SUMMER EDITION ASCLS-IL AUGUST 2020 Insights

SUMMER EDITION AUGUST 2020

From ASCLS-IL!

Inside this issue: PRESIDENT’S 1-2 LETTER 2020 3-8 GRADUATES 2020 ASCLS 9 VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING ASCLS VOICES 10 UNDER 40 ASCLS-IL 11-14 DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL FORUM INTER- 15 DISCIPLINARY EVENT ASCLS-IL ON 16 SOCIAL MEDIA INFO FOR 17 PUBLICATION

ASCLS-IL

Insights LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Nicholas R Steder III, MBA. M.S., MLS(ASCP)CM

Dear ASCLS-IL, As my first address as

ASCLS-IL President 2020

-2021, I want to

acknowledge all the hard

work members of our

profession have put in to

establish the diagnostic

methods used to identify

COVID-19 cases in our

communities. I know we

have had to come together

in new ways and step

outside the box to get non

-FDA approved testing up

and running as well as

overcome the supply

chain shortages involved

in all aspects of working

in a lab. This has been an

unprecedented time for all

of us and we have done

everything we can to be

leaders in fighting this

pandemic. Unfortunately, due to the

pandemic, the 2020

ASCLS-IL State Meeting

had to be cancelled this

year. Again, I want to

thank those who dedicated

their time this year and

every year to this great

educational event. As

the Vendor Committee

Chair, it broke my heart

to reach out to each of

the generous

organizations to inform

them of the news. One

of my goals for this

upcoming year is to

collaborate with our

amazing Board of

Directors and figure out

how to proceed with a

meeting next year;

perhaps we can utilize

the very successful

model the Joint Annual

Meeting (JAM) was

able to put on this

summer. Speaking of the JAM, I

was lucky enough to

attend the meeting,

albeit from my desk at

work, and was

impressed by how well

it went despite the many

challenges of shifting to

a completely online

platform almost last

minute. I also want to

thank the members for

volunteering for this

year’s House of

Delegates meeting, and I

hope everyone enjoyed

the meeting. I learned

much from the

presentations given by

two of our most active

members, and past

presidents, Toula Castillo

and Nicholas Moore;

who were awarded the

Region VI Rho Sigma

Award and the ASCLS-

IL Member of the Year

Recognition Award,

respectively. Recognition

SUMMER 2020

PRESIDENT’S LETTER, CONT.

is also deserved for Gilma Roncancio-Weemer who earned the Robin H. Mendelssohn Memorial Award, Kristina Olack who received the winning Case Study Award, and Dr. Nadine Lerret for the Joseph J. Kleiner Award. Congratulations! Lastly, thank you again for all the work you do on and off the bench. I look forward to navigating this tenuous year with you and coming out the other end all the better. Good luck and take care, Nicholas R Steder III, MBA. M.S., MLS(ASCP)CM ASCLS-IL President, 2020-2021 Area Director of Laboratory Services Kindred Healthcare

2020-2021 ASCLS-IL Board of Directors (BOD) President: Nicholas R. Steder III Past President: Kate Bernhardt Recording Secretary: Diana DeAvila Executive Secretary: Gilma Roncancio-Weemer Treasurer: Demetra “Toula” Castillo Board Member-At-Large (2020-2022): Marjola Furczon Board Member-At-Large (2019-2021): Josephine Ebomoyi Nomination and Election Committee Michelle Campbell Elaine Nicholas 2020-2021 Student Forum Officers Chair: Kirsten Callaway Vice Chair: Payal Sharma Secretary: Lauren Denny Treasurer: Kent Franz

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 3

2020 GRADUATES: WELCOME TO THE PROFESSION FROM ASCLS-IL!

Names from left-to-right, top-to-bottom:

Michelle Muysenberg, Jamie Thompson, Cassandre Nelson, Kerri Skiles, Matthew Smola,

Claire Tang, Stacy Chandler, Michael Kealy, Steven Fuentes, Andrea Fuentes, Valerie Counsil

KANKAKEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MEDICAL LABORATORY

TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 4

2020 GRADUATES: WELCOME TO THE PROFESSION FROM ASCLS-IL! CONT.

ELGIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE CLINICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY

PROGRAM

Gerardo Garcia Jr, Zaki Hassnoddin, Jillian Janicki, Jennifer Konier, Jessica Mesino, Jeneva Newman

SSM HEALTH SCHOOL OF MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNICIAN

OSF SAINT FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER SCHOOL OF CLINICAL

LABORATORY SCIENCE

Front Row (left-to-right): Abigail Kovachevich, Harley Teegardin, Ivah Fears, Kaysi Vice Back Row (left-to-right): Kory Harman, Paul Schraeder, Kylie Rutschke, Andrew Jenkins

ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCES PROGRM

Bibler, Jenna Brown, Alyssa Coletta, Alyssa Dawson, Holly Garrison, Rachel Hardison, Brooke Hull, Baylee Jeppson, Alena La Spisa, Michelle Melvin, Race

Miller, Keely Murphy, Cassidy Nguyen, Annie Oswald, Alexandra Patel, Megha Poulis, Almas Punke, Jon Rhoads, Bailey Richardson, Autumn, Tamanio, Jocelyne Wessel, Allison Zeiler, Courtney

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 5


SUMMER 2020 PAGE 6


LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCES CLASS OF 2020

From left- to- right: Emily Zimmerman, Breanna Heffren, Kim Alexis Espejo, Alexandria Maillet

RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICL LABORATORY SCIENCE PROGRAM


SUMMER 2020 PAGE 7

SUMMER 2020


PAGE 8

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE PROGRAM

Row 1 left-to-right: Ariel Levitt, Hannah Gill, Haya Albanna, Mary Frymire Row 2 left-to-right: Kelsey Hobson, Devon James, Shannon Walton, Mytran Tran Row 3 left-to-right: Ronny Alvarez, Katherine Garon, Salam Abuihmoud, Brenna Gengler Row 4 left-to-right: Leonardo Zavala, Mike Anderson, Elizabeth Wright, Ivana Brkovic Row 5 left-to-right: Angelica Boyd, Stephanie Salazar

Not pictured MLT to MLS students: Terros Dilworth (graduated spring 2020) Geesoo Ahn, Heta Kadakia (graduated fall 2019)

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 9

2020 ASCLS VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING

A Report by: Masih Shokrani, Ph.D., MT(ASCP)

The Joint Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) and Association of Genetic Technologists (AGT) was held this year virtually from June 28-July 2, 2020. The virtual annual meeting provided pre-conference workshops, educational and scientific sessions, and poster sessions for continuing education. In addition, there were committee meetings, social events, industry engagement, various ASCLS regional meetings, leadership sessions, awards ceremony & much more! The House of Delegates was held on the last day of the Joint Annual Meeting on Thursday, July 2 and ASCLS-IL was represented by half a dozen delegates.

Congratulations to the following Illinois awardees recognized in the awards ceremony! Gilma Roncancio-Weemer: Robin H. Mendelssohn Memorial Award Toula Castillo: Region VI Rho Sigma Award Nicholas Moore: Constituent Society Member of the Year Recognition Award

Kristina Olack: (MLS Class of 2020 at Rush University) received the winning Case Study

Award in the 2020 ASCLS Education Scientific Assembly Student Awards competition for her

study: Capillary Blood and Urine Ketone Body Analysis During the Ketogenic Diet. She won

free registration to the ASCLS Annual Meeting. This was an interprofessional project led by

Dr. Christy Tangney in Clinical Nutrition and Dr. Nadine Lerret.

Dr. Nadine Lerret: faculty of the MLS Program at Rush University received the 2020 Joseph

J. Kleiner Award for her publication in Clinical Laboratory Science "Hyperglycemia Activates the CD27-CD70 Axis on Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells" with MLS graduates Claire Owaja, Evelyn Roback-Navarro and Naomi Iwai.

ASCLS VOICES UNDER 40

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 10

Michelle R. Campbell, MLS (ASCP)CM MBCM was recently honored as a recipient of the ASCLS Voices Under 40 Award. The Voices Under 40 Spotlight was developed to honor ASCLS members who have shown exceptional commitment to ASCLS, the laboratory profession, and their community at a young age in their professional careers. Candidates are selected based on involvement in professional, legislative, and civic arenas. Dr. Masih Shokrani (ASCLS-IL) and Lisa Cremeans (NCSCLS) provided references in support of Michelle’s nomination. Since joining as a student member in 2012, Michelle has served ASCLS-IL as Copy Editor of ASCLS Insights, and Scholarship Committee Chair for ASCLS-IL. Michelle works as a Development Technologist in the Clinical Immunoassay and Clinical Mass Spectrometry Laboratories at Mayo Clinic. Michelle is also an Adjunct Instructor in the Masters of Clinical Laboratory Science Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Keep an eye out on the ASCLS website (https://www.ascls.org/voices-under-40) for spotlights of the 2020 Voices Under 40 recipients throughout the year.

https://www.ascls.org/voices-under-40)

2020-2021 DEVELOPING PROFESSIONALS FORUM

By: Kirsten Callaway, Developing Professionals Forum Chair (2020-2021)

By: Payal Sharma, Developing Professionals Forum Vice-Chair (2020-2021)

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 11

Hello! My name is Kirsten Callaway, and I am proud to serve

as the Chair of the Developing Professionals Forum (DPF). I am a

senior in the Medical Laboratory Science program at the University of

Illinois (UIS) Springfield. Previously, I attended the Medical

Laboratory Technician program at Illinois Central College and became

an ASCP-certified MLT in June 2019. I am thankful for the knowledge

I gained during my clinical rotation experience in the Peoria area, and I

am excited to begin my Springfield area rotations in September.

