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  • 40 Under Forty

ASCP Proudly Celebrates Future Leaders

The ASCP 40 Under Forty program recognizes members under the age of 40 for their achievements and leadership qualities that are making an impact on pathology and laboratory medicine. Forty pathologists, laboratory professionals and residents are chosen annually through an application or nomination process. The program has recognized worthy members of the laboratory team both nationally and internationally. From the 40 Under Forty honorees, five individuals are selected as the 40 Under Forty Top Five through a combination of public voting and committee selection. This year, we have an outstanding group of honorees and have decided to recognize the Top Six.

About 40 Under Forty
2020 40 Under Forty Honorees
2020 Top Six
Learn About the Program

What is ASCP’s 40 Under Forty?

This prestigious ASCP recognition program celebrates the brightest emerging leaders and innovators of pathology, laboratory medicine, and ASCP.

A committee of ASCP pathologist, laboratory professional and resident members evaluates candidates based on their accomplishments, experience, leadership skills, and their dedication to innovation in the field of laboratory medicine and pathology.

When selected, the 40 honorees join distinguished alumni and receive:

  • Complimentary enrollment in the essential LMU Core Competencies.
  • A professionally crafted press release for employers and personal networks.
  • Discounted registration to the cutting-edge ASCP 2020 Annual Meeting.
  • A story featuring an individual bio in ASCP’s renowned Critical Values.

    As the best and brightest of ASCP’s young leaders, this year’s 40 Under Forty cohort will also participate in the new Career Ambassadors 2.0 or Pathology Ambassadors programs.

    ASCP 2020 40 Under Forty Application

    Celebrate your professional achievements and apply to become part of this prestigious program!

    Apply

    ASCP 2020 40 Under Forty Nomination

    Know someone who deserves to be part of this year's 40 Under Forty program? Nominate them!

    Nominate

    Applicants/nominees must be a Fellow (pathologist), Fellow-in-Training, resident, or laboratory professional member under 40 years old by the application deadline. Students and previous 40 Under Forty are not eligible to apply.
    Learn About the Honorees

    Evi Abada, MD, MS

    Evi Abada, MD, MS, is a resident physician in anatomic and clinical pathology at Wayne State University School of Medicine/Detroit Medical Center in Michigan. Dr. Abada completed her medical degree from the University of Benin College of Medicine in Nigeria and received her master of science in International Health Policy and Management from Brandeis University, in Massachusetts. She is a global health enthusiast and is especially interested in women’s health and empowering the next generation of women leaders in science. She is involved in research on breast and gynecologic pathology and the intersection between the social determinants of health and health outcomes. She has presented her research at both the College of American Pathology (CAP) and the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) conferences. She is a recipient of multiple prestigious awards including the 2020 USCAP’s Pathologist’s in-training award and outstanding abstract presentation by the Michigan Society of Pathologists. Dr. Abada is passionate about diversity, inclusion, and representation and serves on the leadership team of 500 Women Scientists, an organization working to transform leadership, diversity, and public engagement in science.

    Congratulations to Dr. Abada!

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    Nichole Baker, HT(ASCP)CM

    Nichole Baker, HT(ASCP)CM, is assistant to pathologist Trent Pansze, MD, performing high complexity dissections for an 82-bed, acute-care hospital in Durango, Colorado. She was trained on site by Dr. Pansze after transitioning from a career in vascular surgery research at the University of Michigan. After completing her training and additional coursework, Ms. Baker volunteered to teach histology techniques and grossing techniques in Cap Haitian, Haiti. She left with a passion to pursue a global healthcare path and launched a nonprofit organization, Path of Logic, that focuses on grossing techniques and process improvements in under-resourced countries. Over the past four years, her efforts have been based at a medical school and referral hospital in Mbarara, Uganda. Her most notable accomplishment has been designing the country’s first electronic reporting system and hiring a software engineer based in Belize to create the platform in 2019.

    Congratulations to Ms. Baker!

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    William Bivin, MD, FASCP

    William Bivin, MD, FASCP, is an assistant professor of pathology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans and enjoys the variety and challenges of his position. Teaching is his passion, and he takes great pride in his clinical work. A native of Texas, he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas-Austin. He did his pathology training at Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he served as Chief Resident. His GI/liver pathology fellowship was completed at Montefiore Medical Center – Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City. Dr. Bivin met his future wife during that fellowship year; the couple has a daughter and a yellow Labrador retriever. Dr. Bivin has benefited from the mentorship of Jan Silverman, MD, whom he describes as a “fantastic teacher.” Now, he feels a responsibility to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with his own residents. He is thrilled to have found and settled into his current role as an academic pathologist in New Orleans.

    Congratulations to Dr. Bivin!

