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Tampa Public High School Students to be Introduced to Real-Life Scientific Learning
by Scientists from Around the World
ASCP’s “Building a Laboratory Workforce for the Future” aims to stem the
critical workforce shortage in laboratory medicine
CHICAGO/Oct. 2, 2014—Continuing its commitment to expand awareness of the medical laboratory profession among high school students, ASCP will host its third annual “Building a Laboratory Workforce for the Future Day,” in conjunction with its Annual Meeting, being held Oct. 8-10 at the Tampa Convention Center.
The session, scheduled for Friday, October 10, will immerse 70 students from Tampa Bay Technical High School in real-life scientific learning alongside more than 1,500 pathologists and laboratory professionals.
A group of ASCP Career Ambassadors, a program in partnership with Roche, will lead students in hands-on educational exercises, such as looking at cells under a microscope, building DNA and learning about the human genome. The students will also mingle with some of the world’s most renowned medical laboratory experts.
“By inviting the students to take part in interactive experiments, encouraging them to meet with medical laboratory professionals and pathologists, and offering them educational exercises to learn about amazing new scientific discoveries, we hope to expand students’ awareness of the exciting career opportunities that exist in laboratory medicine and pathology,” says Dr. E. Blair Holladay, CEO and Executive Vice President of ASCP.
In addition, ASCP President Steven H. Kroft, MD, FASCP, will present a student from the Hillsborough County Public Schools with the Second Annual ASCP STEM Student Scholarship Award. The student will receive a $2,500 scholarship, provided by ASCP’s ONELab Fund, which is generously supported by the Society’s members.
Activities for “Building a Laboratory Workforce for the Future” will begin with a welcome address by Dr. Holladay, followed by a scientific scavenger hunt in the Science Connection Central Exhibit Hall where students will explore various exhibitor booths and discover answers to questions that will familiarize them with laboratory medicine.
The “Building a Laboratory Workforce for the Future” is one of several initiatives that ASCP has designed to address the critical shortage of laboratory professionals in the United States. As Baby Boomers get older, they require more diagnostic testing which is increasing pressure on the nation’s medical laboratories. Additionally, a large numberof laboratory professionals are approaching retirement.
To address these issues, ASCP has partnered with Roche, one of the world's leading research-based healthcare companies, for many years to offer the ASCP Career Ambassador Program, in which ASCP members who are laboratory professionals visit high schools across the nation to engage students in conversations about careers in laboratory medicine. Last year alone, the Career Ambassadors met with more than 10,000 high school students.
Through the Siemens-ASCP Scholarship Program, $1.5 million in scholarships has been given to more than 1,300 students pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees in medical laboratory science.
In 2004, ASCP established the Resident Subspecialty Grant Program to provide financial support for pathology residents seeking to broaden their knowledge in a particular subspecialty. Since then, more than $150,000 in subspecialty grants has been awarded to 95 pathology residents.
ASCP 2014 Tampa is being held October 8-10 at the Tampa Convention Center, 333 S. Franklin Street, Tampa, Florida. The ASCP Annual Meeting is the largest educational meeting for pathologists and laboratory professionals. For more information about the meeting, visit
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About ASCP
Founded in 1922 in Chicago, ASCP is a medical professional society with more than 100,000 member board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologists, pathology residents and fellows, laboratory professionals, and students. ASCP provides excellence in education, certification, and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists, and laboratory professionals. To learn more, visit us on Twitter at and connect with us on Facebook at