Alvin Shultz MSPH

Branch Chief, Epidemiology Laboratory Capacity and Informatics, Division of Infectious Disease Readiness and Innovation, CDC

July 31, 2026

1177: How ELC Built the Infrastructure Behind Modern Infectious Disease Response

The Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) program has become one of the nation's most important investments in infectious disease preparedness, strengthening the workforce, laboratory capacity, and data systems that health departments rely on every day. In this bonus, long form episode, ASTHO President and Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani explains how ELC funding helped build a disease-agnostic data platform that gives local health departments real-time s...