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    Takara Blamires, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM

    Takara Blamires, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, grew up in Ogden, Utah, where she completed an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in clinical laboratory science at Weber State University. She worked as a medical laboratory technician at Davis Hospital & Medical Center in Layton, Utah, while working toward her MLS credential. She then accepted a medical technologist position at ARUP Laboratories, moved to Salt Lake City, and began a graduate program at the University of Utah. Ms. Blamires worked in the hemostasis/thrombosis department for a year then transferred to the mass spectrometry department where she spent the next six years becoming the department’s teaching specialist and, eventually, the lead technologist. During that time, she also completed a master’s degree in laboratory medicine and biomedical science then started applying for supervisor positions within the chemistry division. In the midst of interviews, her graduate mentor contacted her about an open faculty position. She has now been with the University of Utah’s Medical Laboratory Science Program for over seven years, serving as an assistant professor, the associate program director, and now program director.

    Congratulations to Ms. Blamires!

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    Richard Davis, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, D(ABMM)

    Richard Davis, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, D(ABMM), is a clinical microbiologist and regional director of microbiology for Providence Health Care in eastern Washington. He received his undergraduate degree in medical laboratory science (minoring in ballroom dance) at Brigham Young University. He obtained his MLS certification and worked for a time as a bench technologist. But his favorite class from his MLS program, medical parasitology, led him to obtain a PhD from the University of Iowa studying the tropical parasite Leishmania. His research on the immune response to the parasite included extended time working in a remote leishmaniasis treatment clinic in Brazil. He still loves parasites and global health, but transitioned back to the field of laboratory medicine, specifically diagnostic microbiology, as a clinical microbiology (CPEP) fellow. He completed his fellowship at the University of Utah/ARUP Laboratories in Utah and moved with his family to his current position in July of 2019.

    Congratulations to Dr. Davis!

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    Jessica Dillon, MD, FASCP

    Jessica Dillon, MD, FASCP, is a graduate of Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies. After medical school, she completed a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and became a subspecialty gynecologic and perinatal pathologist following the completion of fellowship training at Johns-Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine in 2019. Currently, she is an AP/CP board-certified assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, with a subspecialty focus in gynecologic, perinatal and genitourinary pathology.

    Congratulations to Dr. Dillon!

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    Amanda Fisher-Hubbard, MD, FASCP

    Amanda Fisher-Hubbard, MD, FASCP, is an assistant professor of pathology at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed), in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is board-certified in anatomic, clinical, forensic and neuropathology. She serves 12 counties in western Michigan as a deputy medical examiner and is also the chief of the Division of Neuropathology and director of the Research Histology Laboratory at her institution. Dr. Fisher-Hubbard graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in bioengineering from the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. She earned a medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. She subsequently completed her residency in anatomic and clinical pathology and fellowships in forensic pathology and neuropathology at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Fisher-Hubbard has been practicing forensic pathology and neuropathology at WMed since July 2016.

    Congratulations to Dr. Fisher-Hubbard!

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    Kristina Grieco, PA(ASCP)CM

    Kristina Grieco, PA(ASCP)CM, has practiced pathology since 2010. She began as a laboratory support technician and gross technician at Northshore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Illinois. In that role, she learned to gross small cases, maintained records per CAP regulation standards and organized the laboratory for the inspection. She attended Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, in North Chicago, Illinois, becoming a pathologists’ assistant. Ms. Grieco began her career as a pathologists’ assistant at NorthShore University HealthSystem. In 2015, she joined the staff at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, where she has grossed many more complex cases and became a leader in her department. Later, she obtained a position as the senior pathologists’ assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where she specializes in neuropathology and hematopathology and performs a dramatically different role than in her previous positions.

    Congratulations to Ms. Grieco!

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    Brannan Griffin, MD, FASCP

    Brannan Griffin, MD, FASCP, is a gynecologic oncologic pathology fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. He obtained his undergraduate education in the South. He next completed a combined anatomic & clinical pathology residency, serving as chief resident, and a cytopathology fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. He plans to pursue a career in academics, with significant interest in medical education and mentoring students and pathology trainees, which he has been involved in on both institutional and national levels. He has received multiple recognitions and accolades for his contributions to pathology and education, research and leadership. His research is primarily translational and focuses on the prognostic and therapeutic impacts that pathology diagnosis and testing have on clinical patient management.

    Congratulations to Dr. Griffin!

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    Akanksha Gupta, MD, FASCP

    Akanksha Gupta, MD, FASCP, is a hematopathology fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She has completed a renal pathology fellowship at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, received numerous national and international awards and been recognized by international newspapers and online social media. Dr. Gupta has written multiple publications/abstracts in high indexed journals and presented platform and poster presentations at national and international conferences. She has written a book in hematopathology which will be published in mid-July. She was selected from among 20,000 to serve as a judge for the annual quality improvement fair at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Being a passionate teacher and learner, she has assembled more than 1,000 pathologists from around the world to start a #HemepathWHOBookClub via zoom. Up to 400 participants a day from all over the world have joined her sessions daily. Her Twitter handle is @HemePath_Doc.

