About Critical Values

For Filipe Cerqueira, PhD, D(ABMM), Associate Director for University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital Clinical Microbiology, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Division of Laboratory Medicine at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, his Afro-Brazilian heritage is very influential on his daily life. From the language he speaks with his family, to how and what he cooks and eats, and his general world purview, he reflects daily on the beauty of his culture and the strength of his ancestors to endure immense trauma. Dr. Cerqueira taps into this strength to help him through his own personal and professional struggles. Here, he shares his thoughts on the impact the laboratory has on patient care, his experience with inclusive workspaces, and more.  

As a laboratory professional, you have a unique perspective on disease diagnosis and patient care. How do you approach the responsibility of delivering accurate and timely results, knowing they have a significant impact on patient outcomes?  

I always remember that there is a person behind each specimen my laboratory receives. My role in overseeing infectious disease molecular testing includes STI testing which has great clinical, public health, and societal impact. For example, if we inaccurately report a positive C. trachomatis result in a patient, not only will they receive unnecessary antibiotics and suffer its side effects, but this will also affect this person’s mental health as STIs are highly stigmatized. As a gay man of color, STI burden disproportionately affects my community. Advocating for better assays and ensuring new tests will yield accurate results comes with great obstacles and challenges. However, I put myself in the patient’s shoes and know that my work in addressing these challenges is worth it as it is helping my community. 

ASCP members want to work to create more inclusive workplaces. In your experience, what characterizes a workplace and working community where you feel a sense of belonging and empowerment, where you can do your best work, thrive, and feel welcomed and valued?  

I’ve been lucky to have had a career full of amazing mentors and colleagues. In my opinion, being inclusive is way more important that diversity. This is because diverse talent has an affinity for inclusive spaces, so diversity will follow inclusion. Actions mentors have done to make my spaces more inclusive include: 

• Independently enrolling in DEI educational activities and doing the necessary self-work to learn how to make their own spaces more inclusive.  

• Making space for me talk in a way that feels most naturally to me without critiquing my accent, pronunciation, or word choice. 

• Expanding what is considered “professional” to include my culture. 

• Being flexible with their mentoring style so that I can learn and grow most efficiently.  

What aspects of laboratory medicine do you find most intriguing and fulfilling? How do these align with your personal and professional interests?  

In its very nature, pathology serves to be the liaison between clinical providers and groundbreaking translational research. To me, this is the most exciting part of lab medicine whereby it is my job to stay on top of the most recent advances in science. As a PhD scientist trained in basic microbiology, this is personally fulfilling. Additionally, I get to harness those advances so that they make the most significant positive impact on patient care, my ultimate professional goal. This is the best of both worlds! Nothing gives me more fulfillment in the synergy of applying my basic science training to create and/or implement an assay in the clinical lab, and I get to see the positive impact it has made on my community.