Submit Your Abstract to Present at ASCP 2021 and Get Your Research Noticed!

Displaying your poster at an ASCP Annual Meeting brings enormous benefit to both you and your institution. There is no underestimating the value to individual presenters, research programs and institutions, and ultimately for the practice of pathology and for patient care.

ASCP is now accepting poster submissions for the ASCP 2021 Annual Meeting, Oct. 27-29. This year’s meeting will follow a unique hybrid format, giving presenters the option to display their work both in-person in Boston and virtually to a broad global audience.  

“Putting together a poster and presentation, as a trainee, really forces you to understand the conclusions of your research and practice conveying those results effectively to your peers and others in the field,” said Holly E. Berg, DO, MLS(ASCP)CM, Chief Resident-Anatomic and Clinical Pathology in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Dr. Berg received the Best Lab Practice Poster Award for the research she presented virtually at ASCP 2020. Her research focused on accelerating the detection of anaerobic organisms causing sepsis. “It is critical to identify the causative agent of sepsis as soon as possible to enable the physician to start appropriate antibiotic therapy,” she said. 

The field of microbiology was revolutionized by the implementation of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in the identification of microorganisms. “Comparing the mass spectrometer signature of a microorganism to a library of signatures has virtually eliminated biochemical testing historically utilized to identify microorganisms,” Dr. Berg explained. “Recently, early MALDI-TOF, or the practice of performing identification on organisms cultured for only a few hours, has been implemented to allow rapid identification of aerobic bacteria in patients with sepsis. Our study assessed the feasibility and clinical impact of implementing a similar process to identify anaerobic bacteria causing sepsis. Through this study, we were able to identify and report the anaerobic organism causing sepsis in a significant portion of our patients a day to two days earlier than normal work flow processes.”

Meanwhile, Anthony Cardillo, MD, Resident Physician, Laboratory Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, has incorporated feedback he received from his virtual presentation at ASCP 2020, by gathering a larger sample size of patients for his research. “I received feedback about my research that I would not have thought of in a million years,” he said. 

Dr. Cardillo received an award for his research that is designed to help prevent excessive test utilization. Describing his research, he said, “Imagine being able to run a test without actually running it. I used machine learning to predict the results of a lab test using common lab data. One of the unique things about the artificial intelligence was it predicted when it would be useless to run a test. The test itself could inform you that there was no chance the test results would be positive and, therefore, reduced the amount of testing needed.” 

He highly recommends others submit their abstracts to be presented at the ASCP Annual Meeting. “Science only happens when you take your work and present it to others. Be brave enough to hear their critiques and positive responses,” Dr. Cardillo said. 

To learn more about submitting an abstract for ASCP 2021, please visit ascp.org/2021.