Overview
| |   he discipline of laboratory medicine (also referred to as clinical pathology) is a subspecialty of pathology that focuses on the development, implementation, quality control and interpretation of medical laboratory tests. Such tests include clinical chemistry, flow cytometry, hematology, hemostasis, hematopathology, histocompatibility, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, toxicology, and transfusion medicine. The major impact of genetic variation between individuals in all areas of laboratory testing has brought genomics to the forefront of all areas of contemporary laboratory diagnostics.
 The Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine at Washington University is home to 17 research laboratories that work in broad areas of basic, clinical and translational research. These areas include immune system development and function; pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders; host-microbe interactions; genetic testing for inherited disorders; bio-informatics and medical informatics; laboratory diagnostics of endocrinology and reproductive physiology; and genomics in cancer biology. The division also offers a competitive, three-year residency that integrates clinical training with basic or applied research experience, and clinical fellowships in transfusion medicine, clinical chemistry, clinical microbiology and molecular pathology.
The Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine employs approximately 165 people including 29 faculty and 29 postdoctoral trainees. The division is located in several buildings on Washington University's medical campus including the Cortex, BJH Service, Clinical Science Research and Kingshighway buildings. A new building scheduled for completion in 2010 will allow us to further integrate our clinical and research efforts. The clinical faculty of the LGM Division oversee multiple clinical laboratories at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJH) that process approximately 5.5 million tests per year.
| History
| |   n the early 1970s, trainees in laboratory medicine were challenged to integrate new computer technology and automation into the hospital laboratory environment. The results are the highly automated, high-throughput medical laboratories operating today. In the early 1980s, clinical pathologists utilized monoclonal antibody technology originally developed in the basic science laboratory to develop numerous new medical tests in endocrinology, cardiology and oncology. In the 1990s, the recognition of new pathogens and human identification of the genes associated with disease processes lead to the development of new molecular assays to effectively monitor and treat patients.
 The sequencing of the human genome and the genomes of many pathogens has ushered in the era of genomics in diagnostic clinical medicine. Gene sequencing and microarray technology are now central approaches in diagnostic clinical pathology. We expect the 21st century to bring new clinical tests centered on epigenomics and proteomics, and we plan on being at the forefront of test development and application using these approaches. In addition, new recombinant antibody technologies will make multiplexed, ultra-sensitive and nanotechnology immuno-based assays possible that will revolutionize the field. Future trainees in laboratory and genomic medicine may expect to further the field of medical laboratory diagnostics in many exciting ways.
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