    Congratulations to Dr. Gupta!

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    Alyssa Hampton, MPH, MB(ASCP)CM

    Alyssa Hampton, MPH, MB(ASCP)CM, earned a bachelor of science in biology with minors in chemistry and psychology before moving into her first laboratory role as an associate in a company specializing in liquid biopsy for non-small cell lung cancer. She quickly moved up to a molecular technologist position and soon earned her MB(ASCP) credential. While completing a master's degree in public health, she assumed a position as a clinical liaison to assist in streamlining laboratory work and maximizing throughput. She has recently moved on to a position as a tissue research coordinator and oversees study enrollment, sample collection and tissue testing for prostate cancer, bladder cancer and interstitial cystitis studies within the veteran population.

    Congratulations to Ms. Hampton!

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    Brian Harry, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Brian Harry, MD, PhD, FASCP, is Medical Director of Clinical Chemistry at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He completed residency in clinical pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Partners Innovation Fellowship at Third Rock Ventures in Boston, MA where he helped create and build biotech companies. As a faculty member, he is developing innovative testing for COVID-19, including a dual-antigen assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Dr. Harry is also Chief Laboratory Officer at Summit Biolabs, a company specializing in saliva testing for viral pathogens and head and neck cancer.

    Congratulations to Dr. Harry!

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    Christian Horrocks, MBA, DLM(ASCP)CM, Certified Six Sigma Green Belt

    Christian Horrocks, MBA, DLM(ASCP)CM, is the laboratory services director for the University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah. He works with laboratory leaders across the system, which includes five clinical laboratories, three anatomic pathology labs, dermatopathology, the blood gas lab and various other smaller laboratories throughout the system. He earned a bachelor of science in health services administration from Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, and an MBA from the University of Utah. Mr. Horrocks is a Diplomate of Laboratory Management with ASCP and a certified Six Sigma Green Belt. When he is not working, he enjoys being at home with his family and pets and enjoying the outdoors, especially skiing and boating.

    Congratulations to Mr. Horrocks!

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    Josh Klonoski, MD, PhD

    Josh Klonoski, MD, PhD, is a PGY4 resident at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, with a focus in neuroinfectious disease and global health. He is currently completing the first year of a neuropathology fellowship (out of sequence) and is returning as chief resident to his final year of an anatomical and clinical pathology residency in 2020-2021. Dr. Klonoski will then return to the second neuropathology fellowship year and apply for a mentored clinical scientist research career development award (K08). The focus of his laboratory research is influenza and active projects include flu pneumonia, super- infections, encephalitis and oncolytic virotherapy.

    Congratulations to Dr. Klonoski!

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    Ying-Chun Lo, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Ying-Chun Lo, MD, PhD, FASCP, grew up in Taiwan and completed medical school at National Yang-Ming University. He then received a government scholarship from the Ministry of Education of Taiwan to enter a PhD program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His PhD research focused on cancer immunotherapy and cancer immunology and resulted in two first author publications and a patent application. After completing an anatomic pathology residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital and achieving board certification in anatomical pathology, Dr. Lo completed a yearlong thoracic pathology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. During that time, Dr. Lo gained expertise in pulmonary disease by in-house materials and external consults via Dana Farber Cancer Center. He is currently a molecular genetic pathology fellow at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital/Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School combined program and expects to complete the training this summer. He will begin a new position at Mayo Clinic in August 2020.

    Congratulations to Dr. Lo!

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    Y. Ruben Luo, PhD, DABCC

    Y. Ruben Luo, PhD, DABCC, received his PhD in analytical chemistry from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Peking University. He is currently in the process of completing his clinical chemistry fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, and will start the laboratory director career soon. Prior to the fellowship, he worked in the clinical diagnostics industry for nine years, holding positions as global product manager of Bio-Rad Laboratories and technical director of a reference laboratory. Since graduate school, he has focused his research on the clinical applications of mass spectrometry, label-free immunoassay, and microfluidics. He has published more than 20 papers, obtained 6 patents, established 5 laboratory-developed tests (LDT), launched 7 industrial products, and received several awards from professional organizations.

    Congratulations to Dr. Luo!

