Happy Medical Laboratory Professionals Week! | Meet the Candidates for ASCLS National Office | Register for 2026 LabJAM by April 28 and Save | Free Webinar: Sickle Cell Anemia – Blood Product Allocation and Future Therapies | CLEC 2026 On Demand | and More
Happy Medical Laboratory Professionals Week!
April 19-25, 2026
Whether you plan to participate in the sold out ASCLS Lab Week Run virtual 5K, enjoy some lab-themed games or activities, or share in a potluck, we hope you have a fun week ahead. And most importantly, we hope you feel appreciated for your important role in healthcare.
Special thanks go to members of the ASCLS Marketing and Communications Committee for creating games and resources to celebrate this year:
- Download your Lab Week BINGO cards and other games this weekend, so you can play all week.
- Get the new edition of The Lab Cooks cookbook with 13 brand new recipes you can try out for Lab Week potluck celebrations.
- Follow ASCLS on Instagram to see members of the Developing Professionals Forum take it over on Monday.
- Sign up to attend the free Work-on-it Wednesday Workshop, Strengthening Your Professional Presence through Video and Social Media on April 22 at 7 pm ET.
- Color your own Lab Week logo, find images to share on social media, and more on the Medical Laboratory Professionals Week page.
Share pictures of your creations and celebrations on social media and tag #IamASCLS.
Additional appreciation goes to our 2026 Lab Week Run Platinum Sponsors BD, COLA, and SEKISUI Diagnostics. All proceeds go to scholarships that help Ascending and Developing Professionals attend ASCLS meetings, advocate for the profession, and become future leaders in the field.
ASCLS extends a warm and heart-felt thank you to all medical laboratory professionals next week and every week of the year.
Meet the Candidates for ASCLS National Office
The ASCLS Nominations Committee is pleased to present the candidates for office in the 2026-27 Society year. Candidates selected by ASCLS members will take office during the 2026 ASCLS, AGT & SAFMLS Joint Annual Meeting. Members will elect one president-elect; three 3-year term directors; one 5-year term member for the Judicial Committee; and three 2-year term members for the Nominations Committee.
In an effort to create more touch points between the candidates running for national positions and the members electing them to those positions, the ASCLS Nominations Committee has scheduled virtual Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions in April and May to provide an opportunity for members to ask questions of the candidates running for national positions.
The events are all free to members, but registration is required. Members will submit a question with their registration to ask the candidates for the Ask Me Anything events. The moderators will make efforts to ask the candidates as many questions as time allows.
Meet Your President-Elect Candidates
Sunday, April 19, 2 pm ET
Panelists: Demetra “Toula” Castillo and Edward J. Peterson, Jr.
RSVP
Meet Your Director Candidates
Sunday, April 26, 2 pm ET
Panelists: Dani Stroughton Duncan, Nicholas M. Moore, Leah L. Narans, and Heather Santaniello
RSVP
Meet Your Nominations and Judicial Committee Candidates
Saturday, May 2, 2 pm ET
Panelists: Hassan Aziz, Karen Beck, Emilia Marrero-Greene, and Samanta Peterson
RSVP
Recordings will be available after each event for those who can’t attend live.
Be Election Ready
Changes to the ASCLS Elections Procedure and How to Prepare
Last June, the ASCLS House of Delegates approved opening voting to all eligible members of ASCLS (Professional, Ascending Professional, Developing Professional, and Emeritus) for national officers, Board of Directors, and elective committees. Previously only the House of Delegates members voted in national elections. Download the How to Be Election Ready flyer to review, share, and get ready to use your vote in electing the future leadership of ASCLS.
- How to Vote: All eligible members will receive a link to vote electronically by email and text (if a mobile phone number is provided in your member profile).
- When to Vote: Voting will open on Wednesday, May 13, at 11 am Eastern and will close on Wednesday, May 20, at 11 am Eastern.
- Review Your Contact Information: Members are responsible for making sure your contact information is accurate in your member profile, especially your email and mobile phone, if you prefer to receive text message. Review your profile (login required).
Meet the Candidates for Developing Professionals Forum (DPF) and Ascending Professionals Forum (APF) Officers
Developing Professional members will also elect the next DPF chair, vice chair, and secretary. Ascending Professional members will also elect the next APF vice chair and secretary. All eligible members will receive a link to vote electronically by email and text (if a mobile phone number is provided in your member profile).
Register for 2026 LabJAM by April 28 and Save
June 28-July 2 | St. Louis or Virtual
The 2026 ASCLS, AGT & SAFMLS Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) offers a broad educational program that brings together the scientific knowledge from three medical laboratory organizations and deep expertise in leadership.
The educational program will provide you nearly 50 hours of P.A.C.E.®-approved continuing education.
Scientific sessions span Chemistry/Urinalysis to Microbiology/Public Health, Hematology/Hemostasis to Molecular and Biochemical Genetics, Generalist/Interdisciplinary to Laboratory Administration Management, and much more.
You’ll also benefit from the opportunities to socialize and learn informally from other laboratory professionals from across the country.
Browse the educational sessions.
JAM also provides flexibility with two attendee options.
In-Person Attendance: JAM will be held at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel. In addition to the educational program, poster presentations, industry partner exhibits, and networking activities, you’ll also receive access to all recorded JAM educational sessions for 45 days after the event.
