This 234,000 gsf, five-story public health laboratory meets Bio-safety Level 2 (BSL-2) and Bio-safety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory requirements and consists of open-bay laboratories, laboratory support areas and administration.  Six scientific laboratory divisions of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene occupy the building, including Newborn Screening, Environmental Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Virology-Immunology, Environmental Microbiology and Public Health (Clinical) Microbiology. 

The Public Health Lab is responsible for providing laboratory testing, consulting and regulatory support of infectious diseases, epidemiology environmental and regulatory public health programs, and enhances participation in the National Laboratory Response Network. 

The state-of-the-art laboratory has cutting-edge technologies and the flexibility incorporate future technologies to meet the changing needs and laboratory science of the future.  This new facility enables lab scientists to efficiently and rapidly identify disease outbreaks and respond to acts of chemical and bio-terrorism.