Clemson professor brings international meeting to Anderson

Published: March 15, 2012

CLEMSON — International experts who are helping plan ways to stop a "ticking time bomb" — a crippling shortage of professional biomedical laboratory scientists that threatens the quality of health care for everyone — will gather in Anderson March 22-24.

“Nearly 80 percent of a doctor’s medical decisions are based on information from the labs of these scientists,” said Clemson University professor Vincent Gallicchio, who organized the meeting of the board and staff of the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science (IFBLS).

“The shortage is a ticking time bomb facing the health care industry, as critical as the shortages of doctors and nurses," Gallicchio said. “The U.S. alone needs 10,000 new board-certified laboratory scientists a year just to maintain current levels of staffing and it is graduating only 4,000.”

The board of directors and staff will meet in Anderson to prepare for the biannual World Congress in Berlin in August.

Gallicchio, president of the federation and a biological sciences professor, invited the international group for its first meeting in the United States. The university’s College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences will sponsor a reception for the board members March 22 at the Bleckley Inn. 

“Biotechnology and biomedical sciences are academic emphasis areas for the university,” said Thomas Scott, dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences. “We are pleased to support the work of IFBLS to help grow rewarding careers that support these emphasis areas. The work of IFBLS will ultimately create more job opportunities for our students in the health care industry, education and research, both at home and abroad.”

“The field is wide open," Gallicchio said. "Laboratory scientists are needed, as well as Ph.D. research scientists and Ph.D.s for academic faculty positions. This is a profession where average salaries increased over four percent last year, even during an economic downturn. The demand for professional biomedical laboratory scientists is great.”

“Biomedical laboratory scientists are at work 24/7, 365 days a year in hospitals worldwide,” he said. “In the United States, nearly 80 percent of a doctor’s medical decisions are based on information from the labs of these scientists who must constantly stay abreast of new and rapidly changing technology.

In 2011, Clemson introduced a joint program with Tri-County Technical College to prepare students for careers in biomedical laboratory science. The Clemson biological sciences department accepts qualified Tri-County graduates with associate's degrees in applied science in medical laboratory technology as juniors in the microbiology degree program with a concentration in biomedicine.

“I see these graduates as future leaders and innovators in biomedical laboratory science,” said Hap Wheeler, chairman of the biological sciences department. “With a baccalaureate degree, they may also wish to pursue graduate degrees in research or other aspects of medicine.”

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Clemson University/Tri-County Technical College medical laboratory technology program
For more information about the Clemson University/Tri-County Technical College program in medical laboratory technology, contact Tamara McNealy, assistant professor in the biological sciences department at tmcneal@clemson.edu. McNealy will present at the IFBLS World Congress in Berlin in August. She will focus on the program as a model for educational institutions in other countries to follow. 

The International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science includes 165,000 members who are dedicated to the use of biomedical laboratory science to benefit humanity. The Federation develops and maintains standards for professional laboratory scientists in the United States and worldwide, promotes education and training of biomedical laboratory scientists, and promotes ethical and professional standards for the profession.