Submit Your Research Abstract to Present at ASCP 2020 and Get Noticed!

Presenting research before a large, prestigious audience at an ASCP Annual Meeting can propel the careers of many young pathologists and medical laboratory professionals. Kimberly Johnson, MD, and Emilia Calvaresi, MD, PhD, are just two examples.

Bolstered with confidence after winning the Test Utilization Poster Abstract at ASCP 2019, Dr. Johnson’s efforts ultimately led to yet another opportunity for her, securing her top choice for a fellowship in 2022-2023 after discussing her research with the fellowship director.

Her research focused on reviewing the HIV testing algorithm. Early diagnosis of HIV is critical because individuals who have HIV can transmit the disease without knowing they have it. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends patients complete a three-step diagnostic testing algorithm. Dr. Johnson noticed that a significant percent of patients being studied had not completed that testing, creating a potential risk to others. She developed a process that creates a daily list of patients with discrepant HIV tests, and their clinician receives a follow-up call from a resident pathologist to ensure the algorithm is finished. In eight months’ time, her work has significantly reduced the percentage of patients who did not complete testing.  

“It is spectacular knowing that we raised awareness of a potential pitfall in clinical testing, and now we look forward to formally starting a conversation within our community to make sure we are vigilant and communicating effectively with our physician peers,” said Dr. Johnson, PGY-2, Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, not long after receiving the Best Resident Poster Award at ASCP 2019, Dr. Calvaresi was invited to have her full manuscript published, based on research presented in her poster abstract.

“At ASCP 2019, I really enjoyed the sense of community from being in such a large gathering of pathologists and medical laboratory professionals,” says Dr. Calvaresi, who is in her final year of clinical pathology residency at the University of Utah/ARUP Laboratories. Her project focused on developing a “percent of normal” reporting strategy for glucose-6-phosphate dehyrogenase (G6PD) enzyme levels based on a deidentified pool of over 50,000 patient samples tested at ARUP Laboratories.

“Over 400 million people worldwide have G6PD deficiency, many of them in malaria-endemic regions of the world,” she said, “and since there is an exciting new antimalarial drug on the market, tafenoquine, which promises a single-dose cure for Plasmodium vivax malaria, it is important to be able to assess who is eligible for receiving tafenoquine, defined by the drug’s manufacturer as individuals who have at least 70 percent of normal G6PD activity. Current laboratory methods report quantitative results, but very few report percent of normal activity. We are hoping to provide a model for other laboratories that might wish to adopt this reporting structure.”

Now is the time for other emerging scholars to take their place at the forefront of the discipline of pathology and laboratory medicine. The poster displays not only provide recognition of research efforts, but also an opportunity to enhance written and oral communication skills and receive valuable feedback.

The call for abstracts for ASCP 2020 Austin is open now through March 27, 2020. To learn more about submitting an abstract, click here.