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    Kirill Lyapichev, MD, FASCP

    Kirill Lyapichev, MD, FASCP, is a board-certified anatomical and clinical pathologist and currently an advanced hematopathology fellow and future molecular genetic pathology fellow at MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, Texas. His patient care activities center around the diagnosis of specimens obtained from patients being evaluated for leukemia, lymphoma and/or myeloma. In 2006, he finished medical school at Voronezh State Medical Academy, Russia. About the same time, he was invited to participate in a research project in the University of Miami Microbiology and Immunology Department by the late Dr. Eckhard Podack. After the postdoctoral fellowship, he continued his research career under Dr. Lee at the neurological surgery department at University of Miami (Miami Project to Cure Paralysis). The years spent in basic research solidified Dr. Lyapichev’s desire to return to clinical medicine as a pathologist. In 2014, he was accepted into pathology residency at University of Miami. After completing his residency in anatomical and clinical pathology, he was accepted to begin a hematopathology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

    Congratulations to Dr. Lyapichev!

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    Benjamin Mazer, MD, MBA

    Benjamin Mazer, MD, MBA, is in his final year of residency in anatomical and clinical pathology at Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut. After residency, he will go on to a surgical pathology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, Maryland. His interests include diagnostic surgical pathology, laboratory management, evidence-based medicine, health policy and health communication in the media. He has written for various journals as well as the popular press and is involved in organized medicine through CAP committees.

    Congratulations to Dr. Mazer!

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    Stephanie McGregor, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Growing up in rural Illinois, Stephanie McGregor, MD, PhD, FASCP says she lacked the words to describe a physician scientist, but somehow envisioned herself in that role. She was drawn to lay articles on medical advances and dove wholeheartedly into science fair projects. After college, she combined MD/PhD studies, and followed by post-graduate study at the University of Chicago to realize her dream. She was thrilled to be involved in bridging the worlds of science and clinical medicine. During her training, Dr. McGregor was intrigued by the lack of data underlying so many patient-care decisions and found herself constantly asking how the profession could improve. Today, as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin, she strives to improve specimen processing and interpretation in a manner that facilitates the best possible patient care.

    Congratulations to Dr. McGregor!

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    Mohammad K. Mohammad, MD

    Mohammad K. Mohammad, MD, is a resident physician of anatomical and clinical pathology at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania. He entered the field of laboratory medicine as a postdoctoral research associate working on National Institutes of Health-funded studies for developing novel surrogate laboratory markers for alcoholic liver diseases and investigating molecular mechanisms of hepatocyte toxicity caused by environmental toxins. With a strong interest in care coordination, he worked on educating patients on their laboratory diagnostic tests and developing a cell-phone application for test results entry with setting self-management goals and care coordination of lab results between the lab and the primary care providers and the specialists. He is an admin of a Facebook group for mentoring and promoting pathology career among medical students. Dr. Mohammad currently works on projects providing novel evidence-based model of integrative pathology and laboratory services in the healthcare system. Dr. Mohammad has received several prestigious awards, including the 2020-USCAP Pathologist in-Training Travel Award, and currently serves as an ASCP Pathology Ambassador.

    Congratulations to Dr. Mohammad!

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    Karen Moser, MD, FASCP

    Karen Moser, MD, FASCP, earned her medical degree from Saint Louis University, in St. Louis, Missouri. She subsequently completed residency in anatomic and clinical pathology and a fellowship in hematopathology at the University of Utah. She is currently an associate professor of pathology at the University of Utah and is a co-medical director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Laboratory at ARUP Laboratories, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she also practices hematopathology. She is a member of the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute Expert Panel on Hematology, Immunology, and Ligand Assays, and is a frequent presenter at the ASCP Annual Meeting. Dr. Moser is also an enthusiastic pathology educator and, in addition to clinical teaching of pathology residents and fellows, she co-directs a first-year medical student course in hematology and basic molecular and cancer biology at the University of Utah. Outside of the laboratory, Dr. Moser enjoys hiking and exploring the mountains of Utah with her family.

    Congratulations to Dr. Moser!

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    Ali Nael, MD, FASCP

    Ali Nael, MD, FASCP, is a board-certified pathologist with special training and board certification in pediatric pathology and hematopathology and has a personal interest in translational research. Since 2016, Dr. Nael has served on the medical staff of Children’s Hospital of Orange County Hospital, in Orange, California. He and also serves as a vice chair of the Pathology Department with an assistant professor academic appointment at University of California Irvine (UCI) since July 2018. His passion lies in investigating pediatric soft tissue and hematopoietic malignancies by genomic testing in the oncology setting and in utilizing genomic information to improve patient care. He received his medical degree from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, in 2005, and came to the United States in 2009. Shortly after, he started his residency in anatomical and clinical pathology at UCI. He later completed his training in pediatric pathology at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and hematopathology at the University of Southern California.

    Congratulations to Dr. Nael!

