Virtual Learning Opportunities
Free Monthly Webinars
October 22, 8 pm Eastern
HLA and Disease: Guilt by Association
Speaker: Tiffany Roberts, PhD, DABCC, FAACC, DABHI
For over 50 years, an association between HLA and disease has been recognized; however, exact mechanisms underlying causation remain unclear. This session will describe the putative mechanisms for HLA in disease. Several of the most common disease states associated with HLA and informative laboratory testing will be discussed.
Webinar Details
- 1.0 Hour of P.A.C.E.® Credit
- Free for ASCLS Members (Non-Members: $10)
- Sign up today; if you can't attend live, register anyway—those who pre-register will receive access to the webinar recording.
Upcoming Webinar Topics
Stay tuned for information on these future webinars.
November 18, 8 pm Eastern
The Importance of What We Call Ourselves as a Profession
Speakers: Kathy Doig, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CMSHCM, and Linda Smith, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM
December
Blood Bank
Speaker: Carolyn Burns, MD
January
Labvocacy Briefing for the 117th Congress
Speakers: Patrick Cooney and Jim Flanigan, CAE
ASCLS is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.
Your Choice of More than 60 On Demand Educational Experiences
The educational sessions from the highly-rated 2020 Virtual Joint Annual Meeting are now available to stream online through JAM On Demand.
- All individual sessions are $10 for ASCLS Members/$15 for non-members.
- The Best of 2020 bundle, containing the top 12 sessions according to attendee ratings, is $80 for ASCLS Members/$120 for non-members.
- The All Access bundle of all 59 sessions (up to 58.5 hours of P.A.C.E.® credit) is $275 for ASCLS members/$395 for non-members.
- Five pre-conference workshops (2 hours of P.A.C.E.® credit per session) are each $20 for ASCLS members/$30 for non-members.
Additionally, the Closing Keynote will be free to anyone through June 30, 2021:
Educators: Is there a session from the 2020 JAM that you want to use in your own course? These sessions, as well as the CLEC 2020 recorded sessions and ASCLS monthly webinar recordings, are available for group purchases or licensing at a discounted rate. Contact Melanie Giusti.
Subscribe to the Off the Bench Podcast
The Off the Bench Podcast is back with new hosts and new episodes dropping the last Friday of each month. Listen in to a lively discussion of scientific and not-so-scientific ideas in laboratory medicine.
The September 25 episode, "Bad Lab Science on TV", dissected scenes involving medical laboratory science from three popular medical television shows. The August 28 episode takes on “COVID Laboratory Conspiracy Theories.” Stay tuned for the October 30 episode on “Legislative Insights” for the medical laboratory. Some podcasts will even be available for P.A.C.E.® credit.
Subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Let’s share ideas and talk nerdy.
New and Improved Mentorship Program
ASCLS is rolling out a new and improved Mentorship Program for the 2020-21 Society year. The program pairs up mentors and mentees for one year to create a supportive environment that fosters professional growth and a feeling of belonging and value as a member of the ASCLS community.
New this year the mentor matching is now available all year round through ASCLS Connect, and mentors and mentees can self-select each other through an online process.
Sign up for a free webinar, ASCLS Mentorship Kick-off: What it is and how you can sign up, on October 28 at 7:30 pm Eastern. Learn about the roles of a mentee and mentor, and hear real life examples from past program participants.
Call for CLEC 2021 Poster Presentation Abstracts
ASCLS is currently accepting abstracts for poster presentations at the 2021 Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference (CLEC). Influence the future of clinical laboratory science education by sharing your expertise, research, and other work with more than 500 fellow educators across the nation. Submit your abstracts by November 1.
CLEC 2021 will be held February 25-27 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Denver, Colorado. All presenters will receive a registration discount, and all accepted abstracts will be published and indexed in Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) journal.
Ask Me Anything: Medical Laboratory Science Educators
What are the minimum degree requirements to become an MLS educator? What is your advice for juggling administrative duties with teaching? What master's programs are most beneficial to becoming an educator? What do you love about teaching?
