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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 will be selected as the 40 Under Forty Top Five through a combination of public voting and committee selection.

About 40 Under Forty
2019 40 Under Forty Honorees
2019 Top Five
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 the following:

  • 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 2019 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.

    Congratulations to the Top Five!

    After ASCP's 2019 40 Under Forty honorees were selected, public voting and committee selection determined the Top Five. The Top Five will each receive free registration to attend ASCP 2019, along with a $1,000 stipend toward airfare and lodging. They will be formally recognized at a Leader’s Celebration luncheon at ASCP 2019. Click 2019 Top Five above to learn more about the Top Five and 2019 40 Under Forty Honorees to learn more about all the honorees.

    Learn About the Honorees

    La'Tonzia Adams, MD, MS, FASCP

    Dr. Adams is a clinical pathologist at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Portland Healthcare System, Portland, OR. She joined the health system in 2016 as medical director of microbiology and molecular microbiology. A year later, the Departments of Chemistry and Support Services came under her directorship. She is also the co-pathology residency director at the VA and assistant professor at Oregon Health & Science University, where she teaches microbiology to pathology residents and medical students. She is committed to raising the visibility of laboratory medicine and frequently gives presentations about the profession at elementary and high schools, as well as colleges during educational symposiums, interdepartmental grand rounds, and in-service opportunities within the hospital.  

    Congratulations to Dr. Adams!

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    N. Dominic Alessio, PA(ASCP)CM

    Mr. Alessio is a full-time pathologists' assistant (PA) at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI, and clinical preceptor at Wayne State University, where he earned his pathologists’ assistant credential in 2016. He credits his father, a pathologist, for nurturing his interest in the sciences. His father often brought him to work and sketched diagrams of cells and tissue layers on napkins to show him what he was looking for under the microscope. While still a student, Mr. Alessio co-founded the American Association of Pathologists' Assistants (AAPA) Student Committee with the mission of connecting and supporting PA students across the nation. The committee has now grown to reach hundreds of students from every PA training program in North America. Also as a student, he received several recognitions, including the 2016 ASCP National Student Honor Award and 2016 Siemens-ASCP Scholarship. Mr. Alessio was a co-recipient of the 2018 Board of Trustees Award, which recognizes outstanding volunteer service to the American Association of Pathologists' Assistants (AAPA) and the pathologists' assistant profession, serves as chair of the AAPA Membership Committee and sits on the PA Program Advisory Board at his alma mater.

    Congratulations to Mr. Alessio!

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    Mustafa Barbhuiya, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CMMB(ASCPi)CM

    Dr. Barbhuiya is a clinical chemistry fellow and junior faculty at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA. He holds a PhD in biochemistry from Jiwaji University, Gwalior, India and completed postdoctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. He is trained in molecular pathology, clinical biochemistry, medical laboratory sciences, cancer epidemiology, cancer biomarkers, next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry. He has won several awards and published 22 peer-reviewed research articles. His collaborative work with the surgical pathologists in local cancer hospital resulted in the construction of a tumor microarray (TMA) of gallbladder tumors for the first time from Indian patients. The quantitative proteomic findings were validated on those tumor microarrays. The TMA resource he created is now being used by multiple groups in India for their research.

    Congratulations to Dr. Barbhuiya!

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    Katie Bennett, PhD, MB(ASCP)CM, NRCC-CC

    Dr. Bennett is an associate professor at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), in Lubbock, Texas, and laboratory director at a local clinical toxicology laboratory. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences. At TTUHSC, she teaches in the molecular pathology program. As a faculty member, she has also performed collaborative research with physical therapists and athletics trainers and shared that research at conferences. She was recently invited to present a guest lecture for the Doctorate of Clinical Laboratory Science program at the University of Texas Medical Branch. She also accepted an opportunity to teach a portion of a laboratory science course for the TTUHSC Physician Assistant program. She believes her biggest contribution to the profession is as a laboratory science educator who is preparing her students to be innovators in the medical profession. 

    Congratulations to Dr. Bennett!

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    Adam L. Booth, MD

    Dr. Booth is a fourth-year anatomic and clinical pathology resident at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), in Galveston. He previously served as Chief Resident at UTMB and currently holds several national leadership positions. Dr. Booth has taken part in numerous interdisciplinary research projects resulting in multiple publications, as well as poster and platform presentations at regional, state, and national meetings. He currently serves as Resident Advisor to the UTMB Medical School Pathology Association for Students. This experience has allowed him to involve medical students in research projects and expose them to the role of pathologists on the medical team. Following residency, Dr. Booth will complete a fellowship in gastrointestinal and hepatopancreatobiliary pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.

    Congratulations to Dr. Booth!