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    Rebecca Obeng, MD, PhD, MPH, FASCP

    Rebecca Obeng, MD, PhD, MPH, FASCP, is a board-certified anatomic pathologist scientist with a subspecialty interest in gastrointestinal and oncologic pathology. Her research focus is on T-cell immunology and cancer immunotherapy. She also has interests in global health and health policy. Dr. Obeng completed her medical and graduate education at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and then completed an anatomic pathology residency at Emory University in the Physician Scientist Training Track. She continued at Emory University for fellowship training in gastrointestinal and hepatic pathology and a post-doctoral research fellowship with Dr. Rafi Ahmed. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at Northwestern University and serves as the chief medical officer of the Sub-Saharan Africa Healthcare Initiative. Dr. Obeng is passionate about improving the quality of patients’ lives by exploring creative new approaches and techniques in pathology and immunology that advance the understanding of diseases and the ability to clinically manage patients.

    Congratulations to Dr. Obeng!

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    Megan Owens, HT(ASCP)CM

    Megan Owens, HT(ASCP)CM, is a histotechnician and has been cutting and staining tissue slides since 2009. She received a scholarship from the SEED Foundation to attend Delaware Technical and Community College where she earned an associate degree as an allied health histology professional. She is a member of ASCP, the National Society of Histology and the Vermont/ New Hampshire Society for Histology. Ms. Owens became a certified histotechnician in August of 2009 and has been an ASCP Career Ambassador since 2013.

    Congratulations to Ms. Owens!

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    Elizabeth Parker, MD

    Elizabeth Parker, MD, grew up in Alaska where her school days were filled with science and music, and her weekends were spent on the water and running in the mountains. She also lived abroad for a few years, which included spending time as a volunteer art professor in Ecuador. She later studied biology at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire, and then returned home to the West Coast for medical school. Dr. Parker is enamored with the Pacific Northwest and has stayed here for anatomic pathology residency and breast/gynecologic pathology fellowship. Dr. Parker is dedicated to women’s health and is interested in how pathologists make pathology accessible for patients, medical students and clinical colleagues. She is also an avid medical educator with research focused on how novel technologies strengthen pathology medical education. Dr. Parker recently joined the faculty at the University of Washington in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology as an acting assistant professor serving on the breast and gynecologic pathology services and as a medical educator.

    Congratulations to Dr. Parker!

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    Cherika Robertson, MEd, MLS(ASCP)CMCGCM

    Cherika Robertson, MEd, MLS(ASCP)CMCGCM, grew up in rural South Arkansas and currently serves as assistant professor in the Medical Laboratory Sciences Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas. She has been a laboratory professional for 15 years, with extensive experience in areas of hematology, blood bank and cytogenetics. She actively helps to promote the laboratory profession nationally and regionally, and has been involved in planning state conferences, and providing continuing education and networking opportunities to laboratory professionals statewide. Ms. Robertson’s passion for recruitment and retention of laboratory professionals, increasing awareness of the laboratory profession and addressing the laboratory critical workforce shortage is evidenced by her enthusiasm for the profession, and role as an ASCP Career Ambassador 2.0.

    Congratulations to Ms. Robertson!

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    Hany Sakr, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Hany Sakr, MD, PhD, FASCP, is an assistant professor of pathology at Louis Stokes Veteran Health Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio. He also has an appointment as assistant professor of clinical pathology at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his medical degree with honors from Cairo University, in Egypt, followed by a PhD degree in oncolytic virotherapy from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. Dr. Sakr completed his residency in anatomical and clinical pathology at the Cleveland Clinic, and specialized in hematopathology after a one-year fellowship at Ohio State University. An active member of ASCP, he is involved in teaching and has developed expertise in evaluating diagnostic utility of several biomarkers in a variety of human cancers. Dr. Sakr has several publications in peer-reviewed journals and has been recognized by the Cleveland Society of Pathologists for his work on cMet in thyroid cancers. He is currently writing a hematopathology board-review book.

    Congratulations to Dr. Sakr!

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    Jasmine Saleh, MD, MPH

    Originally from London, Canada, Jasmine Saleh, MD, MPH, received a bachelor of arts from the University of Virginia and her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. She served as an IRTA post-doctorate research fellow at the National Institutes of Health and the co-founder and director of a non-profit international organization geared toward alleviating the lack of medical supplies at resource-limited countries. Dr. Saleh earned a master degree in public health with a concentration in health leadership from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. While there, she developed a health policy initiative to enhance the quality of healthcare delivery and outcomes for geriatric patients and pregnant women with Medicaid Health Plans in Baltimore. She is presently a resident physician at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, and serves on several quality improvement and health policy committees. She also has several publications in peer-reviewed journals and regularly contributes to #HallwayPathQuiz on Twitter.

    Congratulations to Dr. Saleh!

