Project Summary for State of Rhode Island PAR-20-105 Laboratory Flexible Funding Model (LFFM) (U19) Application. Discipline A: Microbiology, Track 4: Whole Genome Sequencing Project Summary The purpose of this project is for the Rhode Island State Health Laboratories (RISHL) to assist in nationwide foodborne illness outbreak investigations by sequencing and submitting a variety of isolates obtained from food and environmental samples to the GenomeTrakr network. Currently, the RISHL has the ability to sequence Salmonella, STEC, Listeria, Campylobacter and Shigella sp. and is also working on becoming certified through PulseNet to sequence Vibrio sp.. The RISHL recognizes the importance of capturing the current and evolving genomic diversity of non-clinical pathogens in human and animal food. For this project, RISHL will become an active GenomeTrakr member by entering results, including the metadata, to NCBI-NIH curated national database for enteric pathogen genomes. RISHL will also participate in GenomeTrakr meetings, conference calls, proficiency tests and other activities, as well as provide training and mentorship to other state laboratories, as requested. 1