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    Elizabeth Boswell, MD, FASCP

    Dr. Boswell is the chief and medical director of pathology and laboratory medicine at Durham Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in Durham, NC, and assistant professor of pathology at Duke University, Durham, NC. As a student, she was drawn to the “practical, objective, analytical and standardized aspects” of clinical laboratory medicine. In medical technology school, she gravitated toward areas with more nuanced morphologic interpretations, like hematology and mycology. She eventually decided that becoming a pathologist would allow her to build on her foundation in clinical laboratory science and grow into a medical director role. In her role, communication is essential, and it starts within the laboratory. She makes it a point to engage in daily, face-to-face discussions with fellow laboratory leaders and bench staff and constantly engages in discussions with healthcare providers regarding laboratory test selection and interpretation. 

    Congratulations to Dr. Boswell!

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    Theodore Brown, MD, FASCP

    Dr. Brown is assistant professor of pathology in the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker, MD, School of Medicine in Kalamazoo, MI. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, and a medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN. Dr. Brown completed his anatomic and clinical pathology residency at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, and his forensic pathology fellowship at the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Office. From 2016-2017, he was an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Michigan. As a forensic pathologist, he regularly interacts with multiple clinical care professionals. In addition, he provides the opportunity for physicians to attend the postmortem examination. This teamwork approach allows for a better clinical-pathological correlation and the potential to positively impact future patient care.   

    Congratulations to Dr. Brown!

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    Cody Carter, MD, FASCP

    Dr. Carter is a bone and soft tissue pathology fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and will soon return to his alma mater, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, as an academic attending physician and pathology course director. As a medical student at Loma Linda, he was recognized with the ASCP Academic Excellence and Achievement Award. An active ASCP volunteer, he has served as both a member and chair of the Resident Council, during which time he helped to shepherd the development of ASCP’s Pathology Ambassador program. He has also taken an active role in resident education and expanding public awareness of pathology through various social media channels and encouraged his wife, Erin Carter, to become an ASCP Patient Champion. Most recently, he has served on ASCP's National Pathology Quality Registry Education Task Force. While at the University of Michigan, he has served on the House Officer Quality and Safety Council, whose resident members from each of the residency programs that engage in cross-disciplinary quality improvement projects, incident reporting and review, and sentinel event review. 

    Congratulations to Dr. Carter!

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    Sarah Choi, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Dr. Choi is a hematopathologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she is an assistant professor of pathology. She has an academic interest in prognostically relevant genetic alterations in myeloid neoplasms and is also involved in collaborative projects, including as a co-Investigator on a National Institutes of Health RO1-funded study on imaging disease and response to therapy in myeloproliferative neoplasms. She has lectured at regional and national/international meetings on mixed phenotype acute leukemia, T-cell lymphomas, follicular lymphoma, and peripheral blood smear morphology. Her teaching activities also include membership in the Clinical Competency Committee and Program Evaluation Committee for the Hematopathology Fellowship Program. This summer, she began serving as program director. Dr. Choi is heavily invested in departmental quality initiatives in collaboration with supervisors, technologists, administrative assistants, and other pathologists, including the Patient Distribution and Archival Taskforce and Pathology Innovation Survey Analysis team.

    Congratulations to Dr. Choi!

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    Brittany Coffman, MD

    Dr. Coffman is completing the final year of her residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of New Mexico (UNM), Albuquerque. She will remain at UNM after her residency to complete subspecialty training in hematopathology and molecular genetic pathology. In addition to clinical medicine, she is interested in research, medical student and resident education, and laboratory management. During residency, she explored these interests while serving on numerous education committees, locally and nationally, and served as chief resident for two years. She recently co-founded and co-chairs the New Mexico Women in Pathology Professional Society, which brings together women in pathology from throughout the state. In addition to collaborative research and quality improvement work, she feels the greatest contribution she has made to leading innovation within her own department and institution pertain to education and collaboration with female colleagues. She has also been involved in organizing and evaluating her medical school’s new “flipped classroom” curriculum.  

    Congratulations to Dr. Coffman!

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    Victoria Costa, MD

    Victoria Costa, MD, is a second-year resident at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York City. She graduated summa cum laude from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She subsequently was accepted into George Washington University’s early selection program for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Costa plans to pursue a fellowship in transfusion medicine following residency. Throughout her residency training, she has become increasingly interested in clinical pathology. Similarly, within clinical pathology, there is a “nice combination of basic and clinical science with a focus on education and the incorporation of research into clinical practice. This emphasis on education and discovery is integral to patient care,” she says. “Being a 40 Under Forty honoree would allow me to become further involved in the pathology and laboratory medicine community, and work with others equally as dedicated to expanding and developing this community.”

