ASLM is pleased to announce the themes of the 2023 issues of Lab Culture magazine. Dedicated to bringing timely, informative, inspirational articles relevant to the unique challenges faced by African laboratories, Lab Culture seeks to be Africa’s premiere resource for laboratory professionals and other stakeholders working on or with the continent. See below for details on the issue themes and how to contribute articles and adverts.
Issue 29: Laboratory Quality Management Systems of the 21st Century
June 2023
Quality management systems for medical laboratories continue to evolve alongside the ever-emerging technologies and scientific advances that seek to improve both public health and individual patients’ health. This issue of Lab Culture will focus on the latest developments, challenges and accomplishments in laboratory quality management systems and how they affect medical laboratories and diagnostic services in Africa and other regions. Topics of interest include: perspectives on the new edition of the ISO 15189 standard, country approaches to advance laboratory quality management systems as national programmes, accreditation experiences and the various implications of medical laboratory quality requirements on testing outside of the laboratory, equipment and infrastructure, and workforce, among other cross-cutting areas.
Issue 30: Antimicrobial Resistance and the One Health Concept: Challenge or Opportunity?
October 2023
The ability of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites to evade the effects of medicines used to prevent and treat them – collectively known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – remains one of the World Health Organization’s top 10 threats to public health worldwide. Addressing AMR across human, animal and environmental health, i.e., the One Health concept, is the widely accepted approach, and its implementation in low- and middle-income countries has demonstrated its relevance, as well as its challenges. This issue of Lab Culture will focus on the latest challenges, questions and developments pertaining the role of laboratories in containing AMR according to the One Health approach. We welcome article proposals exploring diverse perspectives from researchers, implementers, health programme managers and others that summarize results, experiences or opinions on AMR containment, with some emphasis on laboratory tools and on how the unique setting of Africa should move forward.
Contributing to Lab Culture
Lab Culture’s audience includes the entire range of laboratory professionals from technicians and managers to directors, clinicians, policymakers, industry experts and other stakeholders. Articles directly reach more than 34 000 contacts around the world, and are shared on all ASLM’s social media channels.
