PIP: The laboratory of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) is a new entity within the Laboratory Sciences Division of the ICDDR,B. The objectives of the laboratory are to conduct epidemiologic research in RTIs, including sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), to provide technical support to protocols developed in other scientific divisions of the center, to provide training in diagnostic procedures, and to give diagnostic support to patient care. The RTI laboratory has an extremely important role in the national STD control program. Research priorities are to monitor the susceptibility patterns of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Haemophilus ducreyi, to study the prevalence and etiology of RTIs/STDs among people with high-risk behaviors, and to study the etiology of syndromes such as pelvic inflammatory disease, urethral discharge, and genital ulceration. The laboratory also plans to develop new diagnostic methods and conduct research upon the resistance and virulence mechanisms of STD pathogens.