Leadership Profile: Director, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health invites applications and nominations for the position of director of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.
To receive full consideration, please apply by April 13, 2025. Learn how to apply or submit a nomination.
The Opportunity
The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) at the University of Wisconsin is the state’s leading public sector laboratory that serves as an academic center of research, teaching and laboratory science. It is committed to the health of Wisconsin communities and provides expertise and testing for numerous aspects of clinical, environmental and occupational health.
Established in 1903, the WSLH has a strong history of innovation and service to the people of Wisconsin and across the globe. The laboratory specializes in programs involving communicable and chronic disease, genetics, newborn screening, cytology, environmental chemistry and microbiology, radiochemistry, forensic toxicology, industrial hygiene/occupational health, and laboratory proficiency testing. The laboratory also provides preparedness for and analytical support in response to outbreaks and epidemics, and biological and chemical emergencies.
As the state’s premier public health laboratory, WSLH supplies services and lends expertise to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and local health departments. As a full-service reference laboratory, it provides specialized testing for samples from across the state and country, in addition to international customers.
The laboratory has close relationships with UW Health, the integrated academic health system of the University of Wisconsin, and academic departments across the university. Housed in four buildings across the city of Madison, the laboratory is powered by approximately 350 employees.
Since its formation, the state laboratory has had a profound impact on individuals and communities across Wisconsin. In 1928 the lab linked “lingering fever” to the consumption of milk from cows infected with Brucellosis and began to advocate for milk pasteurization, and in 1960 it established the first public health cytogenetics laboratory in the country. Since launching its newborn screening program in 1978, the laboratory has impacted the lives of more than 2.5 million Wisconsin babies. It has also advanced the health of most residents of the state through its work in public health, environmental protection and water quality. In 2023, Wisconsin was named a National Center of Excellence for Wastewater Surveillance. In addition, the laboratory serves as a regional reference center laboratory for several areas of infectious disease.
The director of the WSLH, who reports to the dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health or their designee, will serve as the lead executive of the laboratory and provide strategic, budgetary, and visionary leadership in analytical services, research, teaching and outreach, as well as policy issues impacting public and environmental health in Wisconsin. The director also provides counsel to the secretaries of various state agencies on policy issues in which the laboratory has expertise.
The next director will possess experience in academic, pathology, environmental or public health areas and will have demonstrated leadership of a large laboratory or public or environmental health administration. A successful candidate will be a passionate advocate for public and environmental health and successfully engage with the laboratory’s board, university faculty and staff, state agency personnel, other clinical and public health laboratories, and constituencies such as the general public, media and legislators.
Qualifications and Attributes of Leadership
Five or more years in a senior administrative or leadership position with strong management skills as well as strong leadership in academic, pathology, environmental or public health areas. Candidates must have academic credentials for a faculty appointment on either the tenure or non-tenure track at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in an appropriate academic department, e.g., Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Population Health Sciences, Molecular Biology or Biochemistry.
The candidate will hold a PhD and/or MD or other doctoral degree with experience and expertise in relevant fields such as laboratory science, pathology, environmental or public health, or related field.
Organization Overview
UW–Madison
For me, the Wisconsin Idea is the clear vision for what a public university is and should be. I want to celebrate it as a national and even global model for why public universities matter. It’s my goal to keep our teaching, research, and outreach missions strong, to support our students, and to make the university a more diverse and inclusive place to live, learn, and work.
- Jennifer L. Mnookin, Chancellor
Since 1848, this campus has been a catalyst for the extraordinary. As a public land-grant university and one of the most prolific research institutions in the world, UW–Madison is home to those who are driven by a desire to both explore new worlds and to apply new ideas to real-world problems.
With a total annual budget of over $4 billion, including more than $1.52 billion in annual research expenditures, UW–Madison has been in the top 10 in national research spending every year since 1972. The campus is home to more than 26,000 faculty and staff and 52,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree students. Members of the student body represent all 50 states and 123 countries. The university was ranked the number one public university in Washington Monthly’s 2024 College Guide and Rankings and is ranked 13th among public institutions in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024–25 rankings of best colleges.
The Wisconsin Idea — the principle that the university should improve people’s lives beyond the classroom — has been guiding the efforts of UW–Madison Badgers for more than a century. The university has been dedicated to studying poverty and social inequity for 50 years, is ranked #1 among large schools for producing Peace Corps volunteers and boasts 20 Nobel Prize winners among its faculty and alumni.