As Chair of this forum, my goal is to spread public awareness

of the laboratory and the essential workers who perform testing. One

way I hope to achieve this goal is to educate high school students

about our career. Through online tours or video demonstrations, the

DPF can bring the laboratory into a student’s own home. While

options for outreach may not be the same as previous years, I would

like to utilize technology to connect with more MLS and MLT

programs in Illinois. When we are united, we can heighten our

visibility with the public.

The MLS Club at UIS already has plans to create an awareness

video. A song parody video was planned with our class of 2020 and

features students from the Loyola University MLS program. This

project was delayed, but we are excited to continue filming with our

incoming class. Keep on the lookout at MLS Club at UIS social media

pages! I am thankful for this incredible opportunity to represent the

students and professionals across the state, and I look forward to the

exciting plans that await!

Hey Everyone! My name is Payal Sharma but everyone calls me “Pie”. I am currently a MLS student at University of Illinois in

Springfield. I held the Co-Vice President role and took part in the event planning/philanthropy for the MLS club. I nominated myself for Vice-Chair in order to create a foundation for knowledge, education,

mentorship and leadership in the MLS community and wish to be part of something great. I want to spread my wings and make a mark in the community for beneficial reasons-as in giving back and mentoring

others in the MLS community.

2020-2021 DEVELOPING PROFESSIONALS FORUM, CONT.

By: Lauren Denny, Developing Professionals Forum Secretary (2020-2021)

By: Kent Franz, Developing Professionals Forum Treasurer (2020-2021)

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 12

Hello, I am Lauren Denny, the 2020-2021 Secretary for the ASCLSA-IL Developing Professionals. I am from Carrollton, Illinois and currently work as a phlebotomist and laboratory assistant at Thomas H. Boyd Hospital, also in Carrolton. I am currently a student at the University of Illinois at Springfield and in the Medical Laboratory Science program. I am currently the event coordinator for the MLS club on campus, and hope to become president once classes resume in the fall. I became interested in laboratory work after I shadowed my cousin and aunt, who are CLS and MT, respectively. I was fascinated by the job and knew a career in the lab was the right choice for me.

I am very excited to have been elected Secretary for the ASCLS-IL Developing Professionals Forum. As Secretary, I will be responsible for recording meeting minutes, as well as distributing them to members. I also hope to help bring new ideas and insight to the table on how we can make our profession more known and understood.

Hello everyone, my name is Kent Franz but everyone calls me Will and I am currently an MLS student at University of Illinois in Springfield. I have never held any positions of authority in any sort of clubs previously, however I am very excited for the opportunity to work with everyone.

I decided to run for the Treasurer position because last academic year I was busy enough that I didn’t really get to do much with the MLS club outside of showing up to help some other people with things like

fundraisers and wanted to do more this year. I am very excited to be working with this great group of people, and my goal as Treasurer is to work with the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and members to not only think outside the box and come up with creative fundraisers and events and

ultimately leave the MLS club finances in as good if not better shape than when I took over the position, but to also increase awareness of Medical Laboratory Sciences as a career.

DEVELOPING PROFESSIONALS FORUM, CONT.

MLS in Springfield, Illinois By: Kim Alexis Espejo, University of Illinois Springfield

ASCLS-IL & Region VI Developing Professional Chair (2019-2020)

Medical laboratory science the profession, program, and in my case, club was never a well- known entity at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). As the co-President of the MLS Club at UIS we do plenty to promote our club, program, and profession. Our goal is to broaden the scientific understanding of the diagnostic processes of medical laboratories. The MLS club hosts many events throughout the year to promote our love of science, which are open to all students and faculty on campus.

Last spring we did a microbiology E. Coli demo at our campus’ Health and Wellness Fair. We

subcultured the organism on MacConkey agar to show the green sheen it produces. Additionally, we showed

that they are gram negative rods under the microscope and had educational information about E. Coli. This

year we plan to do a hematology sickle cell demo and show what sickled red blood cells look like under the

microscope. Additionally, we will have an educational board about the disease and explain why it is important

to get screened, especially for athletes to avoid possible oxygen crises.

