The 2026 PPCDL Workshops will be held during the month of March 2026 and are available to NPDN members, partners, and colleagues. Exact dates will be posted as soon as we receive them.
The workshops are supported by the USDA and the Plant Protection Act 7721 funding, which means diagnosticians can request a scholarship to cover most travel expenses.
The PPCDL Workshops are hosted by the Scientists of the Plant Pathogen Confirmatory Diagnostics Laboratory (PPCDL) in Laurel, Maryland. The instructors and workshop planning team have developed a schedule that offers a wide variety of topics and both in-person and virtual delivery options.
2026 PPCDL workshop tentative timeline:
- Topics needed survey: to be released - 10-10-25; submission deadline - 10-20-25
- Registration: opens - 11-03-25; closes - 11-11-25
- Invitations: begin sending - 12-01-25; responses must be received back within 3 days
- Letter A – go ahead to begin travel planning-begin sending letters 12-18-25
- Letter B – pre-workshop details-sent 3 weeks before each workshop
Course Descriptions and Agendas
Workshop offerings may vary from year to year based on needs. Here are all PPCDL Workshops Catalog. If one of the topics listed is of interest to you, consider including that topic in the annual “Topics Needed Survey”, which will be held in October 2025. This survey gathers current needs to help the planning team members develop the workshop topics offered each year. If you are interested in these workshops, we need to hear your opinions! Look for the Topics Needed Survey when it is posted here and announced through the NPDN listserv in early fall each year.
Registration
Registration for 2026 coming soon.
Travel and reimbursement information
PLANNING
The start of travel planning begins with the receipt of the Letter A. After the workshop participants confirm their workshop invitation, they will receive the Letter A. DO NOT make travel arrangements until you receive the Letter A. Letter A is the signal telling you it is OK to begin your travel planning.
Letter A and Letter B for each workshop will be posted here when ready for instructors and participants.
DO NOT PLAN to leave before the completion of the workshop. If you attend an in-person workshop and hope to return home on the final day, do not book a return flight before 8:00pm, you will need at least 3 hours to comfortably get to the airport. The airports in this area are very busy around the clock, so plan for lengthy ground travel times and long lines at check-in and getting through security.
More details about planning can be found in the PPCDL Guidelines document, a link to the guidelines is in the Workshop policies and guidelines section.
REIMBURSEMENTS
Cornell University will reimburse YOUR HOME INSTITUTION. Participants must follow their home institution’s travel procedures and policies. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR REIMBURSEMENT TO YOUR INSTITUTION FIRST. When a participant submits their travel expense letter to the Cornell coordinators and their institution’s representatives at the same time, corrections often follow. The institution reviewers may find problems with the participants submitting materials that require a change. When this happens, it causes a re-submission and longer processing time to get the reimbursement back to the institution.
To review…the reimbursement MUST go to the institution, NOT directly to the participant. The participants must follow their institution’s rules AND have the letter reviewed by their institution BEFORE submitting it to Cornell for processing.
More details about reimbursements can be found in the PPCDL Guidelines document, a link to the guidelines is in the Workshop policies and guidelines section.
Workshop Policies and Guidelines
The PPCDL Workshop Guidelines were created to provide helpful information and tips for those planning to attend an PPCDL Workshop. The guide provides workshop procedures and guidelines pertaining to registration, how to receive specific workshop details, how to make travel arrangements and how to request travel expense reimbursement. The guide includes the answers to the most frequently asked questions and common occurrences from past workshop seasons.
Each workshop participant should understand their institution’s rules pertaining to travel arrangements and reimbursements. The workshop coordinators cannot override institution rules.
The workshop coordinators hope the information supplied in this document, coupled with the understanding of each participant’s institution procedures, will result in a stress-free planning and reimbursement process. Please read the entire document!
The Workshop Policies document covers both the MFIT and PPCDL Workshops. The policy document provides key rules and guidelines and covers the expectations related to workshop registration, attendance, requirements, and travel expense reimbursement.
If you have questions about this program, contact ppcdl_workshops@npdn.org.