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    Lauren Schwartz, MD, FASCP

    A native of Long Island, New York, Lauren Schwartz, MD, FASCP, graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University in New York City. She earned a medical degree from New York University, graduating alpha omega alpha. Following medical school, Dr. Schwartz completed a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she served as AP chief. After residency, she completed two fellowship years at Johns Hopkins Hospital, one in general surgical pathology and the other in gynecological pathology. After she completed her training, she joined the Perelman School of Medicine as an assistant professor of clinical medicine with a focus in gynecological and genitourinary pathology. In addition to her clinical duties, she served as the associate director for the school’s residency program from 2014 to 2019 and recently took on the role of assistant director for the new departmental Quality Office. She lives in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania with her husband and seven-year-old daughter.

    Congratulations to Dr. Schwartz!

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    Volodymyr Shponka, MD, FASCP

    Volodymyr Shponka, MD, FASCP, graduated summa cum laude from Dnipropetrovsk Medical Academy (Ukraine) in 2008 and pursued training in a highly competitive field of neurosurgery, during which he co-authored peer-reviewed papers and national head injury guidelines, and was granted a visiting research scholarship in basic neuroscience at Harvard University Medical School. After almost six years of neurosurgical training, remaining in good standing, he switched to pathology by entering a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of Arizona, where his research interests centered on HIV-associated lymphomagenesis. Dr. Shponka continued his education as a hematopathology fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin where, in addition to running a busy clinical service, he carried out research projects studying immunophenotypic aberrancies of hematologic malignancies by flow cytometry. He currently serves as a cytopathology fellow at the same institution. Dr. Shponka’s career interests are academic pathology, innovation and leadership development.

    Congratulations to Dr. Shponka!

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    Abigail Skerritt-Jones, PA(ASCP)CM

    Abigail Skerritt-Jones, PA(ASCP)CM, grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and emigrated to the United States to pursue an education in laboratory science in Michigan. She worked as a laboratory assistant, phlebotomist, microbiology assistant, client services representative and an MLT at Spectrum Health Lakeland while going to school. She graduated with an associate degree in medical assistant technology and an associate in medical laboratory technology and completed her bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science online. She earned her master’s degree as a pathologists’ assistant (PA) at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and five-year old son, Cameron, and her family advocates for foster care and enjoys gardening. Mrs. Skerritt-Jones is the sole pathologists’ assistant for three Cleveland Clinic hospitals, and she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in health science. Mrs. Skerritt-Jones has promoted her profession by lecturing at PA conferences and virtually, publishing pathology articles from a PA perspective, hosting a PA booth at a health fair and a hospital talent show, hosting annual pathology experiences for high school students, and mentoring prospective PA students.

    Congratulations to Mrs. Skerritt-Jones!

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    Suzanne Thibodeaux, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Suzanne Thibodeaux, MD, PhD, FASCP, is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. She graduated from Tulane University in 2005 and subsequently earned a PhD in 2011 and a medical degree in 2013 from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio. Dr. Thibodeaux completed residency in clinical pathology in 2016, followed by a fellowship in blood banking and transfusion medicine, both at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She joined Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, Missouri, as assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology in 2017. As medical director of the Cellular Therapy Laboratory and assistant medical director of Transfusion and Blood Banking Medicine at a large academic hospital and laboratory medical director at a smaller community-based hospital, she strives to contribute to multidisciplinary and collaborative approaches to patient care, education, and clinical and translational research.

    Congratulations to Dr. Thibodeaux!

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    Elizabeth Thompson, MLS(ASCP)CM

    Elizabeth Thompson, MLS(ASCP)CM, is the Director of Laboratory Operations at UT Health San Antonio. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Laboratory Science from the University of Texas at Austin, and completed her clinical training at Houston Methodist Hospital. She began her professional career at Houston Methodist Hospital where she gained experience and quickly mastered the core laboratory sections. She progressed into the role of core laboratory section lead where she demonstrated her leadership abilities which led to her promotion to Chief Medical Technologist. After 8 years at Houston Methodist Hospital, she accepted a laboratory management position, in her hometown, at UT Health San Antonio. Here she oversaw significant expansion of the clinical laboratory by providing laboratory and pathology services to the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center and the UT Health Physicians practice. In her current role as Director of Laboratory Operations, she oversees both the outpatient and reference laboratories at UT Health San Antonio.

    Congratulations to Ms. Thompson!

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    Lisa M. Thrasher-Stallard, MLT(ASCP)CM

    Senior Master Sergeant Lisa M. Thrasher-Stallard, MLT(ASCP)CM, is the flight chief, Pathology and Clinical Laboratory, 81st Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron, at Keesler Air Force Base, in Biloxi, Mississippi. She leads a 122-member flight in the completion of 943,000 diagnostic tests and 13,000 surgical and cytological cases. Additionally, she oversees one of three Air Force blood donation centers and the collection of 3,600 blood products annually. SMSgt Thrasher-Stallard also manages the Phase II laboratory apprentice program that consists of a nine-month curriculum comprised of 1.4 thousand academic hours. A native of Los Angeles, California, SMSgt Thrasher Stallard entered the Air Force in 2000. Her background includes various leadership positions, which includes non-commissioned officer in charge of molecular biology (Clinical Investigation Facility), Institutional Review Board and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Administrator, as well as Clinical Chemistry Core Laboratory, Neuroscience, and Blood Donor Center.

