Laura Filkins, PhD, D(ABMM) is the Director of Microbiology at Children's Health, Dallas, TX. After receiving a doctoral degree at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH in 2015, she completed fellowship training in Medical and Public Health Microbiology through the University of Utah and ARUP Laboratories, Salt Lake City, UT in 2018.  Her research and academic interests focus on the integration of emerging technologies into the clinical setting for pathogen detection and how to guide optimal utilization of these new diagnostic tests.