MCL Featured Stories

Anne Tebo, Ph.D., explains how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' updated ALDG2 assay helps with the evaluation of patients with suspected autoimmune liver disease. The panel also helps with the evaluation of liver disease of unknown etiology.

In this episode of “Lab Medicine Rounds,” Justin Kreuter, M.D., sits down with Isabella Holmes, D.O., a first-year pathology resident at Michigan State, to discuss her residency training experience.

VEXAS syndrome is a severe autoinflammatory disease that results in a spectrum of rheumatologic and hematologic conditions. The underlying cause of newly identified VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome — somatic mutations in the UBA1 gene of blood cells — was discovered at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2020. Within six months, Mayo Clinic Laboratories was able to add a UBA1 test to the MayoComplete panel, as the team simultaneously worked on a single gene assay to allow doctors to test specifically for UBA1 mutations to screen patients for VEXAS syndrome. The team opted for a droplet digital PCR test — a novel and highly accurate approach to testing for UBA1 gene mutations.

This "Pathways" program provides Anatomic and Clinical Pathology cases that include a history, potential answers, rationale, and relevant references. Cases for June include the following sub-specialties: Gastroenterology Pathology, Gynecological Pathology, Liver Pathology, Neuropathology, and Clinical Chemistry

CT scans and hiatal/abdominal ultrasounds could not uncover why, whenever he ate steak, Joseph Ducaji experienced severe stomach problems, itchy hives, chills, and nausea. It took specialized testing from Mayo Clinic to unlock a little-known condition caused by a tick bite (and, no, it’s not Lyme disease).

In this month's "Hot Topic," Bobbi Pritt, M.D., describes the challenges to traditional microscopy for the detection of protozoa in stool specimens, lists potential uses of artificial intelligence in parasite detection, and discusses workflow modifications that may be needed when implementing digital slide scanning and AI-assisted interpretation.

This page includes updates posted to Mayo Clinic Labs during the month of May.

In this episode of “Lab Medicine Rounds,” Justin Kreuter, M.D., sits down with John Mills, Ph.D., associate professor, and vice chair of test implementation for the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to discuss navigating implementation challenges in the laboratory.

PACE / State of FL
In this month’s “Virtual Lecture” Mark Hyde continues to share what he has learned during his 28 years of workplace consulting experience and counseling with thousands of employees concerning work topics such as stress, fatigue, burnout, retention, and joy. Both personal and workplace resilience concepts and strategies will be highlighted to maintain a healthy sense of well-being and joy.

In this month's "Hot Topic," David Murray, M.D., Ph.D., reviews the role of urine testing for monoclonal gammopathies and discusses Mayo Clinic’s use of MASS-FIX to replace traditional immunofixation testing.

Due to the Memorial Day holiday (recognized on Monday, May 29), Mayo Clinic Laboratories' specimen pickup and delivery schedules will be altered. To ensure that your specimen vitality and turnaround times are not affected, please plan ahead.

This "Pathways" program provides Anatomic and Clinical Pathology cases that include a history, potential answers, rationale, and relevant references. Cases for May include the following sub-specialties: Cytopathology, Gastroenterology Pathology, Oral Pathology, Pulmonary Pathology, Renal Pathology, Hematopathology, and Transfusion Medicine.

Since March 2019, Paul Jannetto, Ph.D., director of the Metals Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, along with his colleagues across the enterprise and his laboratory staff, have developed, validated, and implemented an artificial intelligence (AI)-augmented test with algorithms designed to interpret kidney stone FTIR spectra. With more than 90,000 kidney stones analyzed each year at Mayo Clinic, this new AI-assisted test has streamlined lab processes and improved patient care.