New Summer Immersion Program in Laboratory Medicine for High School Students

The MLS division was recently awarded a Medical Laboratory Science Program Director Educational Grant from the American Society for Clinical Pathology to support the creation of a new summer immersion program for high school students interested in exploring a career in laboratory medicine. As part of this program, MLS faculty and staff will develop and host a one-week, hands-on introduction to laboratory medicine focused on the main content areas of the MLS curriculum. Participation will be open to all high school students in Utah and rural and under-represented student populations will be strongly encouraged to apply. A major goal of the immersion program is to foster interest in the MLS profession and to convey the division’s commitment to service for local communities. Beginning in summer 2022, thirty students will be accepted to participate in the immersion program. Scholarships will be available to assist rural students with on-campus living expenses. Additional details about this new program will be available in early spring.

MLS Undergraduate Program Expanded Student Enrollment

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “employment of clinical laboratory technologists and technicians is projected to grow 11 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations…Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire”. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians, at: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/clinical-laboratory-technologists-and-technicians.htm (visited November 13, 2021).

Recognizing the projected nationwide shortage of medical laboratory scientists, the MLS division is focused on increasing the number of graduates from our NAACLS-accredited program. As an integral part of the MLS division’s strategic plan to meet the growing need for highly-qualified medical laboratory professionals, the undergraduate program is poised to increase student enrollment beginning Fall 2022. With the planned addition of several new faculty and staff members over the next few months, the division will expand its class schedule and number of laboratory sections to accommodate up to 80 new students each academic year. Lecture and laboratory courses will be held daily from 7:30 am - 6:30 pm, with early (7:30 am) and late (12:00 pm) start-time options to accommodate student schedules. As student enrollment increases, so does the need for clinical rotation sites. The MLS program is fortunate and grateful to have the continued support of many laboratories in the Salt Lake area including ARUP, Intermountain Healthcare, Steward Health Care, and MountainStar Healthcare.

Congratulations to Recent Master of Science in Laboratory Medicine and Biomedical Science Graduates!

The Master of Science degree in Laboratory Medicine and Biomedical Science offers two tracks for advanced study: (1) clinical laboratory science and (2) biomedical research. Areas for research specialization include immunology, cell biology, molecular biology and diagnostics, clinical chemistry, toxicology, microbiology, hematology, hematopathology, immunohematology and transfusion medicine, and biochemical genetics. Please join us in congratulating our most recent graduates!

Nguyen (Nick) Xuan Nguyen

• Thesis Title: T follicular helper cell response to protein immunization.

Miguel Francoise Sumang Ventura

• Thesis Title: Kinetics of eosin-5-maleimide in red blood cells.

Jessica Myers

• Thesis Title: Pharmacogenetic and opioid drug trends in breast cancer patients.

Jonathan Buckendorf

• Thesis Title: HIV-1 latency reversal activity in compounds isolated from Euphorbia usambarica.