We also participate at the UIS campus Involvement Expo every semester for student involvement. But

the biggest event we hold is a lab-inspired carnival. We’ve done it for three years, and all the games have a lab

twist to it like beaker pong, biohazard bucket toss, anti-booty bounce, etc. At this event we gave out free

cotton candy and popcorn and did face painting. It is a big hit because students are drawn in with the games

and free food, and they end up learning more about MLS. Another popular event we hold is blood typing

events. Not many people know their blood type, so it’s always fun for them to find out. Our program also

sponsors blood drives on campus, which is a big success. For lab week this year we were planning to hold

events such as blood typing, urine drug screen demo, cookie blood cell decorating, etc. However due to

quarantine, we had to transition everything to virtual activities. We made a promotion video titled “We are

Medical Laboratory Scientists” to educate people about who we are. We also created different trivias on

Kahoot about MLS, COVID-19, and the different departments of the lab.

Besides events, we also hold fundraisers. Our most popular fundraiser is the annual poinsettia and Christmas cacti sale. This brings in funds so that our students don't have to pay to go to the state meeting in the spring.

Furthermore, we participate in service projects. We volunteer as a group for Dance Marathon and the

UIS’ trick-or-treat for canned goods. For this we are assigned a neighborhood in town and the week before

Halloween we knock on doors to tell them about the event. Halloween night, we come back to trick or treat

but instead of candy we ask for nonperishable food to donate to the local food bank. Additionally, MLS Club

planned to participate in Dance Marathon. Lastly, before the quarantine, we were working with ASCLS-IL in

creating a parody music video to promote the profession. Unfortunately, it is not finished, but once the schools

open up it will be the first thing the MLS Club will do! I think holding fun and interactive events is an

excellent way to advocate for the medical laboratory science profession.

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 13

DEVELOPING PROFESSIONALS FORUM, CONT.

MLS in Springfield Illinois, cont.

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 14

INTERDISCIPLINARY EVENT AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

By: Masih Shokrani, Ph.D., MT(ASCP)

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 15

An interdisciplinary event took place in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of Northern Illinois University (NIU) on February 21, 2020. The event provided participants the perspectives as to how professionals in the medical field collaborate to provide the best care for patients. A total of 163 people attended the event (149 of whom were students, undergraduates and graduates across various academic programs). Students attending the event were from Medical Laboratory Sciences, Physical Therapy, Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology, Rehabilitation Counseling, Dietetics, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Athletic Training Programs. In addition to students from NIU, pharmacy students from (UIC, Rockford campus) participated in the event as well. A real case of a patient was introduced to the participants. Students and table facilitators discussed their scopes of practice to see where their disciplines fit into the care of the patient. The event which was organized by the NIU Allied Health and Communicative Disorders Department and Nutrition and Dietetics Program and was well- received by the participants.

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 16

ASCLS-IL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

ASCLS-IL is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Please make sure to our Facebook page: American Society for Clinical Laboratory

Science-Illinois

Please follow us on our Instagram and Twitter accounts: ASCLS-IL!

#IAMASCLS, #LAB4LIFE

Check us out on facebook! https://www.facebook.com/ASCLS.IL/ Check out our website! www.asclsil.com Do you have an ASCLS or lab-related photo you would like shared on Instagram? Send an email to [email protected] or direct message us on Instagram.

http://www.asclsil.com

mailto:[email protected]

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CLINICAL LABORATORY–

SCIENCE - ILLINOIS

ASCLS-IL is an affiliate society of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) and one of five states in ASCLS Region VI, which also includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. ASCLS serves as the voice of all clinical laboratory professionals, creating a vision for the advancement of the clinical laboratory practice field, and advocating the value and the role of the profession ensuring safe, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient centered health care.

• Promoting the value of the profession to healthcare and the public

• Uniting the profession to speak with one voice

• Advocating on behalf of the profession

• Promoting professional independence

• Enhancing quality standards and patient safety

• Ensuring workplace safety

• Providing professional development opportunities

• Promoting expanded roles and contributions of clinical laboratory professionals to the healthcare team

• Increasing the diversity in the profession and expanding the voice and role of under-represented individuals and groups

Do you have examples/ideas of ways to promote the profession of Medical Laboratory Scientist? Ideas to increase ASCLS-IL membership? Are you interested in becoming more involved in ASCLS-IL? Are you an educator? Are you a writer? We are looking help for creating new student bowl questions! Are you a great party planner? We could use your help in planning the 2021 ASCLS-IL Annual Meeting! We are always looking for help and volunteers!

We’re on the web! www.asclsil.org

Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/

ASCLS.IL

We are always interested in articles for the newsletter

For any and all of the above, please feel free to contact the organization at:

[email protected]

SUMMER 2020 PAGE 17

Follow us on Instagram! If there are photos, flyers, or anything you’d like to share, please email them to [email protected] and include a caption. www.instagram.com/ascls.il

ASCLS-IL Insights Editors:

Editor-in-Chief: Masih Shokrani, Ph.D., MT(ASCP) [email protected] Copy Editor: Michelle Campbell, M.S., MLS, MB (ASCP)

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

SUMMER EDITION ASCLS-IL AUGUST 2020 Insights

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