Virtual Attendance: You will have access to the nearly 50 educational sessions, either streamed live or recorded; industry partner virtual activities; virtual poster presentations; and virtual networking events. You will also have access to all recorded JAM educational sessions for 45 days after the event. You get to choose which sessions and events you want to attend live and which recordings you will view later when the time is right. Create a personalized JAM experience that fits your life.
Travel and Registration Scholarships Available for 2026 Joint Annual Meeting
The Ascending Professionals Forum is still awarding travel and registration scholarships to Ascending Professionals attending the 2026 Joint Annual Meeting (JAM), either in-person or virtually. The exact breakdown of these grants will be determined by the number of applicants and their preference of attendance.
ASCLS Political Action Committee Activities at JAM
Vintage Pin Sale
The ASCLS Political Action Committee (PAC) is excited to announce a special sale of vintage ASCLS pins. Stop by the PAC table during JAM in St. Louis to peruse the collection, “Pins from the Past.” Discover pins that celebrate our rich history—perfect for collectors or as meaningful gifts.
PAC Donor Breakfast
Join the PAC for a special breakfast to celebrate and thank its valued donors. All individuals that have donated $150 between July 1, 2025, though the 2026 JAM will be invited to attend. Enjoy a delicious breakfast; networking opportunities with colleagues who share your passion for advocacy; and special insights from ASCLS Federal Legislative Consultant Patrick Cooney. Secure your spot today by making your donation.
Free Webinar: Sickle Cell Anemia – Blood Product Allocation and Future Therapies
April 29, 1 pm ET
The presentation will begin with a description of hemoglobinopathies (particularly hemoglobin SS and SC disease) and the recommendations for blood bank products. It introduces what Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) is and how it is employed. CRISPR’s use in patients with sickle cell anemia will be explained. Lastly, CRISPR-edited CAR-T cell therapy will be briefly introduced.
Speaker: Jessica Muldoon MD, MLS(ASCP)CM, Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM)/IU Health
Learning Objectives:
- Identify hemoglobinopathies that have blood bank recommendations in blood allocation.
- Describe the reasoning for the blood bank product recommendations.
- Explain the methodology of CRISPR and it’s application to hemoglobinopathies.
- Introduce CRISPR-edited CAR-T cell therapy.
Instruction Level: Basic
Registration: This P.A.C.E.®-accredited webinar is free for ASCLS members ($10 for non-members). Preregistration is required. If you can’t attend live, register anyway—those who pre-register will receive access to the webinar recordings.
ASCLS is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.
CLEC 2026 On Demand
All educational sessions from the highly-rated CLEC 2026 were recorded and are now available to stream online via labucate.org. This library of on-demand courses includes content created by your peers and is focused on topics of relevance to today’s medical laboratory science educators.
- Individual sessions are $10 for ASCLS members/$15 for non-members.
- The All Access CLEC 2026 On Demand bundle gives you 36 sessions and 36 hours of P.A.C.E.® credit ($275 for ASCLS Members/$400 for non-members).
Access to CLEC 2026 On Demand is good until March 31, 2027.
ASCLS is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.
New Off the Bench Podcast Episode
Subscribe to the Off the Bench Podcast for discussions on scientific and not-so-scientific ideas in laboratory medicine. New episodes drop the last Friday of each month.
The March 27 episode is a showdown to determine which TV show gets medical laboratory science right. Who will come out on top? And even more entertaining, who ends up dead last? Join Sophia and Doryan as they break down scenes from The Pitt, Scrubs, and more, diving into how lab science is portrayed in media, and what it all means for the broader branding and visibility of the profession.
Subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.
Latest Jobs
Medical Laboratory Technician
Indiana University Health
Lafayette, Indiana
Open-Rank Teaching Professor, Medical Laboratory Science
Rowan University
Glassboro, New Jersey
Director of Laboratory Operations – Biologics Manufacturing
Saving Sight
Kansas City, Missouri
See more job openings on the ASCLS Career Center.
If you’re looking to fill an opening, post your job in the ASCLS Career Center and get access to over 18,000 candidates.
Local Events
ASCLS-Colorado To TopGolf and Beyond
April 19
Centennial, Colorado
ASCLS‑North Dakota Spring Symposium
April 20-21
Fargo, North Dakota
KSCLS 2026 Spring Conference
April 24
Richmond, Kentucky
ASCLS-Oklahoma One Vision 2026
April 25
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
ASCLS-Pennsylvania 2026 Annual Meeting
April 28
Norristown, Pennsylvania
2026 ColLABoration (ASCLS-Iowa and ASCP Iowa)
April 28-29
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
ASCLS-New Jersey Spring Seminar & Expo
April 30
Somerset, New Jersey
2026 Region IX Joint Spring Seminar (Alaska, Oregon, and Washington)
April 30-May 1
Virtual
ASCLS-Montana Spring Meeting
May 7-9
Anaconda, Montana
ASCLS-New York 2026 Spring Seminar
June 5
Queens, New York
Hawaii Clinical Laboratory Conference
September 17-18
Honolulu, Hawaii
Key Dates
Medical Laboratory Professionals Week
April 19-25
2026 Joint Annual Meeting Early Bird Registration Deadline
April 28
Webinar: Sickle Cell Anemia – Blood Product Allocation and Future Therapies
April 29