    Congratulations to Dr. Costa!

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    Patrick Day, MPH, MLS(ASCP)CM

    As a development technologist at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, MN, Mr. Day develops new and improved laboratory developed tests for the quantification of trace and heavy metals in biologic samples. He designs and develops the next generation of metals laboratory developed tests, and also trains undergraduate students and clinical chemistry fellows in clinical metals analysis. As a participant on several clinical research teams, he has advanced research involving orthopedic implants, autism spectrum disorder and arsenic and mercury poisoning. Through his collaboration with clinical care team members in cardiac pathology, biostatistics and orthopedic surgery, he helped develop a chromium and cobalt cardiac tissue laboratory test that led to the discovery of elevated levels of cardiac cobalt concentrations in certain orthopedic implant patients. He has mentored graduate students pursuing Masters of Public Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN.

    Congratulations to Mr. Day!

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    Tabatha East, MBA, MLS(ASCP)CM

    As assistant director of clinical microbiology in the Tennessee Department of Health-Division of Laboratory Services, in Nashville, TN, Ms. East provides oversight to the General Bacteriology, Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network (ARLN), Special Microbiology (Mycology, Candida ARLN, Mycobacteriology, and Parasitology), Serology, Virology, Bioterrorism and Laboratory Support Services sections of the Public Health Laboratory. Prior that, she worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, for six years, spending the majority of her tenure in microbiology as a supervisor. She earned a bachelor of science in biology and chemistry from Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, a bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science from Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, and an MBA in healthcare administration from Western Governors University-Tennessee. At Vanderbilt, she served on several committees that brought her into contact with physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and fellow laboratory professionals, which enhanced their collaboration and strengthened their patient centric focus.

    Congratulations to Ms. East!

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    Patrick Erdman, DO, FASCP

    A clinical pathologist, Dr. Erdman is the medical director of laboratory medicine informatics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City. A native of Philadelphia, PA, he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Gwynedd-Mercy University, Gwynedd Valley, PA, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Temple University, Philadelphia. He completed medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and then completed a clinical pathology residency at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, where he served as chief resident. In his short time as the director of informatics, he has developed several innovative programs. The cancer center has an inpatient laboratory, several outpatient laboratories and a large core laboratory. He has led an initiative to create a laboratory specimen tracker application that shows, in real-time, all of the touch points in the total testing process in a web-based application. This application is now integrated into the center’s electronic medical record so that clinician staff can view laboratory specimens in real-time.

    Congratulations to Dr. Erdman!

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    Deanna Fang, MD, FASCP

    Dr. Fang is director-in-training for histocompatibility and immunogenetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. She lived in Hong Kong for 10 years before coming to the United States to attend Pomona College, in Claremont, CA, where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry. She earned her medical degree from Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, where she also completed a post-sophomore fellowship in anatomic and clinical pathology. Dr. Fang completed her anatomic and clinical pathology residency and medical microbiology fellowship training at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, (in association with ARUP Laboratories) and a fellowship in blood banking/transfusion medicine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She joined the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, in Jacksonville, FL, and subsequently assumed the position of director of the blood bank. She has a background in blood banking, apheresis, and cell therapy, all of which are related to human leukocyte antigen (HLA).

    Congratulations to Dr. Fang!

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    Sarah Garner, MS, PA(ASCP)CM

    Ms. Garner is a pathologists’ assistant and professor at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA. Recently, as the director of the new pathologists’ assistant program at Tulane, she has been developing the curriculum for the program’s first class which will matriculate in January 2020. She has taught for seven years and is passionate about sharing her knowledge of pathology and anatomy. Ms. Garner interacts with surgeons at her hospital when performing frozen sections and intraoperative consultations, where they work together to guarantee specimens are oriented properly and margins are understood correctly so that the proper staging can be provided in the final diagnosis. Through this process, they have devised new ways to transport specimens, orient specimens, and ink specimens all with the ultimate goal of providing the best patient care possible. Since April, she has received the following awards: "Professor of the Year" and "Best Lecture of the Year for Medical Students” at Tulane University School of Medicine; "Outstanding Teaching Award" in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine; and "Excellent Faculty Mentor of 2019" from the Tulane University Student Government. She also received two teaching grants through Tulane University.

    Congratulations to Ms. Garner!

