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Overview of Laboratory Medicine

The discipline of laboratory medicine (also referred to as clinical pathology) is a subspecialty of pathology that focuses on the development, implementation, quality control and interpretation of medical laboratory tests. These include clinical chemistry, flow cytometry, hematology/hemostasis/hematopathology, histocompatibility, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, toxicology, and transfusion medicine.

In the early 1970s (about the time when this residency program first began), trainees in laboratory medicine were challenged to integrate new computer technology and automation into the hospital laboratory environment. The results are the highly automated, high-throughput medical laboratories operating today. In the early 1980s, clinical pathologists utilized monoclonal antibody technology originally developed in the basic science laboratory to develop numerous new medical tests in endocrinology, cardiology and oncology. In the 1990s, the recognition of new pathogens and human identification of the genes associated with disease processes lead to the development of new molecular assays to effectively monitor and treat patients.

In the early parts of the 21st century we are starting to see the results of knowledge of the human and other animal genomes and pathogens as advances in proteonomics and basic disease processes come together to solve medical problems. The continued evolution of diagnostic tests in laboratory medicine is reflected both by the laboratory examinations offered at the structure of our training programs to our comprehensive training in all aspects of clinical pathology. Laboratory medicine residency program trainees also develop expertise in a field of basic or applied biomedical science for a one- to three-year period. For trainees with a Ph.D. degree or significant research experience, the training program can serve as a combined medical residency and postdoctoral fellowship, thus providing for a rapid transition into an academic career. Somewhat unique to our program is the individualized (and well-supervised) training experience that each resident receives. Graduates of our program may be biomedical researchers, directors of clinical laboratories, or a novel combination of both. Many graduates have gone on to well-respected positions as leaders and directors of other academic pathology departments. In any event, each trainee emerges from our program with a well-honed blend of clinical expertise and research experience, well-equipped to make their own unique positions in academic medicine.

Future of Laboratory Medicine

Advances in science continue to accelerate the field of laboratory medicine. The Human Genome Project provides an immense resource to better understand the molecular and genetic basis of disease. This, in turn, will lead to the development of new molecular and genetic tests for disease processes such has already occurred for cystic fibrosis and inherited breast cancer. New recombinant antibody technologies will make multiplexed, ultrasensitive, and nano-technology immuno-based assays possible that will revolutionize the field. Future trainees in laboratory medicine may expect to further the field of medical laboratory diagnostics in many exciting ways.


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