    Congratulations to SMSgt Thrasher-Stallard!

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    Eric Vail, MD, FASCP

    Originally from suburban New York, Eric Vail, MD, FASCP, attended St. George's School of Medicine, Grenada, and completed a residency in anatomical and clinical pathology at New York Medical College/Westchester Medical Center. He served as chief resident during his third year. He then traveled to Cedars Sinai Medical Center, in California to complete a molecular genetic pathology fellowship, during which he was “on the ground” in developing and launching advanced next generation sequencing panels for cancer. He had planned to return to the East Coast after the fellowship, but his department chair asked him to join the faculty as the director of Molecular Pathology. It was an offer he could not refuse. While the laboratory does do viral and constitutional genetic testing, it is focused is clinical cancer sequencing and cancer genetic consultation to the entire Cedars Sinai Health System.

    Congratulations to Dr. Vail!

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    Taryn Waraksa, MS, SCT(ASCP)CM, CT(IAC)

    Taryn Waraksa, MS, SCT(ASCP)CM, CT(IAC), has worked as a cytotechnologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since earning her master’s degree from Thomas Jefferson University in 2014. She credits Dr. Tatiana Zorina for encouraging her to apply for the position. Less than six months after graduation, Ms. Waraksa returned to her alma mater to create and instruct a graduate-level course in “Cellular, Molecular, and Immuno Diagnostics” to better prepare future cytotechnologists in a dynamic profession. In 2017, three years into her career as a certified cytotechnologist, she took the ASCP Board of Certification Specialist in Cytotechnology exam. Two years later, she sat for the International Academy of Cytology (IAC) Comprehensive Examination, thus earning her current credentials. She also became the first cytotechnologist member inducted into the IAC in 2020. Outside of her work, she is a certified rescue diver. Scuba diving in freshwater caverns is her favorite way to “rest my eyes from the microscope.”

    Congratulations to Ms. Waraksa!

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    Milad Webb, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Milad Webb, MD, PhD, FASCP, was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States. He served in the United States military as an Army medic and began medical school at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno. He finished his medical degree and a PhD in biomedical engineering. He completed pathology residency at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and forensic pathology fellowship at Washtenaw County and Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Offices. He served as assistant medical examiner at the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office and as an assistant professor of forensic pathology at Michigan Medicine until 2020. He is currently Associate Medical Examiner at the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office in Tampa, Florida. Milad is an enthusiastic researcher and has many research interests, including forensic toxicology, forensic neuropathology, firearm related injuries, and the utilization of biomechanics in forensic investigations.

    Congratulations to Dr. Webb!

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    Sarah Wheeler, PhD

    Sarah Wheeler, PhD, received her doctoral degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in cellular and molecular pathology, studying the oncogenic and treatment resistance effects of EGFRvIII in head and neck cancer. She continued her combined post-doctoral and clinical chemistry fellowship training at the University of Pittsburgh, studying breast cancer metastasis and dormancy, creating an organ-on-a-chip model capable of recapitulating human metastatic dormancy and re-emergence. After her training, she received a position at a diagnostics company and is currently the medical director of the automated testing laboratories for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, UPMC Mercy, and associate medical director of Clinical Immunopathology.

    Congratulations to Dr. Wheeler!

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    Michael Williams, MD, MSc

    Michael Williams, MD, MSc, is currently in a third-year pathology residency at SUNY Upstate Medical University, in Syracuse, New York. The first-generation son of Jamaican parents, he says that medicine was always in the forefront of his thoughts throughout his childhood in the South Bronx part of New York City. He loved learning about science and visually understanding how the human body works. He pursued a degree in chemical engineering, enabling him to appreciate how separate systems can generate a combined productive result. He plans to become a forensic pathologist with additional training in neuropathology.

    Congratulations to Dr. Williams!

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    Jessica L. Davis, MD, FASCP

    Jessica L. Davis, MD, FASCP, received her medical degree from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon, and subsequently completed training in anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). While at UCSF, she also completed a surgical pathology fellowship with an emphasis on bone and soft tissue pathology. Dr. Davis went on to join Seattle Children’s Hospital/University of Washington for a pediatric pathology fellowship before returning to UCSF as faculty. She was later recruited back to OHSU to lead the pediatric and bone and soft tissue pathology divisions. She currently serves as the director of Surgical Pathology, to include serving as the medical director of the Histology and Gross Room Laboratories, while also providing clinical care and teaching a spectrum of trainees.

