ASM has joined with other global health organizations to combat infectious diseases in poverty-stricken environments. With special expertise in clinical microbiology, ASM is helping to address a critical bottleneck— namely, laboratory diagnostic services—in several resource-constrained countries where medical needs far exceed local capacities to meet those needs. Among its many practical contributions, ASM is compiling a database of clinical microbiologists who contribute personally and directly to these efforts of building clinical laboratory capacity where it is most needed.