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Keeping Our Food Supply Safe
Beverly Wood and her team are dedicated to protecting consumers from animal borne illnesses
Early in Beverly Wood’s career, it was not unusual for her lab to receive samples in plastic gloves. A lot has changed in her 25 years with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. These days, Beverly leads the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory team, which tests more than 60,000 samples a year for disease surveillance and diagnosis in food animals. “Watching technology evolve over the past 25 years has been fascinating,” she says.
Over her career in veterinary diagnostics, Beverly has seen considerable changes in the technology available to labs testing for animal-borne illnesses. The Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory uses real-time and traditional PCR for testing. One area of improvement has been the availability of commercially developed reagents. “Homebrew type things are a thing of the past for us because we need to reproduce and do large numbers of samples, “she stated, adding that “what’s commercially available is key to us.”
Beverly views innovation in diagnostics as impactful on not only local consumers, but also the global population. “Embracing new methods allows us to offer better services,” she added, “any chance I have to entertain new ways of doing things, and better ways of doing things, I like being a part of.”
Often, innovation can be challenging within the constraints of regulatory boundaries. Beverly acknowledges the importance of entertaining new approaches within the given framework. This comes with attention to balancing risk and failure. “In the diagnostic lab, minimizing risk and failure is crucial,” she stated.
“Technology won’t fix everything, but it can really help you do more with less,” she continued. “Your budget goes farther; you don’t need as many people. It reduces the potential for human error.”
Looking ahead at what might be expected in diagnostics in the next decade, Beverly highlighted the role of robotics. “I see robotics eliminating manual processes like hand pipetting, and larger-capacity thermal cyclers becoming essential,” she asserted, concluding that the advancements will make processes more efficient. However, she agrees that no matter what technology is introduced in the lab, “there will always be a need for the human element.”
Industry partners pave a smooth path for innovation in the lab by providing access to new technologies that expand a lab’s capabilities. “Any new technology introduced by Thermo Fisher Scientific would be what we would be looking at,” Beverly added.
Beverly credited her mother, one of the early medical technologists, for sparking her fascination with science and laboratory work. “I wanted to be everything,” she revealed, expanding that she was interested in a diverse range of careers, including science, astronaut, and translator.
Outside of the lab, Beverly is passionate about art projects, including painting and jewelry making. She values time with family and friends to rejuvenate herself from the daily stresses of life leading a diagnostic lab.
For a deeper dive into Beverly Wood’s work, check out her interview on the Speaking of Mol Bio podcast series episode airing in May 2024. There we learn more about her career trajectory, how she uses molecular biology to keep North Carolina safe and healthy, and how advancement in lab technology has changed her work over the years.
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