    Congratulations to Dr. Davis!

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    Learn About the Top Six

    Christian Horrocks, MBA, DLM(ASCP)CM, Certified Six Sigma Green Belt

    Christian Horrocks, MBA, DLM(ASCP)CM, is the laboratory services director for the University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah. He works with laboratory leaders across the system, which includes five clinical laboratories, three anatomic pathology labs, dermatopathology, the blood gas lab and various other smaller laboratories throughout the system. He earned a bachelor of science in health services administration from Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, and an MBA from the University of Utah. Mr. Horrocks is a Diplomate of Laboratory Management with ASCP and a certified Six Sigma Green Belt. When he is not working, he enjoys being at home with his family and pets and enjoying the outdoors, especially skiing and boating.

    Congratulations to Mr. Horrocks!

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    Stephanie McGregor, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Growing up in rural Illinois, Stephanie McGregor, MD, PhD, FASCP says she lacked the words to describe a physician scientist, but somehow envisioned herself in that role. She was drawn to lay articles on medical advances and dove wholeheartedly into science fair projects. After college, she combined MD/PhD studies, and followed by post-graduate study at the University of Chicago to realize her dream. She was thrilled to be involved in bridging the worlds of science and clinical medicine. During her training, Dr. McGregor was intrigued by the lack of data underlying so many patient-care decisions and found herself constantly asking how the profession could improve. Today, as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin, she strives to improve specimen processing and interpretation in a manner that facilitates the best possible patient care.

    Congratulations to Dr. McGregor!

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    Karen Moser, MD, FASCP

    Karen Moser, MD, FASCP, earned her medical degree from Saint Louis University, in St. Louis, Missouri. She subsequently completed residency in anatomic and clinical pathology and a fellowship in hematopathology at the University of Utah. She is currently an associate professor of pathology at the University of Utah and is a co-medical director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Laboratory at ARUP Laboratories, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she also practices hematopathology. She is a member of the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute Expert Panel on Hematology, Immunology, and Ligand Assays, and is a frequent presenter at the ASCP Annual Meeting. Dr. Moser is also an enthusiastic pathology educator and, in addition to clinical teaching of pathology residents and fellows, she co-directs a first-year medical student course in hematology and basic molecular and cancer biology at the University of Utah. Outside of the laboratory, Dr. Moser enjoys hiking and exploring the mountains of Utah with her family.

    Congratulations to Dr. Moser!

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    Milad Webb, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Milad Webb, MD, PhD, FASCP, was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States. He served in the United States military as an Army medic and began medical school at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno. He finished his medical degree and a PhD in biomedical engineering. He completed pathology residency at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and forensic pathology fellowship at Washtenaw County and Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Offices. He served as assistant medical examiner at the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office and as an assistant professor of forensic pathology at Michigan Medicine until 2020. He is currently Associate Medical Examiner at the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office in Tampa, Florida. Milad is an enthusiastic researcher and has many research interests, including forensic toxicology, forensic neuropathology, firearm related injuries, and the utilization of biomechanics in forensic investigations.

    Congratulations to Dr. Webb!

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    Sarah Wheeler, PhD

    Sarah Wheeler, PhD, received her doctoral degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in cellular and molecular pathology, studying the oncogenic and treatment resistance effects of EGFRvIII in head and neck cancer. She continued her combined post-doctoral and clinical chemistry fellowship training at the University of Pittsburgh, studying breast cancer metastasis and dormancy, creating an organ-on-a-chip model capable of recapitulating human metastatic dormancy and re-emergence. After her training, she received a position at a diagnostics company and is currently the medical director of the automated testing laboratories for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, UPMC Mercy, and associate medical director of Clinical Immunopathology.

    Congratulations to Dr. Wheeler!

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    Abigail Skerritt-Jones, PA(ASCP)CM

    Abigail Skerritt-Jones, PA(ASCP)CM, grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and emigrated to the United States to pursue an education in laboratory science in Michigan. She worked as a laboratory assistant, phlebotomist, microbiology assistant, client services representative and an MLT at Spectrum Health Lakeland while going to school. She graduated with an associate degree in medical assistant technology and an associate in medical laboratory technology and completed her bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science online. She earned her master’s degree as a pathologists’ assistant (PA) at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and five-year old son, Cameron, and her family advocates for foster care and enjoys gardening. Mrs. Skerritt-Jones is the sole pathologists’ assistant for three Cleveland Clinic hospitals, and she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in health science. Mrs. Skerritt-Jones has promoted her profession by lecturing at PA conferences and virtually, publishing pathology articles from a PA perspective, hosting a PA booth at a health fair and a hospital talent show, hosting annual pathology experiences for high school students, and mentoring prospective PA students.

    Congratulations to Mrs. Skerritt-Jones!

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