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    Nina Haghi, MD, MS, FASCP

    A native of Queens, NY, Dr. Haghi is associate medical director of laboratories at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Queens, NY, and assistant medical director of the laboratory at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Queens. She earned a B.S. from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and a master’s degree from Columbia University. In 2012, she graduated from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, and completed a clinical pathology residency and fellowship in hematopathology at Hofstra-Northwell Health. During her third-year medical school clinical rotation, she volunteered to take specimens to the lab and reviewing peripheral smears with the pathologist on service. She found the process of diagnosing to be impactful and fulfilling. Using her visual skills at the microscope to arrive at critical answers was rewarding. Later, she realized she could have an even greater impact on patient care through administrative leadership and laboratory management. Through excellent mentorship and opportunities early in residency, she became involved with the administrative side of laboratory medicine and gained valuable knowledge in directorship, as well as hematopathology.

    Congratulations to Dr. Haghi!

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    Rachel Hulse, EdD, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM

    Dr. Hulse is the director of the medical laboratory science (MLS) program at Idaho State University, Chubbuck, ID. She received her doctoral degree in educational leadership with an emphasis in higher education administration from Idaho State University. She earned an MS from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, in genetics and biotechnology, and a second MS degree from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, in human genetics. A certified medical laboratory scientist for 13 years, she has worked in both the clinical and academic setting. As an educator in the College of Health Professions, she regularly interacts with students, faculty and professionals from many health specialties. As such, she is a proponent of inter-professional education and interdisciplinary research. For example, she voluntarily teaches an interdisciplinary course between graduate-level MLS students and doctor of nurse practitioner students. Data gathered from participants in this course demonstrate significant improvement in inter-professional perceptions, as well as improvement in the students’ collaborative competencies of communication, collaboration, roles and responsibilities, conflict management and resolution, and team functioning.

    Congratulations to Dr. Hulse!

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    Osama Khan, MD, BHSc

    Dr. Khan is a third-year resident in anatomic pathology at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. He has recently been selected as the chief resident for the upcoming academic year and looks forward to enhancing his leadership skills. By participating in various residency and post-graduate medical education committees, he hopes to discuss and influence important issues related to resident training. During one of his research projects, looking into the association of prolonged bisphosphonate use and atypical femoral fractures, he spent time with a soft tissue pathologist and reviewed bone biopsies to identify any abnormalities to the ultrastructure of patient’s skeletal systems. This experience impressed upon him the importance of communicating with the clinical care team. He notes that all of his mentors have instilled in him the importance of strong leadership qualities and being an advocate for quality patient care. As an elected general council member of the Professional Association Residents of Ontario, Dr. Khan has been an advocate for resident trainees throughout the province on issues ranging from contract negotiations and resident wellness to improving training education.

    Congratulations to Dr. Khan!

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    Jennifer Kasten, MD, MSc, FASCP

    Dr. Kasten is a board-certified anatomic pathologist and board-certified pediatric pathologist, and assistant professor of pathology and cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH. She finds congenital heart disease fascinating, both structural heart disease as well as microscopic heart disease, alongside transplant pathology, myocarditis of all types, cardiac tumors, and complex medical autopsies, particularly those with an underlying cardiac cause of death. As a general diagnostic pediatric and perinatal pathologist, she sees cases from all pathologic subspecialties, and her mantra at all times is to fit her pathology diagnoses into the clinical, social, and cultural context of the child. Dr. Kasten trained in tropical medicine and global health at both the London School of Tropical Medicine and at the University of Oxford, Oxford, England, where she studied as a Marshall Scholar to the United Kingdom. As such, she has worked in multiple countries on several continents and is profoundly interested in improving diagnostic medicine capacity worldwide. She is active in ASCP, including its Center for Global Health, and enjoys consulting internationally on issues of diagnostic quality, pathology systems, and laboratory medicine.

    Congratulations to Dr. Kasten!

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    Troy Krieger, MS, MLS(ASCP)CMSCYMCM,QLSCM, CLS(MT)

    A medical laboratory scientist with a specialist in cytometry credential, Mr. Krieger has a qualification in laboratory safety and is licensed in Montana as a clinical laboratory scientist. He currently works as a medical laboratory scientist performing clinical flow cytometry at Yellowstone Pathology Institute, Inc. in Billings, MT. He is one of three ASCP-certified medical laboratory scientists in Montana who perform flow cytometry, and is the first in the state to obtain the qualification in cytometry (now the specialist in cytometry). He received a bachelor’s degrees in biology with a medical laboratory science option from Montana State University Billings College of Arts & Sciences. He also received his clinical laboratory science certificate from the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS) and master’s degree in medical laboratory science from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences and School of Graduate Studies where he received the ASCP National Student Honor Award. Mr. Krieger serves on the Montana State Board of Clinical Laboratory Science Practitioners and on ASCP’s Council of Laboratory Professionals as the Northwest Regional Representative. He is a new member of the Lab Medicine Lablogatory team.

    Congratulations to Mr. Krieger!

