Behind almost every disease diagnosis is someone the patient will likely never see. After a sample is taken — such as blood, urine or tissue — it’s the job of a medical laboratory scientist to test and analyze the specimen to aid in diagnosing, monitoring and treating diseases. This unseen “disease detective” plays a big role in a patient’s ultimate treatment path.
“We are an irreplaceable member of the healthcare team,” said Nicholas Brehl, MEd, director of Health Professions Programs and the Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) program at the Indiana University School of Medicine. “We work closely with physicians, pharmacists, nurses and all other care providers to provide critical information that informs patient care.”
As medical technology advances, the volume of available diagnostic tests has risen. Coupled with an aging U.S. population and the retirement of many senior laboratory scientists, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects more than 24,000 vacancies for MLS professionals every year through 2030. Currently, there is a 15.2% vacancy rate at hospital laboratories nationwide, Brehl noted.
IU is addressing this workforce need though the largest university-based clinical laboratory science program in Indiana. The roots of the Medical Laboratory Scientist program go back to 1933, first operating as a non-degree training program before the bachelor’s degree program was established with its first graduating class in 1942. Since that time, the faculty have been educating a new cohort of medical laboratory scientists each year.
The program has nearly a 100% pass rate on the board certification exam. These professionals are working at hospitals, diagnostics labs and research laboratories throughout the state.
In 2024, IU School of Medicine expanded the MLS program through a partnership with Deaconess Health System in southern Indiana. New lab space was created at the Stone Family Center for Health Sciences to accommodate up to 24 MLS students at IU School of Medicine—Evansville, increasing the Department of Pathology’s capacity to train medical laboratory scientists by 200%.
“There was a significant undersupply of MLS professionals in the region,” said James Porter, MD, president of Deaconess Health System, who worked with IU School of Medicine—Evansville director Steven Becker, MD, to start up the program. “They are absolutely mission-critical for patient care, not only to our owned hospitals and physician practices in southwest Indiana but also for numerous other providers and provider organizations which Deaconess’ regional lab supports throughout the tristate area.”
Jada Paul graduated in the first cohort of the MLS program in Evansville and is now employed by Deaconess. Born and raised in Evansville, she started as a biology major at the University of Southern Indiana.
“I knew I wanted to do something in the medical field and explored different options, but nothing felt quite right,” Paul said.
While working as a microbiology processing technician with Deaconess, Paul learned of the new IU program from her manager. MLS fit what she’d been looking for: a medical science job that offers daily variety and is important to patient care but does not require direct patient interaction.
“I love how it’s so hands-on; every day is different,” she said. “We have a lot of volume, but I treat every specimen like, ‘What if this was my loved one?’ because every specimen is attached to a patient that is somebody’s loved one.”
Brehl said MLS attracts people who not only love science but also want to make a difference.
“I joke about it, but most of us came here for the science and stayed for the patients,” he said. “We care deeply about our work and the impact it has, even if we don’t usually see our patients face-to-face.”
What does a medical laboratory scientist do?
Paul started as a processor in the microbiology lab, preparing specimens by transferring them onto a nutrient plate. These cultures would then grow in an incubator until a medical laboratory scientist would take responsibility. Now Paul is on the other side of the bench, examining the cultures post-incubation to identify the types of bacteria or other microorganisms present and determine the most effective course of treatment.
It’s not as straightforward as it might seem: “In urine, there’s a lot of normal urogenital flora, and it’s hard to get a clean specimen. We have to look at the plates and figure out what is normal flora, what’s contamination, and what’s actually causing the problem.”
Erik Lutz, another recent MLS program graduate, works in a different type of lab at IU Health University Hospital in Indianapolis. The Cellular Therapy Lab does stem cell transplants and CAR T-cell therapy, a type of immunotherapy that genetically modifies a patient’s own T-cells to fight cancer.
“My grandfather had AML (acute myeloid leukemia) and went into remission due to receiving a stem cell transplant from my dad, and if I get to deliver this lifesaving treatment to others in need, then that is very rewarding and meaningful work,” he said. “Since starting here last July, I have seen through, from start to finish, hundreds of transplants for cancer patients. I love what I do.”
One misconception is that laboratory scientists work alone in the corner of a dark, dingy lab.
“Our laboratories are not like what most people imagine,” Brehl said. “We work collaboratively in teams of all different sizes in bright, modern and sophisticated labs. We use a blend of very complex instruments, robotics and manual methods in our testing.”
The field is constantly changing as medical discoveries are made and new technologies are developed for testing and treating diseases.
“All the changes not only require us to keep learning, but it also requires us to communicate these changes to all downstream users of our data,” Brehl said. “We play an important role in advising physicians which tests to order and what those results mean.”
Training MLS professionals across Indiana
Like Paul, Lutz discovered the field late into his undergraduate years as a biochemistry major at Purdue University. He transferred to IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis to complete the program, doing clinical rotations at laboratories within IU Health hospitals.
“To think, people like me, who have been engrossed in bioscience and related studies since high school, have never heard of MLS until their final year of college is mind-boggling,” he said.
Brehl and his team are working hard to change that. He goes to dozens of high school classrooms, college fairs and science clubs to introduce the MLS pathway, along with other undergraduate health professions programs at the IU School of Medicine.
“With MLS, we are at the intersection of healthcare and cutting-edge science,” Brehl said.
These jobs offer meaningful work and a competitive salary with a four-year degree. It can also be a good foundation for a doctoral degree.
In southern Indiana, IU School of Medicine—Evansville has partnered with three other institutions — University of Southern Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University — to create a four-year pathway where prerequisites are completed before transferring to IU School of Medicine—Evansville for hands-on training in medical laboratory science. Deaconess, the largest community-based health system in the southern Indiana tristate area, supports the program and provides clinical experience in its affiliated hospitals and labs.
Deaconess and IU School of Medicine have partnered on several initiatives over the years, including the Southwest Indiana Graduate Medical Education Consortium, which has expanded residency programs in the region for internal medicine, psychiatry and family medicine. Becker has also worked with IU Southeast and the University of Evansville to establish a Baccalaureate to Doctor of Medicine (B/MD) program aimed at training more physicians in southern Indiana.
The MLS program is an option for B/MD students who don’t meet requirements for medical school admission or who decide they want to enter the workforce sooner, Becker noted.
“The MLS program attracts talent to come to, or remain in, the area and provides a source of desperately needed MLS professionals,” Porter said of the health system’s impetus to start the program. “It supports the university’s teaching mission and Deaconess’ healthcare mission, which both impact the health of our patients and the economic success of southwest Indiana and beyond.”
