The nomination period for ASCP’s annual distinguished awards for pathologists and laboratory professionals is now open. 

Nominate yourself or a colleague who has had a profound impact on laboratory education, management, or an inspirational career journey in pathology or laboratory medicine. Nominations for ASCP’s Annual Awards close on May 1.  

“These honors are not just recognizing individual achievement. When we nominate a colleague or friend, it reflects the collaborative spirit of ASCP,” reflects. Ms. Guglielmo. 

“I have nominated many individuals for awards over the years,” says Ms. Brown. “These people haven’t sought out recognition, but they have inspired me, helped ASCP, and really worked to move our entire profession forward.” 

“I often nominate my students and alumni for awards,” Dr. Rohde notes. “It can feel a little awkward to realize you have a platform and can pull people up with you and push people forward in their careers. Everybody needs a coach or cheerleader. Dr. Rohde also notes, “Awards also build awareness and visibility for lab and pathology professions. Now, more than ever, we need people to understand that every one of us is a hero. Building respect and understanding for these professions will also help address workforce shortages.” 

Nominations and applications are now open for ASCP’s 2026 40 Under Forty cohort. The nomination form closes on March 27, 2026, and the application deadline is May 8, 2026. 

The ASCP 40 Under Forty cohorts are an inspiration to their professional communities today and to tomorrow’s laboratory science professionals and pathologists. Being selected for the 2026 ASCP 40 Under Forty cohort is a recognition of your individual skills, the impact of your career on your community, and reveals the diversity of professional roles, educational paths, and career opportunities offered by laboratory science and pathology.  

ASCP eNews spoke with honorees from the 2025 40 Under Forty cohort to learn what the award has meant to them and what inspired them to apply on their own behalf. 

“Being recognized as a leading professional in laboratory science means a lot to me. The recognition also reflects well on my training and the institution I graduated from,” reflected Joshua Jefferson, EdD, HTL(ASCP)^CM, 40 Under Forty 2025 cohort member. 

“The recognition was a stamp of approval on the work I’d been doing. I applied right after I started a new faculty position. So, when I was selected for 40 Under Forty during my first year in the department, it really established me as a new faculty member and highlighted the experience I brought with me,” shared Christopher Attaway, MD, MSc, FASCP.  

When asked what inspired him to nominate himself, Dr. Jefferson shared, “The best person to represent you is you. No one else can tell your story better than you. Believe in yourself and put yourself out there.” 

The 2026 ASCP 40 Under Forty cohort recognition provides examples for future generations of laboratory scientists, pathologists, medical students, patients, families, and community members about the career paths available to them.  

“Being selected for the 2025 cohort was important for me because the Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLS) is such a new degree. The recognition brings more attention to this new degree, informing MLT and MLS of an additional option to expand their careers and voices in the laboratory,” shared Jenelle Vargas Musick, DCLS, MPH, MLS(ASCP)^CM, and cohort 2025 member. 

Dr. Attaway also noted, “If you are seeing something in one of your colleagues and are thinking about nominating them, know that other people are seeing that too. Your nomination speaks for lots of people on behalf of the nominee. The person you nominate would be totally blown away by your recognition and effort.” 

ASCP 40 Under Forty honorees join past cohorts of distinguished alumni and  including complimentary access to one of ASCP’s Certificate Programs, inclusion in ASCP’s Critical Values, and more.  

Nominations are due on Friday, March 27, 2026. Know someone who deserves to be part of this year's 40 Under Forty program? Nominate them! 

Questions about your application? Join past honorees on Monday, March 30th at 2 pm EDT to learn more about what to include and what to do. Register here for the webinar.  

Applications are due on Friday, May 8, 2026. Celebrate your professional achievements and apply to become part of this prestigious program! 