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    Ricardo Lastra, MD, FASCP

    A gynecologic pathologist and cytopathologist, Dr. Lastra is an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Chicago. He is actively involved in medical student, resident, and fellow education, currently acting as section coordinator for the obstetrics and gynecology section of the clinical pathophysiology and therapeutics course at the Pritzker School of Medicine, and is program director for the gynecologic and breast pathology fellowship that he recently started. Dr. Lastra has also been heavily involved in translational research, particularly within gynecologic pathology. As such, he has contributed in the description of novel entities and pathophysiologic mechanisms. Similarly, he collaborates with multiple research groups, resulting in multiple publications, and serves as the primary consulting pathologist at the University of Chicago in the “Stand Up To Cancer: Women Choosing Surgical Prevention (WISP) Trial” clinical trial.

    Congratulations to Dr. Lastra!

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    Xu Li, PhD, SC(ASCP)CM

    Dr. Li is employed at LifeBrite Laboratories, LLC, in Atlanta, GA, as the lead technologist in the research and development department. She earned both a master’s degree and PhD in analytical chemistry from Georgia State University, Atlanta. Dr. Li has more than three years of experience in toxicology and therapeutic drug monitoring by using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and was certified by the ASCP Board of Certification as a specialist in chemistry in 2018. In her current position, she maintains an efficient production at a high standard while developing new assays. In 2019, she was recognized for the 2018 Clinical Chemist Recognition Award by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

     

    Congratulations to Dr. Li!

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    Sanam Loghavi, MD, FASCP

    Dr. Loghavi is a hematopathologist and molecular pathologist at the University of Texas at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), Houston. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, she is also the director of the Leukemia Tissue Bank and Leukemia Translational Research Laboratory at the Department of Translational Molecular Pathology at MDACC. She is actively involved in the hematopathology and molecular genetic fellowship programs at the cancer center. Dr. Loghavi completed her residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, followed by fellowships in surgical pathology, hematopathology and molecular pathology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She serves on the Executive Council for the Physician's Referral Services at MDACC.

     

    Congratulations to Dr. Loghavi!

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    Julius Manjengwa, MBA, MT(ASCPi)

    Mr. Manjengwa is a medical laboratory professional in Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa. He earned a bachelor of Medical Laboratory Sciences Honours degree from the University of Zimbabwe and an MBA from Regent Business School in South Africa. He is working toward a Master of Public Health from the University of Johannesburg. He has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta on various projects, including the Population-Based Impact Assessment (PHIA) Surveys. Mr. Manjengwa has also provided leadership in the implementation of the laboratory component of these surveys in Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Namibia, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Nigeria. Currently, he is leading the implementation of a technical assistance program in Armenia, implementing quality management systems and working to strengthen laboratory systems.

     

    Congratulations to Mr. Manjengwa!

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    Missy McNeill, MLT(ASCP)CM

    Ms. McNeill is a Technician in Converse, Texas. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, Greensboro, Ms. McNeill entered the U.S. Army as a laboratory technician. Over the years, she has completed additional training and worked her way up through the ranks to serve as an Executive Officer and Platoon Leader at Ft. Eustis, VA, and later graduated as a Logistics Officer from the Captains Career Course at Ft. Lee, VA. After returning from a deployment in Iraq in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with 3ID at Fort Stewart, GA, CPT McNeill took command of G. Co. 1-41 Field Artillery Battalion. Following a successful command, she became a professor of military science at Texas Tech University, Lubbock. During that time, she completed a graduate degree in clinical leadership at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. She subsequently graduated from the acquisition basic course in Huntsville, AL. She has deployed twice to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, in support of various Central American humanitarian missions. Ms. McNeill has received numerous awards and recognition for her extensive service.

    Congratulations to Ms. McNeill!

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    Jeffrey Mohlman, MD, MPH

    Dr. Mohlman is a PGY4 resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of Utah and ARUP Laboratories, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he is completing a hematopathology fellowship. He graduated with dual degrees from Texas Tech University Health Sciences in El Paso, where he received his medical degree with distinction in research and scholarship. He earned a Master of Public Health from the University of Texas-Houston, and was elected to the Delta Omega National Honorary Society in Public Health. Currently, he serves on the ASCP Resident Council, the ASCP Commission on Science, Technology and Policy, and the ASCP’s social media team. His research is focused on laboratory-developed test regulation, digital pathology, and hematopathology. He works as an assistant medical director in his institution’s hematopathology flow lab and with digital pathology.

    Congratulations to Dr. Mohlman!

