2024-2025 Education Roundtable Series

1. Understand if your accreditation program requires periodic inter-instrument comparisons
2. Explain the value of implementing a weekly intrasite quality assurance program for high-volume chemistry testing.
3. Be aware of the challenges that accompany the implementation of an intrasite patient comparison program.

Dr. Sun is a board-certified Clinical Chemist at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Michigan and Assistant Professor at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. She serves as the Technical Director of the Automated Chemistry and Urinalysis Laboratories. She has been highly productive in clinical service, scientific research, and in the professional community as evidenced by her publications and presentations nationally and internationally. Dr. Sun has published more than 30 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in journals including Clinical Chemistry, Blood, and JAMA Cardiology. The many awards she has received include the Paul E. Strandjord Young Investigator Award from the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists and Outstanding Speaker Award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. Her research interests include endocrine and autoimmune biomarkers, as well as quality improvement in the clinical laboratory.

1. Appreciate the need to offer PSA tests to patients under 50 years of age.
2. Design validation strategies for off-label use of PSA in specific patient populations.

Dr Rob Shorten is a Consultant Clinical Scientist at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. He has broad experience in clinical microbiology and is the departmental lead for research, and the pathology lead for clinical audit. He is an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Manchester, and his research interests have included tuberculosis, laboratory diagnostics, and viral haemorrhagic fevers. His current interests include diagnostic stewardship and environmental sustainability. He is also the current Chair of the Microbiology Professional Committee of the Association for Laboratory Medicine.

Kath Hayden is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Following training in South Manchester, she has held posts in hospital laboratories in Manchester and Liverpool for over 35 years, overseeing advances in analytical technologies, point of care testing and harmonisation of laboratories, and her research interests include endocrinology and renal medicine. She is an honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester and her last role was as Clinical Head of Division for Laboratory Medicine at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, before taking up her current role as President of the Association for Laboratory Medicine, UK. Current interests include sustainability of laboratories and appropriate test utilization.

1. Understand how the climate crisis is also a health crisis.
2. Understand how laboratories contribute to the climate crisis.
3. Understand how laboratories can reduce their carbon footprints.

Dr. Paul completed her Fellowship in Clinical Biochemistry in Calgary in 2020, was CACB certified in 2021, and became a Diplomate of the American Academy of Clinical Chemistry earlier this year. Her interests include maternal and newborn care, acute care medicine, rural healthcare, and teaching in laboratory medicine.

1) Understand transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements and their use in jaundice management in newborns

2) Recognize challenges in analytical validation of TcB meters

3) Discuss approaches to long-term monitoring of TcB meter performance

1. Discuss the capabilities and potential applications of chatbots in the field of laboratory medicine.
2. Describe research and studies that evaluate the accuracy and reliability of chatbots in response to laboratory medicine questions.
3. Explain the root causes underlying chatbots’ limitation, such as misinformation, inconsistencies, and lack of human-like reasoning abilities.

1. describe KFRE and its use in CKD.
2. understand the recent changes in reporting of kidney function tests in Ontario.
3. discuss the results of a study evaluating the impact of these changes on eGFR results and referral to nephrology in a large community laboratory cohort.

The primary goal will be to showcase the software functionality as if you were the biochemist responsible for the interpretation of the results. A view from the driver’s seat.

1. gain introduction to M-protein analysis by mass spectrometry.
2. demonstrate software functionality.
3. see data analysis from the view of the interpreting biochemist.

1. Provide a brief history of syphilis
2. Describe the four stages of syphilis, their clinical signs and symptoms, and current treatment modalities
3. Compare and contrast diagnostic tests available in Canada for screening, diagnosis and treatment of syphilis, including serological testing and POCT.