Building Bridges 2026: Strengthening the Laboratory Community through Communication 

ASCP’s Building Bridges series returns in 2026 with a robust lineup of virtual sessions focused on advocacy, leadership, and professional visibility. Designed to equip laboratory professionals with practical communication tools, the program addresses challenges ranging from misinformation to engaging policymakers and health system leaders. Read more.  

Exciting Opportunity for Medical Students: AMA Foundation Leadership Development Institute Applications Now Open 

Medical students have a new opportunity to build leadership skills through the AMA Foundation’s yearlong Leadership Development Institute. The program offers mentorship, national networking, and in person experiences at major AMA meetings. The application deadline is March 27, 2026. Read more.  

ICYMI: Amplifying Others’ Voices to Improve Patient Care: A Q&A with Katerina Kearns, MD 

In June 2025, the American Medical Association confirmed Katerina Kearns, MD, as the Resident and Fellow Section Alternate Delegate to its House of Delegates. In this role, Dr. Kearns represents trainees in national policy discussions, to elevate the voice of the medical laboratory in broader medical conversations. Read more. 

• ASCP is excited to share this opportunity for medical students to apply to the AMA Foundation’s Leadership Development Institute, a yearlong program featuring virtual sessions, in-person meetings at AMA events, networking, and physician mentorship.  

• The application deadline is Friday, March 27, 2026, at 11:59 pm CT. 

ASCP is pleased to share an opportunity from the AMA Foundation aimed at medical students. Applications are now open for the 2026-2027 Leadership Development Institute (LDI), a yearlong program designed to support growth and professional development for future physician leaders. The application deadline is Friday, March 27, 2026, at 11:59 pm CT.  

Program Highlights 

• Monthly virtual leadership sessions 

• In-person meet-up at the 2026 AMA Interim Meeting 

• A capstone weekend at the 2027 AMA Annual Meeting 

• Individual mentorship from a physician leader 

• Networking opportunities with leaders across organized medicine 

Eligibility 

• Students enrolled in any year of an accredited U.S. MD or DO program 

• Students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or DACA recipients 

• AMA membership is not required or considered 

Students can learn more and begin an application at https://amafoundation.org/ldi  

Questions may be directed to Program Manager Allison Wesel at Allison.Wesel@ama-assn.org.  

ASCP encourages members to share this opportunity with medical students who may benefit from leadership development and engagement in organized medicine.  

• ASCP is pleased to announce the continuation of its successful Building Bridges program for 2026 

• The series seeks to build a more resilient workforce capable of navigating the complexities of the modern healthcare environment 

• To register for the Building Bridges 2026 series, click here.  

ASCP has announced the 2026 edition of its virtual series, Building Bridges Across the Laboratory Community, an initiative designed to advance professional development and advocacy within the medical laboratory community. This program provides laboratory professionals with the communication frameworks necessary to amplify their visibility and demonstrate the value of the laboratory to external stakeholders. By focusing on practical strategies, the series aims to cultivate a more resilient workforce capable of navigating the complexities of the modern healthcare environment while ensuring the laboratory remains an influential pillar of patient care.  

The 2026 series include seven 90-minute webinars, each offering 1.5 CMLE credits and featuring expert-led discussions on critical industry challenges. The sessions, which run from March through September, address a broad spectrum of topics including the mitigation of public misinformation, the articulation of professional identity, and direct engagement with C-suite executives and legislative bodies on Capitol Hill. Additional modules focus on inter-organizational collaboration, patient empowerment, and strategies for bridging generational gaps within the workforce. Through this comprehensive educational outreach, ASCP remains committed to supporting laboratory leaders with the tools required to advocate for their profession and improve healthcare outcomes on a global scale. To register for the Building Bridges 2026 series, click here.   

For more information on our workforce resources, please visit the ASCP workforce webpage.  

• Ten members of the MPHLWC, including ASCP and the ASCP BOC, joined together to support a congressional initiative focused on strengthening the healthcare workforce. 

• The congressional effort sought to secure an exemption for healthcare professionals from the newly imposed $100,000 fee on H1B visas. 