School of Medicine and Public Health
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) is recognized as an international, national, and statewide leader in education, research, and service. Founded in 1907, it transformed into the nation’s first School of Medicine and Public Health in 2005 to integrate the principles and power of interwoven medical and public health approaches in all of its missions.
Powered by more than 6,500 employees, including over 3,000 faculty, the school’s engagement spans the entire state of Wisconsin and includes a deep commitment to improvement of the health of the population. This commitment manifests itself in innovative models that serve as paradigms for the rest of the country.
Members of the school rapidly translate discovery into application and continually foster synergies between clinical care, education and research. Consistently ranked among the nation’s top medical schools, SMPH has established high-performance academic programs that are intentionally distributed across the entire spectrum of academic medicine. Its faculty members hold appointments in 27 departments — 17 in the clinical sciences and 10 in the basic sciences. The faculty is composed of some of the nation’s leading researchers, educators and clinicians. This includes several National Medal of Science recipients and National Academy of Science honorees.
The school partners with UW Health, the integrated health system of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, serving more than 800,000 patients each year in the Upper Midwest and beyond with more than 1,800 physicians and 24,000 staff at six main hospitals and more than 90 outpatient sites. The health system’s annual budget is approximately $5.7 billion. UW Health is governed by the UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority Board, and partners with the school to fulfill patient care, research, education and community service missions.
Mission and Values
The school strives to carry out its mission of advancing health and health equity through remarkable service to patients and communities, outstanding education and innovative research. It upholds the values of integrity and accountability, compassion, diversity, equity and inclusivity, and excellence. The school’s Shared Guidelines for Professional Conduct help the SMPH community embody these values in their daily activities.
Fostering a diverse and inclusive community is important both as an end in itself and as a valuable driver of eliminating health disparities. The school strives to be comprised of a diverse, inclusive academic community committed to excellence and equity in health; wellness through teaching and learning, clinical service, and advocacy; and research in all forms of biological science, population health science, and health care.
SMPH is dedicated to creating an inclusive, collaborative, respectful, and welcoming environment in which all faculty, students, and staff will thrive. This effort is referred to as Building Community, and includes a call to action for every SMPH member to examine not only our intent, but our impact — “Every Person. Every Action. Every Time.”
Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene
The Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene (WSLH) is one of the most comprehensive state public health laboratories in the country and its programs impact millions of Wisconsinites. The laboratory’s work spans clinical, environmental and occupational health, and the laboratory actively fosters relationships with academic departments to perform research and provide education.
The WSLH’s operations are led by the director, with support from associate directors and other staff leaders devoted to laboratory and non-laboratory services, fiscal affairs, human resources, information systems, public affairs and administrative support. WSLH scientists collaborate with academic departments across the university and senior WSLH scientific staff hold joint appointments in the School of Medicine and Public Health, the School of Pharmacy and the College of Engineering,
The laboratory has an annual budget of $65 million and approximately 350 employees: 150 in clinical laboratories, 150 in environmental and occupational health divisions and 50 in administrative functions. The laboratory is housed in four buildings across Madison: one on the UW–Madison campus, a larger facility located on Madison’s far east side, limited lab space for environmental and soil testing on the city’s near west side, and rented office space in a state of Wisconsin office building.
Clinical specimens arrive at the laboratory from hospitals, clinics, clinical labs and local health departments throughout Wisconsin and from other states. Environmental samples come from local, state and federal governmental agencies and academic institutions, and occupational health samples are submitted by businesses, industrial hygiene consultants and 46 of the 50 state Occupational Safety and Health Administration Consultation programs. Wisconsin residents can also submit samples for some environmental and occupational health tests, such as private well water tests, asbestos, mold, soil and more.
An incredible record of “firsts” showcases the WSLH’s rich 120-year history. It established the first public health cytogenetics laboratory in the U.S., was the first laboratory in Wisconsin to provide Pap smear screening, and helped Wisconsin become the first state to screen all newborns for severe combined immune deficiency. Unique projects have included air pollution research on Da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” and the Taj Mahal to provide clues behind particulate matter breathed in by humans. The laboratory’s work on infectious diseases has included testing for Ebola and Zika virus and broad leadership on the local and state response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In 2024 the Communicable Disease Division received National Reference Center designation renewals for: Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, National Influenza Reference Center, Antimicrobial Lab Network Regional Lab, Bioinformatics Regional Resource, and Bioinformatics Training Lead.
The Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network — a network of more than 130 hospital and clinic laboratories in Wisconsin coordinated by the WSLH — is considered a national model. The Wisconsin network is a subset of the National Laboratory Response Network, a collaborative, voluntary system of labs across the country equipped to respond quickly to acts of chemical or biological terrorism, emerging infectious diseases and other public health threats and emergencies. State laboratory staff provide training, outreach and proficiency exercises to other labs across Wisconsin so they are best able to serve their patients and communities. The network has been integral to response and surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently H5N1, as well as gastrointestinal pathogens and tuberculosis.
The WSLH is overseen by a governor-appointed board comprising representatives from the university, state and local governmental agencies, private-sector laboratories, occupational health, medical examiners/coroners and the public. The director serves as ex officio board member. The laboratory has a statutory charter and a dedicated line item in the state budget. It is attached to UW–Madison for collaborative and administrative purposes.
The Community
Located on an isthmus between two lakes, Madison is the capital city of the state of Wisconsin. Madison has been voted in the top 100 Best Places to Live in the USA (Liveability, 2023) and the #1 City for Most Successful Women Per Capita (Forbes, 2019). Madison is also:
City for Best Work-Life Balance (SmartAsset, 2022)
Best Cities for STEM Jobs (WalletHub, 2024)
Best State to Practice Medicine (WalletHub, 2022)
Madison’s technology economy is growing rapidly, and the region is home to the headquarters of Epic Systems, Exact Sciences, American Family Insurance, American Girl (Mattel), Sub-Zero, and Lands’ End, as well as many biotech, health care IT and health systems startups.
The city of Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Madison acknowledge that they occupy ancestral Ho-Chunk land. The School of Medicine and Public Health recognizes the health inequities faced by Native communities and pledges to facilitate learning and take action across all of its missions.
Madison is the second largest city in the state, with a city population of approximately 273,000 and regional population of over 1 million. It is the fastest-growing county in the state of Wisconsin. The city is within easy driving range of Chicago and Milwaukee. Madison offers numerous unique neighborhoods and commercial areas including the Capitol Square, State Street, Willy Street, Shorewood Hills, Maple Bluff, and Hilldale. Suburbs and surrounding smaller communities include Sun Prairie, Middleton, McFarland, Verona, Cottage Grove, Waunakee and Fitchburg.
Madison is home to one of the strongest local food scenes in the country with several James Beard Award winners, gastropubs and farm-to-table restaurants. From April to October, the Capitol Square hosts the impressive Dane County Farmers’ Market, the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the country. The city is rich with cultural offerings such as the Overture Center for the Performing Arts, Orpheum Theatre, Concerts on the Square, Jazz at Five, UW–Madison Mead Witter School of Music and Hamel Music Center, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera, Madison Ballet, UW–Madison Chazen Museum of Art, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Wisconsin Historical Museum, and Madison Children’s Museum, among others.
The city has a dedicated athletics fanbase which largely centers around the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Sports venues include Camp Randall Stadium, the Kohl Center, LaBahn Arena, Wisconsin Field House and the Alliant Energy Center. Madison is home to Forward Madison FC, the first professional soccer team in the city, as well as the Madison Mallards, a college wood-bat summer baseball league team. Marquee endurance sports and specialty sporting events include IronMan Wisconsin and IronMan 70.3, Reebok CrossFit Games, Madison Marathon, and many national and international championship competitions.
Application Process
Please send nominations to:
Dustin Deming, MD, and Erik Ranheim, MD, PhD
Co-chairs of the Director, Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene Search Committee
c/o Benjamin Schultz-Burkel, DMA
4299C HSLC, 750 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705-2111
drbenjamin.schultzburkel@wisc.edu
Applications
To apply, please visit the UW–Madison jobs website. Candidates must apply through this portal to be considered as a candidate. Applicants will be asked to upload a CV and personal statement/cover letter.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW–Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin–Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background — people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
Confidentiality
Unless confidentiality is requested in writing, information regarding applicants must be released upon request. Finalists cannot be guaranteed confidentiality. The University of Wisconsin is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.
Deadline
To receive full consideration, please apply by April 13, 2025. The position will remain open and applications may be considered until the position is filled.