UConn MLS Students Triumph in Second Annual Cell Bowl Competition

Medical Laboratory Science students at the University of Connecticut (UConn) became the champions of the second annual Cell Bowl on their first time participating in the event!  

Created by YouTuber Tiffany Gill, MA, MLS(ASCP)^CM, aka, “Medical Lab Lady Gill,” and sponsored by ASCP, the “Cell Bowl” tests the scientific knowledge of MLS and MLT students nationwide. The Cell Bowl, which took place last fall, offered an engaging way for medical laboratory students to enhance their knowledge of blood cell morphology and build professional networks while preparing for the ASCP Board of Certification exams. ASCP, Medical Lab Lady Gill, and CellAVision, another sponsor, all provided the prizes. 

“Our students had an awesome experience,” says Bruce E. Blanchard, PhD, MLS(ASCP) assistant clinical professor and director of the MLC program at UConn. “It was a nice break from the day-to-day grind of our MLS program. The students were learning outside the classroom setting.”

The Cell Bowl is co-hosted by Professor Gill and Aaron Odegard, MS, MLS(ASCP)^CMSM^CM, a past chair of the ASCP Council of Laboratory Professionals.  The competition uses a free blood cell identification quiz in a tutorial app, created by CellaVision, for students in each team to submit their weekly high score. Program faculty then submit the best score as the team’s score for the week. Each week during the competition, Medical Lab Lady Gill and an ASCP Council of Laboratory Professionals representative announced the weekly winners, discuss information about the profession and certification, and provide a tutorial on a specific blood cell line. Other hematology professors, specialists, and current Doctorate of Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLS) students guest starred in the Medical Lab Lady Gill YouTube Cell Bowl episodes to discuss these topics.

“The team had a few star participants. Our first perfect score was submitted by Bethany Lafontaine; our team captains, Ruth-Ann Lambert and Lakshmi Manne, consistently improved during the competition,” Dr. Blanchard says. The Super Cell Bowl winning score of 19.8 seconds was submitted by Lakshmi. It was the first time that a response time under 20 seconds was submitted for the Cell Bowl and earned Lakshmi a hematology backpack from Professor Gill. 

Dr. Blanchard says, “Ultimately, it is all about the students. Our faculty and I continue to try to educate and challenge the students to be the best they can be. The students have worked very hard to effectively learn the information, regardless of the mode of instruction.” 

This group of students will graduate in May. Hence, they’ll will have a completely different group of students participate in Cell Bowl 3. Stay tuned for details!