ASCP, the ASCP Board of Certification, and several members of the Medical and Public Health Laboratory Workforce Coalition (MPHLWC) have joined a bipartisan congressional initiative seeking to exempt healthcare professionals from the recently imposed $100,000 fee on new H1B visas. The fee, added as part of broader immigration-related policy changes, applies to temporary work visas and has raised significant concerns across the healthcare sector. 

The effort is led by Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY), who are urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to carve out an exemption for healthcare workers whose roles are essential to maintaining patient care and addressing ongoing workforce shortages. As part of this initiative, MPHLWC members mobilized to help build broad support for a congressional letter to then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, on February 11, 2026, see here. 

More than 40 healthcare organizations, including 10 MPHLWC members, endorsed the initiative, and the letter ultimately received signatures from 100 members of Congress, underscoring the widespread bipartisan recognition of the critical need to protect and strengthen the nation’s healthcare workforce. See Rep. Lawler and Clarke’s February 12, 2026, press release here. 

• HHS has postponed the last 3 USPSTF meetings 

• ASCP is waiting on the final outcome of USPSTF’s update to its cervical cancer screening guidelines 

A third scheduled meeting of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has been postponed as of March 3, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).   

In the past, the Task Force traditionally met three times a year, but the meetings in July and November last year were both cancelled. The USPSTF’s recommendations play a major role in determining access to preventive services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings, because under the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans must cover services with grade A or B recommendations at no cost to patients.  

ASCP is waiting for the outcome of the review of cervical cancer screening guidelines (including new self- or patient-collected options) and will be keeping a close eye on the rescheduling of these important Task Force meetings.  

ASCP acknowledges that that the CLIA statute does state that screening must take place in the laboratory—thus preventing cytologists from performing screening of digital cytology images remotely—but it does not require interpretations to be performed within the laboratory. As part of the meeting, ASCP leaders outlined this point and clarified the differences between preliminary screening, rescreening, and interpretation. In response, the Agency urged ASCP to submit a formal request asking the Agency to revisit its position on the CLIA statute. ASCP submitted that letter to the Agency on February 19, 2026, outlining the reasons we believe the CLIA statute does not require pathologists to provide interpretations within a laboratory setting and asking the Agency to revise its memo accordingly.  

It is unclear when CMS may rule on ASCP’s request; however, we anticipate a response could take several months at least. In the meantime, CMS’s new policy on remote review will be going into effect on March 23, 2026, meaning the remote review of digital cytology images will not be allowed under the Memo after that date (individuals may, however, seek a separate CLIA certificate to review digital images at a remote location).  

For further details in the interim, please review CMS’s revised memo (See here). 

Medicare Laboratory Payment Cuts Averted for 2026 

Legislation signed on February 3 to end the partial federal government shutdown also blocks planned Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule cuts of up to 15 percent for roughly 800 lab services through the end of 2026. This delays—but does not eliminate—requirements for laboratories to report payment data to CMS between May 1 and July 31, unless Congress enacts the RESULTS Act beforehand. ASCP asks members and their colleagues to urge Congress to enact the RESULTS Act as soon as possible. Read more. 

California Laboratory Professionals Mobilizing to Fight Licensure Fee Increase  

California laboratory professionals, led by ASCP’s Northern California chapter and a coalition of laboratory organizations, are mobilizing to oppose steep state licensure fee increases set to take effect in 2026. The new law shortens licensure from two years to one year and raises annual initial and renewal fees to $300—representing increases of 260 percent and higher—prompting concerns that the costs are disproportionate compared to fees for other healthcare professions. ASCP and its partners plan to lobby the legislature to reduce the fees and restore biennial licensure. Read more. 

