ASCLS Today is the membership newsletter of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.
To submit an article for ASCLS Today, contact Editor Debra Rodahl.
Cindy Johnson, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS President, 2019-20 Kyle Riding, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Secretary-Treasurer Over the last several months, our ASCLS family has faced an unprecedented global emergency. Laboratory professionals from across the globe have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our professional family has continued to generate the results that drive medical…
Emilia Marrero-Greene, M Ed, MT(AAB), MLT(ASCP) Author Emilia Marrero-Greene with her daughter and husband. The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks at the hands of police gave rise to important conversations in our nation. The ASCLS Board of Directors and the Diversity Advocacy Council pledge to focus on discrimination and disparities…
Terese Abreu, MA, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Region IX Director, 2017-20 Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash During my lifetime I have seen many protests, including the one that is in the book I am reading right now, regarding preservation of old growth forests. The book begins with roots, and as a biology major, I find it…
Cara Bushmaker, MLS(ASCP)CM, 2019-20 ASCLS-Montana President Montana is known as the “Last Best Place.” As I thought about the topic of diversity, I would not have described Montana as a diverse place. I would venture that the feeling I have is largely due to our limited population. I felt my own hesitance echoed by my…
Mary Ann McLane, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Past President Author Mary Ann McLane has been teaching her neighbors in her retirement village about the difference between antibody and molecular tests, as well as teaching them how to use Zoom. Such an unprecedented spring and summer! COVID-19 certainly has radically changed forever this generation’s definitions of “shelter…
James Hollowell, MLS(ASCP)CM, 2019-20 ASCLS Developing Professionals Forum Vice Chair During this past year in my clinical rotations, I was able to experience a wide variety of laboratories and learn from a diverse and talented multitude of laboratory scientists. I interacted with hundreds of hospital employees and worked closely with dozens of laboratory workers at…
Jie Gao, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, and Floyd Josephat, EdD, MT(ASCP) The recent joint American and European guidelines on the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rely heavily upon the measurements of cardiac troponins (cTn), especially troponin T (cTnT) and troponin I (cTnI), which are the most useful cardiac biomarker today.1 However, an increasing number of studies…
Meera J. Patel, MS; Subhasis B. Biswas, PhD; and Esther E. Biswas-Fiss, PhD, MB(ASCP)CM* Novel variants of unknown significance are often discovered through genetic testing, which may give rise to the unclear prognosis of pathogenicity. Integration of molecular diagnostic testing with in silico bioinformatic tools and biomedical research can provide enhanced clarification on disease association…
Cindy Johnson, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS President Dear ASCLS Family, As I sit down to write this letter, I am reminded daily of the strength and wisdom that have been displayed by all of you as we continue to fight the battle against a newly identified virus known as COVID-19. Who would of thought that we…
Learning from the Past and De-Weaponizing Disease Miles Tompkins, MLT(ASCP)CM, ASCLS-Oklahoma President, ASCLS Diversity Advocacy Council Chair “I won’t come to your funeral when you die from AIDS.” Despite being almost 25 years since I came out as a gay man, those words are still emblazoned in my memory as if they were spoken to…