Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

The Global Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (GPLM) Program works with members across the St. Jude Global Alliance at the institutional, regional and national levels to improve care and outcomes for children with catastrophic diseases worldwide through pathology and laboratory medicine improvements.  

The program’s activities comprise the following subspecialties and initiatives, each with a lead pathologist: 

• Global anatomic pathology 
• Global clinical pathology – global microbiology 
• Global hematopathology 
• Global laboratory quality management systems 
• Global digital pathology 

Program Initiatives 

As the program has expanded in scope and reach, its multifaceted approach has come to include the following: 

• Targeted and comprehensive assessments of pathology and laboratory medicine services and quality, along with developing improvement plans, goals and priorities. 
• Assistance and consultation aimed at facilitating improved laboratory testing practices, capacity and quality. 
• Workshops, symposia and regional working groups to improve local and regional skills and capabilities. 
• Design and implementation of regional external quality assurance (Global EQA) schemes. 
• Design, validation and implementation of flow cytometry strategies based on genetic characteristics of the local patient population. 
• Using digital pathology as a tool for education and quality assurance. 
• The Global Laboratory Quality Management Systems (LQMS) Academy launched to help establish and improve LQMS in participating laboratories in accordance with internationally accepted medical laboratory standards. 

The GPLM Program paradigm is to develop partnerships and foster networks with regional centers of excellence that, in turn, can lead locally and regionally sustainable improvements. 

Contact 

To learn more about the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Program, email gplm@stjude.org.