ASCP and Pfizer Launch Request for Proposals to Fund Quality Improvement Projects Advancing Biomarker Testing in mCRC  

ASCP, in collaboration with Pfizer and with participation from ASCO, announced a multi-year Request for Proposals opening January 26, 2026, to fund pathology-led Quality Improvement projects of up to $250,000 each focused on improving biomarker testing for frontline treatment selection in metastatic colorectal cancer. Through multidisciplinary collaboration and use of ASCP’s Performance and Diagnostic Insights platform, the program aims to enhance efficiency, timeliness, and dissemination of best practices to improve evidence-based mCRC care nationwide. Read more.   

Prior to the legislature’s new law, the initial licensure fee for a two-year license was $230 and $179 for license renewal. Under the new law, the legislature has cut the licensure period to one year, increasing the compliance burden on licensees and the State. In addition, it increased both the initial licensure and renewal fees to $300 annually. The new fees represent increases of 260 and 335 percent, respectively, for initial licensure and licensure renewal.  

When the legislature adopted the fee increase, it claimed that it was necessary to cover the costs of the licensure program to the State. But an analysis by ASCP reveals that licensure fees for most other non-physician level healthcare professionals are significantly lower. Licensure fees for most other health professions range from about $130-$165 on an annual basis. Registered Nurses, however, pay between $150-$179, biennially, while genetic counselors pay only $100, triennially. ASCP maintains that as the work involved for state licensure boards is relatively similar, licensing costs should be similar for most licensed professions. 

ASCP will be working with its members in California and other laboratory and pathology organizations to lobby the state legislature to lower these fees, and to restore the biennial licensure requirement.  

• Legislation recently signed into law ending the partial government shutdown also blocks cuts to the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule for 2026 

• Under the new law, laboratories are required to report payment rate data to CMS between May 1 and July 31 

• If Congress enacts the RESULTS Act before the reporting requirement begins, the reporting requirement would be canceled for most laboratories 

• ASCP asks its membership to take action and visit the STOP LAB CUTS website to urge Congress to enact the RESULTS Act as soon as possible. 

On February 3, the President signed into law several bills ending the partial government shutdown that began on January 31. The measures provide funding for seven federal departments, including Health and Human Services (HHS). Also signed into law was a separate two-week funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. 

Included in the bill funding HHS were provisions providing short term relief from a series of cuts imposed by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA). Approximately 800 laboratory services were slated to be cut by up to 15 percent, beginning January 31. These cuts are now blocked for the remainder of 2026. In addition, the measure pushes back, but does not stop, Congress’s plan for clinical laboratories to begin reporting payment rate data. The window for reporting will begin on May 1, with applicable laboratories expected to satisfy the reporting requirement by July 30. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) are reportedly working on education materials intended to inform clinical laboratories of their upcoming reporting obligation. 

While the reporting requirement will likely prove challenging for many laboratories, the recently passed legislation buys time to enact the RESULTS Act (The Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services Act [S. 2761 / H.R. 5269]), which would bring needed reform to PAMA. PAMA tasked CMS with revising Medicare payment rates for laboratory services. The new fee structure CMS developed created an entirely new set of payment rates for laboratory services, based on payment data submitted by clinical laboratories. The revamped fee schedule imposed severe cuts in payment to laboratories, totaling more than $4 billion in Medicare payments so far. In addition, insurers used CMS’s new rates to impose additional cuts in laboratory reimbursement. The result has caused significant economic hardship for laboratories and laboratory staff. For more on PAMA and the reporting requirement, see here. 

The RESULTS Act would change PAMA’s requirements by using paid claims from a comprehensive commercial payor database, eliminating the need for most laboratories to report data for most tests (labs with tests identified in PAMA as Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory Tests would still need to report data). It would also provide CMS with more robust, reliable data for setting more sustainable payment rates. The RESULTS Act would also block further payment cuts until new rates can be set.  

At this time, ASCP is urging its entire membership to urge Congress to enact the RESULTS Act as soon as possible. To facilitate this, ASCP members and their colleagues are asked to utilize the STOP LAB CUTS website to send Congress this important message. Click here to TAKE ACTION.