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    Cory Nash, MS, PA(ASCP)CM

    Mr. Nash was trained as a medical laboratory scientist and now works as an ASCP board-certified pathologists’ assistant, specializing in surgical and gross pathology at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He is part of the patient care team and has an expertise in the macroscopic examination, dissection and tissue submission of surgical specimens, ranging from biopsies to multi-organ resections. He has a special interest in head and neck pathology, as well as bone and soft tissue pathology. After seeing the role that social media plays in laboratory medicine education, networking and advocacy, he felt there was a void in the presence of pathologists’ assistants in this area. So, he has become active using Twitter to fill this void. His surgical pathology-focused account, specifically, gross pathology, has been well received. Today, he writes a monthly post on ASCP’s online blog, Lablogatory.

    Congratulations to Mr. Nash!

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    Julie Papango, MLS(ASCPi)CM

    Born and raised in the Philippines, Ms. Pagango moved to the United States in 2016, and subsequently earned a bachelor’s degree in medical technology at 19, as the youngest person in her class of 189 students. She is presently a medical technologist 2 at Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY. She is especially proud of her previous work as a laboratory technologist volunteer with Doctors Without Borders, she has traveled to Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea and South Sudan to help local professionals in basic laboratory theories and practices. In Cambodia, she has helped to set up the first BSL 2 laboratory under the Ministry of Health for detection of tuberculosis.

    Congratulations to Ms. Papango!

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    Kristen Pesavento, MEd, MLS(ASCP)CM

    Ms. Pesavento is program manager of the master’s program in medical laboratory science at Loyola University Chicago. Her career as a medical laboratory scientist began as a generalist in a small children’s hospital where she gained real-world appreciation for all aspects of laboratory medicine. She pursued a graduate degree in biotechnology (with a focus in molecular microbiology). While attending Illinois State University, she received the Outstanding Master’s Level Teaching Assistant Award from both the Department of Biological Sciences and the University. She has spent the last 11 years specializing in molecular diagnostics. Her passion for education also led her to pursue a master of arts in education. She has also been an educator in a hospital-based medical laboratory science program and instructor for healthcare certification programs at a community college.

    Congratulations to Ms. Pesavento!

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    Oana Rosca, MD, FASCP

    After completing medical studies, Dr. Rosca embarked on a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Lenox Hill Hospital, NY, followed by cytopathology and molecular genetic pathology fellowships. She currently practices at Northwell Health System, NY. As an assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, she enjoys teaching residents and medical students. She directly interacts with clinicians during ROSE (rapid on site evaluation) and is involved in translational research, with a focus on molecular assays using limited material. Dr. Rosca implemented algorithms for reflex molecular testing at her institution and believes that pathologists are physician-scientists who have the opportunity to lead, use their position to educate, be an active part of the clinical team and assist in implementing the latest technology for patients’ benefit. As member of Physician Wellness Committee, one of her interests is to start the conversation about physicians’ burnout and come up with meaningful steps to prevent it.

    Congratulations to Dr. Rosca!

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    Amanda Rosenberg, MT(ASCP)

    Ms. Rosenberg is a quality manager in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, at Northwell Health - Long Island Jewish Medical Center, in New Hyde Park, NY. In quality management, she looks ahead to improve processes and work more efficiently. For example, reaching a provider to accept a critical result can be a challenge, especially in a large hospital setting. Her health system’s current process is resource and time intensive for both laboratory and clinical staff and carries an inherent risk of miscommunication. First, the laboratory technologist at the bench must determine the location of the patient and the contact information for the unit. Upon making contact with a licensed healthcare provider in the unit (usually a registered nurse), they must read the result to the provider, have the provider read the result back, and document the provider’s information, the critical value, and the result read back in the laboratory information system (LIS) within 15 minutes of identifying a critical value. The provider, in turn, has 30 minutes to report the critical value to a physician and document the communication with the laboratory in the electronic medical records. 

    Congratulations to Ms. Rosenberg!

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    Sara Rutter, MD, FASCP

    Dr. Rutter has just completed a transfusion medicine fellowship at Yale-New Haven Hospital/Yale School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in anatomical and clinical pathology residency and served as a chief resident. As a transfusion medicine fellow, she attended conferences with colleagues in hematology as much as possible. With her clinical pathology colleagues, she has worked to impact patient care through their presence at these meetings. In some instances, they were able to help guide testing strategies, such as for the diagnosis and follow-up of their thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) patients. At one conference, she helped to make a diagnosis of May-Hegglin Anomaly in a patient with large platelets and hearing loss. In June, she started as a surgical pathology assistant/fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore. In addition to transfusion medicine and surgical pathology, she has strong interests in laboratory regulation and graduate medical education.

    Congratulations to Dr. Rutter!

