The Laboratory Medicine Division, with 19 primary and 8 secondary appointment faculty, directs a large and diverse set of laboratories that offer a broad and sophisticated array of primary and reference laboratory testing.
The majority of primary testing is performed in the Core Laboratory (basic hematology, chemistry, coagulation, body fluids and urinalysis testing), Microbiology, and the Blood Bank. Specialized reference testing is offered in Chemistry (therapeutic drug monitoring, toxicology, esoteric testing), Hemostasis, Immunopathology (hematopoietic malignancies, immune system evaluation, etc.), Molecular Genetics (inherited disorders, hematopoietic disorders, etc.), Molecular Infectious Disease, Virology, Reproductive Biology (in the Dept. Of Obstetrics and Gynecology), and Lipid Biology (in the Dept of Medicine). For outside institutions, reference testing services can be accessed through Vanderbilt Medical Laboratories (VML) on the Department home page. The Division also oversees a large point of care and satellite lab testing effort throughout Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The primary foci of the division are:
- Provision of state of the art laboratory services for Vanderbilt patients.
- Resident training in all aspects of Laboratory Medicine.
- Provision of state of the art reference laboratory services for other institutions through VPLS.
- Pursuit of research in laboratory medicine.
- Fellowship training that emphasizes the development of academic laboratorians.
- Training of Medical Technologists.
The Division oversees the Vanderbilt University Hospital Medical Technology School, a 13 month program that prepares students to enter this critical specialty.
