Medical Laboratory Science Program - Mayo Clinic

Medical Laboratory Science Program - Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic Medical Laboratory Science Program is housed in our renowned Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.

Medical laboratory scientists are medical professionals that develop, perform and troubleshoot the assays and methods for analysis of blood, tissue and body fluids in diagnostic laboratories.According to some experts, approximately 70 percent of the objective information that physicians and other health care providers use to make medical decisions comes from the clinical laboratory. Laboratory tes

ting is used for diagnosis, prognosis or risk determination, and monitoring of therapy. A medical laboratory scientist must have a broad background in clinical biochemistry, microbiology, immunohematology (transfusion medicine), hematology and coagulation, and molecular diagnostics to function in today's modern diagnostic laboratory. Concepts in laboratory management, regulation and accreditation, and statistical concepts are also of fundamental importance. Additionally, once training is complete, students may choose to specialize in a particular area of diagnostics, such as molecular diagnostics, coagulation, hematology and microbiology. Not only do our students learn from our distinguished medical and allied health staff instructors, but we have also implemented progressive teaching strategies that incorporate online learning and make the most of our student's educational experience. The program gives students access to numerous specialized, cutting-edge diagnostic laboratories for training that allow them to get a head start on finding areas of special interest (for those who choose to focus on specific areas of testing after training). Our core laboratories also provide an outstanding training area for students interested in generalist positions after graduation.Our unique quality control course combines an online component offered by a world-renowned quality control expert (James Westgard) combined with in-class hands-on activities to reinforce concepts and teach day-to-day application. Medical laboratory scientists are in great demand and are highly sought after by clinical laboratories here and across the country, and the forecast for job opportunities remains excellent. Our program prepares students for a career in one of the most rewarding and fastest growing areas in health care — medical laboratory diagnostics.

Congratulations to the Medical Laboratory Science Class of 2026! We wish you the best of luck in all your future aspirat...
05/26/2026

Congratulations to the Medical Laboratory Science Class of 2026! We wish you the best of luck in all your future aspirations!

Our MLS Transfusion Group 3 students took on the challenge of the Hemo‑Goblin 3.0 Escape Room this week! Both teams esc...
05/09/2026

Our MLS Transfusion Group 3 students took on the challenge of the Hemo‑Goblin 3.0 Escape Room this week! Both teams escaped in under 1½ hours—great teamwork and problem‑solving!

MLS student Britney spent this week in the Clinical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (CMSL) as part of her chemistry electiv...
05/08/2026

MLS student Britney spent this week in the Clinical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (CMSL) as part of her chemistry elective rotation. She is shown covering and inspecting a 96‑DW plate to ensure well uniformity— the final extraction steps before samples are run on the mass spectrometer. During her time in CMSL, she learned about dialysis extraction, one of several methods used to prepare patient samples for mass spectrometry analysis.

This week, MLS student Rhiannon kicked off her final clinical rotation in the Bacteriology Laboratory. She is shown perf...
05/06/2026

This week, MLS student Rhiannon kicked off her final clinical rotation in the Bacteriology Laboratory. She is shown performing MALDI-TOF analysis for organism identification.

MLS student Zhu Lan spent time rotating through the Special Coagulation Laboratory last week, gaining hands-on experienc...
05/04/2026

MLS student Zhu Lan spent time rotating through the Special Coagulation Laboratory last week, gaining hands-on experience with the lab’s von Willebrand multimer bench. This testing, along with other laboratory data, plays a key role in identifying the various types of von Willebrand disease.

MLS student A***n is currently completing his Clinical Chemistry rotation in the Clinical Core Laboratory Services area....
05/01/2026

MLS student A***n is currently completing his Clinical Chemistry rotation in the Clinical Core Laboratory Services area. He has been performing pre‑analytical processing for chemistry testing, including pouring samples into instrument‑ready tubes, removing clots, relabeling specimens needing new barcodes, adding Reptilase to viscous samples, and preparing drug filtrates for centrifugation. He also assisted with troubleshooting on the DXI analyzer, which performs immunoassay testing for Vitamin B12, Folate, Troponin, and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). Additionally, A***n pipetted samples onto an applicator for gel electrophoresis, where HDL, LDL, and Lp(a) are separated for analysis.

MLS student Syndey spent time this week learning in the Metabolic Hematology Laboratory. She gained hands‑on experience ...
04/30/2026

MLS student Syndey spent time this week learning in the Metabolic Hematology Laboratory. She gained hands‑on experience preparing washed packed red cells for sickle solubility testing, including washing whole blood with saline, centrifugation, and aspirating the supernatant. She also practiced pipetting buffer and interpreting test tubes to assess for the presence of Hemoglobin S.

Our first cohort of blood bank students returned to the Stabile 3-50 teaching lab this week to put their blood bank know...
04/29/2026

Our first cohort of blood bank students returned to the Stabile 3-50 teaching lab this week to put their blood bank knowledge retention to the test. Congratulations for being the first team to escape the Hemo-Goblin 3.0 Attack on the Blood Bank in under one hour! The official escape time was 58:30. We are incredibly impressed by your teamwork, communication, riddle-solving skills, and strong recall of Immunohematology concepts. Well done!

MLS student Kameron was busy in the Biochemical Genetics Lab (BGL) last week, where she learned how newborn screening he...
04/27/2026

MLS student Kameron was busy in the Biochemical Genetics Lab (BGL) last week, where she learned how newborn screening helps detect inborn errors of metabolism before symptoms appear. She helped prepare reagents for the Biotinidase assay, interpreted amino acid and organic acid profiles for disorders like Phenylketonuria (PKU) and Maple Syrup Urine Disorder (MSUD), and studied metabolic pathways such as Galactosemia. She also worked with Acylcarnitine testing, which helps pinpoint fatty acid and organic acid disorders. Pictured: Kameron preparing the mass spectrometer for the Acylcarnitine assay.

We'd like to congratulate MLS Program Director, Sue Lehman, on her recent retirement. Sue dedicated 42 years in the Dep...
04/26/2026

We'd like to congratulate MLS Program Director, Sue Lehman, on her recent retirement. Sue dedicated 42 years in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP) at Mayo Clinic. Sue’s lasting impact is reflected in the many students, colleagues, and laboratory professionals she has mentored throughout her remarkable career.

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