The ASCLS Ascending Professionals Form and Developing Professionals Forum hosted their most recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) on September 23, with special guests medical laboratory educators Dana (Bostic) Baker, MBA, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, and Kyle Riding, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM.
Dana is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences at The University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. Kyle is an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences at The University of Central Florida in Orlando. They answered all of your questions about the path to becoming an educator.
View a playlist of previous career advice AMAs.
Member Engagement
LABOWEEN
October is upon us … which means it’s time for LABOWEEN! Show off your mad-scientist side by carving a lab-themed pumpkin (aka lab-o-lantern) or donning your best lab-themed costume for Halloween! Post a photo of your LABOWEEN creation on social media or in the ASCLS Connect Open Forum by October 31, and include the hashtags #Lab4Life, #IamASCLS, and #LABOWEEN2020 to be entered in a contest for a $20 gift card. This year we will have winners for best pumpkin carving and best costume.
Students: Tag your school or program in your social media post. We will have additional winners for best student submitted lab-o-lantern and costume.
ASCLS Voices Under 40
Spotlight: Sophia Chandrasekar, MLS(ASCP)CM, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Sophia is employed by University of North Carolina (UNC) Health as a lead medical technologist II. In her position at UNC Health’s McLendon Core Laboratory, she is the senior technologist overseeing gas chromatography. She also serves as the core lab dayshift weekend supervisor.
Sophia serves ASCLS in many capacities at the state, regional, and national levels. She has served North Carolina’s constituent society as a member of their board of directors, president, past president, and chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee. Sophia pursued opportunities to grow her leadership skills by recently graduating from the ASCLS Leadership Academy. Read more.
Spotlight: Christie Massen, PhD, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, Bismarck, North Dakota
Christie is currently employed as the director of the North Dakota Public Health Laboratory and as the director of the MLT program at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. In her role with the North Dakota Department of Health, Christie is responsible for managing her team in both the routine functions of their mission while also leading them through the challenges of scaling up testing in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In her role as the MLT program director at the Minnesota State Community and Technical College, she directs her technical and leadership abilities at managing their accreditation and curriculum. Finally, Christie enjoys her role as an educator of future generations of laboratory professions both in Minnesota and with students enrolled at University of Cincinnati.
Christie serves ASCLS in many capacities, but she has found her passion in leadership development, both at the regional and national levels. She says, “My great accomplishment is getting other individuals involved in ASCLS.” Christie’s influence extends beyond getting new members to meetings. Her nominator says, Christie does more than recruitment, she inspires and shepherds “a new wave of ASCLS leaders”. As a testament to Christie’s skill at developing leaders, she has had the pleasure of witnessing individuals she recruited replacing her in leadership positions within North Dakota’s constituent society. Read more.
ASCLS Voices Under 40 honors ASCLS members who have shown exceptional commitment to the Society, the laboratory profession, and their community at large at a younger age in their professional career. Each month we spotlight the shining voices who were selected from many nominations across the country.
Fall Meetings
Connect with lab friends and colleagues at upcoming virtual events.
2020 Virtual Northwest Medical Lab Symposium
October 15-16
Virtual Intermountain States Seminar (IMSS) 2020
October 18-20
Connect: The Community Conversations
Check out the recent discussion threads on ASCLS Connect and join the conversations:
- In the Open Forum, members discussed new ways to hold recruiting events to attract and hire laboratory personnel and recruit new students for our programs, in light of COVID-19.
- Members responded to the Chemistry/Urinalysis Scientific Assembly question of the month for September.
- Members also provided advice on BOC review prior to graduation for MLS program educators.
- In the Education Scientific Assembly, members shared resources for online peripheral blood smear practice.
- ASCLS continues to share CDC alerts and updates for laboratories through the Open Forum.
Download the MemberCentric App on your mobile device to get the community conversations and more in the palm of your hand.
Key Dates
HLA and Disease: Guilt by Association WebinarWebinar
October 22