ASCP 2025 Encourages You to Network with Your Peers: A Wine Tasting, Fun Run and More!

One of the key benefits of attending the ASCP 2025 Annual Meeting in person — besides the great education opportunities! — is the chance to interact with colleagues who have similar jobs and to build relationships. Below is a preview of several networking and socializing events to meet your peers.  

Society of Black Pathology Day of Culture 

Monday, November 17, 1 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  

Join ASCP and the Society of Black Pathology (SBP) for a dynamic professional event that elevates voices from across the global laboratory medicine community. The afternoon will kick off with a Keynote Address, “Resilience Over Resources: Thriving Beyond Challenges,” by Kisha Mitchell Richards, MD, a founding member of the SBP and director of the Pathology and Clinical Laboratory at Yale New Haven Health Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, CT. That will be followed by “Oral Presentations: Reports from Across the Diaspora,” led by trailblazers who are making real progress in addressing disparities in pathology and laboratory medicine. These oral spotlights will showcase research, strategic projects, and positive achievements happening across multiple sectors of the diaspora.  

Wind down the Day of Culture with a reception from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Meet colleagues, network informally, and celebrate culture and connection within our professional community. Registration for the education session and reception are required. 

Wine Tasting Mixer: On Diagnosing Cabernet Sauvignon. . . . and Others 

Monday, November 17, 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.  

Join pathologist and “resident wine expert” Bruce Smoller, MD, FASCP, for this one-of-a-kind wine tasting event to kick off Day One of the ASCP 2025 Annual Meeting! Enjoy a guided tasting with discussion on how to evaluate, experience, and select wine. 

Tasting wines and identifying them has many parallels to making diagnoses in pathology. Learning to separate and assess the various components of a sip of wine helps to distinguish what one likes or dislikes about a glass of wine. This can lead to better choices when confronted with a wine menu at a restaurant or when surveying the choices in a wine store. You will taste and assess two white and two red wines during this session. Dr. Smoller will guide participants through the various components present in wine, teach them to individually evaluate them, and show how these observations point to a correct diagnosis! An additional registration fee of $39 is required. 

3rd Annual Petri Dash Fun Run 

Tuesday, November 18, 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.  

Race around the iconic Centennial Olympic Park in the 3rd annual Petri Dash Fun Run/Walk! Choose your pace and distance, up to three laps totaling 5k. See many of Atlanta’s famed sites, including the Olympic Rings, World of Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium, and College Football Hall of Fame. Proceeds go to the ASCP Foundation. 

ASCP Ambassador Mixer 

Tuesday, November 18, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m., Grand Hall 
Connect with fellow ASCP Ambassadors and share tips on engaging students in medical laboratory careers through interactive presentations, hands-on activities, and relatable storytelling. Find out what works from your peers in a relaxed, fun setting after education sessions for the day have ended.   

Hot Topics Round Tables 

Wednesday, November 19, 5:10 p.m. – 5:40 p.m., Hanover E 

Head over to room Hanover E (Rm LL2, opposite the Exhibit Hall) after your last session of the day for this fun, quick opportunity to connect with peers and discuss hot topics affecting your field. There will be 10 tables, each designated for a specific group (laboratory professionals, laboratory directors, pathologists, residents and fellows, or medical students). Subject matter experts will facilitate discussions at each table. 

Participants will join in peer-to-peer conversations about topics that arose during the ASCP Hot Topics survey last summer to discuss how they are tackling common issues. For example, residents will discuss delivering effective presentations and developing public speaking skills, whereas laboratory managers will talk about how they are addressing staffing issues. The table for medical students will be facilitated by a pathologist or a pathology resident to talk about how to choose residencies, prepare their applications, etcetera.  

There will also be a table focused on biomarker testing navigation (BTN) which is part of the roll out of ASCP’s new BTN certificate. Stephanie Whitehead and Lynnette Pineault will lead the discussion which will be an open forum for those who are either interested in pursuing the BTN certificate or introducing a BTN program at their health institution.   

Join or Start an ASCP Chapter! 

Interested in joining an ASCP Chapter or starting one in your area? Head over to the ASCP Booth in the Exhibit Hall during lunch on November 18 to chat with others and learn how to get started!  

Need more information? Go to ascp.org/2025.