eastern equine (real-time PCR and ELISA)
  • Rabies in animal brain tissue (DFA)
  • Tick-borne diseases, including rocky mountain spotted fever and ehrlichia

Serology Testing

  • Gonorrhea and Chlamydia
  • Trichomonas
  • Mycoplasma genitalium
  • Hepatitis
  • Syphilis
  • Rubella

Retrovirology

  • HIV screening tests
  • HIV patient management testing
  • HIV genotyping

Environmental Microbiology Testing

  • Well water
  • Non-potable water

Clinical Microbiology

  • Bacteriology testing
  • Parasitology testing

Molecular Testing

  • Molecular testing for surveillance and drug resistance monitoring

Newborn Screening

  • Provide laboratory testing for over 30 core conditions and over 20 secondary conditions

Chemical Threat Testing

  • One of 10 Level 1 CT laboratories in the nation
  • Capability to perform testing on human specimens for chemical terrorism agents
  • Provide training to providers

Biological Threat Testing

  • Clinical BT sample testing
  • Environmental BT sample testing

Laboratory Management

Susanne Crowe, DrPH, MHA, HCLD (ABB)
Laboratory Director
904-791-1550

Mary Ritchie, PhD, HCLD (ABB)
Assistant Laboratory Director
904-791-1767

Marie-Claire Rowlinson, PhD, D (ABMM)
CLIA Laboratory Director
904-791-1562

Miami Lab

The Bureau of Public Health Laboratories in Miami was established in 1914 and is now located in Miami’s Health District, also known as Civic Center, just southwest of the Miami VA Healthcare System, University of Miami Health System, and Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Miami Lab

Services Provided

Virology Testing

  • Influenza virus surveillance by (real-time PCR)
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Esoteric for influenza and MERS coronavirus (real-time PCR)
  • Arbovirus diseases, including zika, dengue, chikungunya (real-time PCR)
  • Rabies in animal brain tissue (DFA)

Clinical Microbiology Testing

  • Bacteriology
  • Parasitology

Biological Threat Testing

  • Clinical samples
  • Environmental samples

Serology Testing

  • Gonorrhea and Chlamydia
  • Hepatitis
  • Syphilis
  • HIV

Environmental Microbiology Testing

  • Well water
  • Non-potable water

Laboratory Management

Xihui Newman, PhD, HCLD (ABB)
Laboratory Director
305-325-2533

Elesi Quaye BS, FIBMS, RM (NRCM), MCM (ASCP)
Assistant Laboratory Director
305-325-2536

Andrew Cannons, PhD, HCLD (ABB)
CLIA Laboratory Director

Tampa Lab

The Bureau of Public Health Laboratories in Tampa was established in 1910, now located on campus near the southwest corner of the University of South Florida in Northeast Tampa. The laboratory is located a bit southeast of James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children Tampa and a short distance south of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center.

Tampa Lab

Services Provided

Virology Testing

  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Respiratory virus and norovirus surveillance (real-time PCR)
  • Esoteric for viruses such as measles, mumps, varicella zoster, MERS coronavirus, and enterovirus D68 (real-time PCR)
  • Characterization of genomes for adenovirus, enterovirus, hepatitis A virus, influenza virus, norovirus and SARS-CoV-2 by next generation sequencing, and sanger sequencing 
  • Arbovirus diseases, including zika, dengue (real-time PCR and ELISA)
  • Sentinel chicken arbovirus surveillance by HAI, ELISA, and PRNT

Clinical Microbiology Testing

  • Bacteriology
  • Parasitology

Biological Threat Testing

  • Clinical samples
  • Environmental samples

Serology Testing

  • Gonorrhea and Chlamydia
  • Hepatitis
  • Syphilis
  • HIV

Laboratory Management

Lea Heberlein, DrPH, CPH, SM (ASCP)CM, HCLD (ABB)
Laboratory Director
813-233-2277

Marshall Cone, MPH, MT(AAB)
Assistant Laboratory Director
813-233-2290

Andrew Cannons, PhD, HCLD (ABB)
CLIA Laboratory Director