Clemson professor confirmed as president of the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science

Published: July 14, 2010

Vincent S. Gallicchio image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON — Clemson University researcher Vincent S. Gallicchio became president of the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science at the organization’s 29^th World Congress in Nairobi, Kenya.

Gallicchio is jointly appointed to the biological sciences department in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences and the public health sciences department in the College of Health, Education and Human Development.

The International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science works with the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science to recommend educational standards for biomedical laboratory scientists. It also is working with the American Society of Clinical Pathology to help standardize an international certification program so graduates of foreign biomedical science programs will be able to take an equivalency exam similar to what is administered to U.S. graduates. 

Gallicchio said the United States and other industrialized countries face an acute shortage of clinical laboratory scientists.

“The shortage is a ticking time bomb facing the health care industry, as critical as the shortages of doctors and nurses,” he said. “According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. alone needs 10,000 new board-certified laboratory scientists/technicians a year just to maintain current levels of staffing, but the educational programs across the country are graduating only 4,000.

”What has made the situation more acute is the number of educational programs that have closed across the country due in part to the budget deficits seen in many states,” he said.

The federation plans to assist in addressing this problem through standardizing curricula internationally and through the introduction of standardized international certification exams. This will allow foreign-trained graduates to travel more freely across international borders when seeking employment opportunities.

At Clemson, Gallicchio and other members of the biological sciences faculty have been working to develop an articulation agreement with Tri-County Technology College that will allow Clemson students, primarily those majoring in microbiology, to take courses in the technical college’s medical laboratory technician program.

Upon completion, Clemson students will qualify to take the American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Certification exam for medical laboratory technicians. Successful passing of the exam will allow students to compete for the many job openings available in the field. Tech students also would be able to enroll at Clemson to complete work toward bachelor’s degrees.

Laboratory biomedical scientists are needed, as well as Ph.D. research scientists and faculty members, said Gallicchio, who has spent more than 35 years training biomedical clinical laboratory scientists at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

“The field is wide open,” said Gallicchio, who hopes the international certification program can begin this year.

Gallicchio’s term as president of the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science runs through 2012.

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International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science
The International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science is an international organization with 165,000 members from 40 countries that develops and makes recommendations regarding education and practice standards for professional laboratory scientists in the United States and worldwide.