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    Gregory Scott, MD, PhD

    Dr. Scott is a resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at Stanford University, in Stanford, CA, where he has worked on a project with the urology department and VA informatics to dramatically reduce low-yield send-out orders of dextromethorphan and synthetic cannabinoids. This project has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars per year with just small changes to Vista order sets. This project taught him the power of including all stakeholders to identify critical problems and improve patient care. He has also written software to help his hematology/oncology colleagues. The tools curated and analyzed decades of flow cytometry data with the aim of helping triage non-malignant lymphadenopathies. An Oregon native, he has undergraduate training in biology and computer science. He completed an MD/PhD program at Oregon Health and Science University. His research focused on new microscopy techniques and investigated the interaction of eosinophils and peripheral nerves in the lungs of patients with asthma.

    Congratulations to Dr. Scott!

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    Kelsey Heintze MS, MLS(ASCP)CM

    Ms. Heintze is president of laboratory operations at Magnolia Diagnostics, LLC, in Dallas, Texas, where she is responsible for research new test offerings, making business plans and recommendations to the executive team for implementation and serving as laboratory manager. She serves as a liaison with the firm’s sales teams, test manufacturers, practitioners and their support staff to ensure customer satisfaction and deliver patient results in a timely manner. Ms. Heintze earned her certification in Medical Laboratory Sciences from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and a master’s in biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has been working in the laboratory field for seven years focusing on microbiology. She recently received the Medical Service Community Award from Bexar County Medical Society for the work she’s done with Magnolia Diagnostics in Bexar County. 

    Congratulations to Ms. Heintze!

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    Amanda Treece, MD, FASCP

    A native of North Carolina, Dr. Treece is a pathologist trained in both pediatric and molecular pathology. After training in Alabama, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, she and her partner settled in Denver, where she is an assistant professor in the University of Colorado, Denver School of Medicine and practices both molecular and pediatric pathology at the Children's Hospital Colorado. She has been the medical director of the Precision Diagnostics Laboratory for the past two years and is working with a large team to expand pediatric personalized medicine in their institution. She is also very active in education, including serving as the associate program director for a new molecular genetic pathology fellowship. With personalized medicine rapidly expanding in medicine, her institution has begun to plan its own program, with a goal to build a strong partnership between the laboratory and IT to ensure that data storage and management plan makes as much sense for one sample as it does for hundreds.

    Congratulations to Dr. Treece!

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    Beena Umar, MD

    Dr. Umar is an anatomic and clinical pathology resident at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit. She received her medical degree from Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Pakistan in 2005. She subsequently completed an anatomic pathology residency at Aga Khan University, Pakistan. While pursuing her training in Pakistan, she wanted to expand her skills in pathology and explore the tremendous opportunities in this field, within the United States. Being matched at Henry Ford Hospital and trained under the strong leadership skills of Dr. Richard Zarbo is an honor and a privilege for her. Her dream and ambition is to pursue an academic career in gastrointestinal pathology. She is also serving as chief resident (2018-present) which allows her to play significant administrative and leadership roles. In addition, she is an ASCP resident representative and a member of CAP-house of delegates. Because of her strong leadership and communication skills she has been awarded with Henry Ford Star Resident Award.

    Congratulations to Dr. Umar!

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    Elise Venable, MBBS

    After completing a BS in biological sciences from Louisiana State University, Dr. Venable moved to Brisbane, Australia to begin medical school at the University of Queensland. During this time, she began to fully appreciate the role of laboratory medicine in the care of patients. This influenced her decision to pursue learning about pathology and laboratory medicine. In 2017, she began her residency training in pathology at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, MN. She takes part in multidisciplinary conferences and seeks out members of the clinical team in an effort to promote education about pathology and laboratory practices. She enjoys having conversations about laboratory practices and believes other members of the care team should utilize the knowledge and expertise not only of the pathologists, but of the laboratory staff as well. 

    Congratulations to Dr. Venable!

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    Joseph Wiencek, PhD

    Dr. Wiencek is an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and associate director of clinical chemistry at University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville. He earned his BA in chemistry from the Ohio State University in 2008 and his PhD in clinical/bioanalytical chemistry from Cleveland State University in 2015 – the only COMACC accredited doctoral program in the United States.  During his PhD work, he also completed a two-year internship in the Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory at the Cleveland Clinic’s Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute in 2015. He then went on to complete his postdoctoral training in clinical chemistry at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, in 2017. His research interests include preanalytical variation in laboratory testing, diagnostic stewardship and medical education.

    Congratulations to Dr. Wiencek! 

