Featured News
Every day VCU Medical Laboratory Sciences and College of Health Professions students, alumni, faculty and staff do extraordinary things. Read more about our latest achievements and Department news here.
From Southwest Virginia to one of the world’s leading labs on tick-borne illness, VCU’s opportunities are where they count
On a fall morning in 2019, students in a one-credit careers course at Southwest Virginia Community College filed into their classroom expecting another routine presentation. For Alex Counts – then a pre-med student from the nearby town of Lebanon – it became the moment that would shape the rest of his academic career.
How one student’s tutoring support is strengthening MLS success
Jenna Carter doesn’t just tutor fellow Medical Laboratory Sciences students to help them study; it’s about making the program she loves feel a little more connected and supportive.
Transfusion Services Summer Scholars gives students a hands-on look at lifesaving lab careers
For one week in July, high school and college students from across the country stepped into the fast-paced, high-stakes world of transfusion medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University.
VCU to host statewide MLS Spring Symposium, connecting students and lab professionals
VCU’s Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences will host this year’s American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Virginia Spring Symposium, bringing together MLS students, educators and professionals from across the state for learning, collaboration and connection.
Rewriting the story of heart disease, one immune cell at a time
When most people think about heart disease, they picture clogged arteries and “bad” cholesterol. Michael Lacy thinks about the immune system.
Bolstering a crucial, unseen element of health care
Tucked away in research laboratories and far from public-facing medical teams, the general public may never see medical laboratory scientists, but their contributions to patient care are essential to every person’s health. (MCV Foundation News)
Paving the future for Medical Laboratory Sciences
Welcome to the inaugural issue of our Medical Laboratory Sciences newsletter. We’re excited to launch this new way of keeping you informed and inspired by the incredible work happening here at VCU.
MLS students explore microbes and the larger human body
Maiya Picott fondly recalls the impact a semester in Switzerland had on her as an undergraduate. Enrolled in an interdisciplinary program, she traveled throughout Europe but missed visiting a microbe museum in Amsterdam – an experience she promised herself she’d return for.
Laboratory manager’s career comes full circle
Colin Thibodeau, M.S. (VCU ’23) serves as the office and laboratory manager for the Medical Laboratory Sciences department where he once trained, supporting students by preparing specimens, managing supplies and ensuring labs run smoothly on a daily basis.
Pioneering a rapid test for rare form of meningitis
A team led by William Korzun, Ph.D., and graduate Stephen Friedrichs in the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences has developed a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC‑MS) test that can detect the presence of Naegleria fowleri, a brain-invading amoeba causing Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM). This rapid, cost-effective diagnostic tool has the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes in a disease where the mortality rate exceeds 96%.