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    Yaolin Zhou, MD, FASCP

    Dr. Zhou is a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist and molecular genetic pathologist at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City. She earned a degree in public policy studies from Duke University and combines this with her professional work as a molecular pathologist. She has traveled the world to study healthcare systems, and visited pathology departments across the country to better understand the challenges of healthcare delivery in the United States as it relates to pathology. She has developed the EPIDEM model for quality improvement: explore relevant issues and contextual factors, promote to the right people, implement timely solutions, document steps, evaluate with meaningful measures, and make modifications to improve interventions further. Because of her dedication to helping healthcare professionals across medical disciplines, she was recognized as a 2017 ASCP Choosing Wisely Champion.

    Congratulations to Dr. Zhou! 

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    Learn About the Top Five

    Adam L. Booth, MD

    Dr. Booth is a fourth-year anatomic and clinical pathology resident at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), in Galveston. He previously served as Chief Resident at UTMB and currently holds several national leadership positions. Dr. Booth has taken part in numerous interdisciplinary research projects resulting in multiple publications, as well as poster and platform presentations at regional, state, and national meetings. He currently serves as Resident Advisor to the UTMB Medical School Pathology Association for Students. This experience has allowed him to involve medical students in research projects and expose them to the role of pathologists on the medical team. Following residency, Dr. Booth will complete a fellowship in gastrointestinal and hepatopancreatobiliary pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.

    Congratulations to Dr. Booth!

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    Sarah Choi, MD, PhD, FASCP

    Dr. Choi is a hematopathologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she is an assistant professor of pathology. She has an academic interest in prognostically relevant genetic alterations in myeloid neoplasms and is also involved in collaborative projects, including as a co-Investigator on a National Institutes of Health RO1-funded study on imaging disease and response to therapy in myeloproliferative neoplasms. She has lectured at regional and national/international meetings on mixed phenotype acute leukemia, T-cell lymphomas, follicular lymphoma, and peripheral blood smear morphology. Her teaching activities also include membership in the Clinical Competency Committee and Program Evaluation Committee for the Hematopathology Fellowship Program. This summer, she began serving as program director. Dr. Choi is heavily invested in departmental quality initiatives in collaboration with supervisors, technologists, administrative assistants, and other pathologists, including the Patient Distribution and Archival Taskforce and Pathology Innovation Survey Analysis team.

    Congratulations to Dr. Choi!

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    Deanna Fang, MD, FASCP

    Dr. Fang is director-in-training for histocompatibility and immunogenetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. She lived in Hong Kong for 10 years before coming to the United States to attend Pomona College, in Claremont, CA, where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry. She earned her medical degree from Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, where she also completed a post-sophomore fellowship in anatomic and clinical pathology. Dr. Fang completed her anatomic and clinical pathology residency and medical microbiology fellowship training at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, (in association with ARUP Laboratories) and a fellowship in blood banking/transfusion medicine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She joined the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, in Jacksonville, FL, and subsequently assumed the position of director of the blood bank. She has a background in blood banking, apheresis, and cell therapy, all of which are related to human leukocyte antigen (HLA).

    Congratulations to Dr. Fang!

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    Jennifer Kasten, MD, MSc, FASCP

    Dr. Kasten is a board-certified anatomic pathologist and board-certified pediatric pathologist, and assistant professor of pathology and cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH. She finds congenital heart disease fascinating, both structural heart disease as well as microscopic heart disease, alongside transplant pathology, myocarditis of all types, cardiac tumors, and complex medical autopsies, particularly those with an underlying cardiac cause of death. As a general diagnostic pediatric and perinatal pathologist, she sees cases from all pathologic subspecialties, and her mantra at all times is to fit her pathology diagnoses into the clinical, social, and cultural context of the child. Dr. Kasten trained in tropical medicine and global health at both the London School of Tropical Medicine and at the University of Oxford, Oxford, England, where she studied as a Marshall Scholar to the United Kingdom. As such, she has worked in multiple countries on several continents and is profoundly interested in improving diagnostic medicine capacity worldwide. She is active in ASCP, including its Center for Global Health, and enjoys consulting internationally on issues of diagnostic quality, pathology systems, and laboratory medicine.

    Congratulations to Dr. Kasten!

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    Julie Papango, MLS(ASCPi)CM

    Born and raised in the Philippines, Ms. Pagango moved to the United States in 2016, and subsequently earned a bachelor’s degree in medical technology at 19, as the youngest person in her class of 189 students. She is presently a medical technologist 2 at Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY. She is especially proud of her previous work as a laboratory technologist volunteer with Doctors Without Borders, she has traveled to Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea and South Sudan to help local professionals in basic laboratory theories and practices. In Cambodia, she has helped to set up the first BSL 2 laboratory under the Ministry of Health for detection of tuberculosis.

    Congratulations to Ms. Papango!

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