3 Questions with Olibrian Mallari, MBA, MLS(ASCPi)

For Olibrian Mallari, MBA, MLS(ASCPⁱ), his career as a laboratory professional started more than a decade ago in a country described by many as the “Pearl of the Orient”—the Philippines. In 2022, Mr. Mallari moved to the United States to pursue career opportunities and hone his skills as a laboratory professional. In 2024 he completed an MBA with a specialization in Healthcare Administration. He currently works in Washington, D.C., for Johns Hopkins Medicine, and started an online community for aspiring medical laboratory professionals to, as he says, “help one another to reach their American Dream. From a humble group that started with only two members, it is now comprised of 30,500 laboratory professionals all over the globe with a common goal of uplifting the spirit and making the dream alive.” 

Here, Mr. Mallari shares more of his thoughts about his journey to and career in the laboratory.  

How have mentors or role models impacted your journey?  

I would say I am still in my career journey as a laboratory professional since it started in 2014. Over the course of my decade-long career, I have always had a role model, a person whom I consider a luminary in this field. Professors Flora Paraiso and Josephine Milan were my strongest foundation during my formative years; they gave color to what seemed to be a bland degree, they opened my eyes to the beauty of laboratory work from its inception to its advancement as an important tool in healthcare.  

Dr. Janice Lonogan, another luminary taught me the foundation of professionalism, and embodied the spirit of becoming an effective educator by making me understand that each student has a potential, and that my role is to hone their potential to become future assets in society.  

Mr. Charls Ariz, I consider him as a good mentor in the field of leadership and management, through his eyes, I was able to understand how a functional and effective laboratory works through proper utilization of a member’s skill set and use it as a tool to achieve common good for the organization.  

Jennifer Faulkner and Taryn Spring, I consider them as my role models in the United States because through their leadership, I was able to understand how the laboratory works in a foreign land, and not only that, their sense of leadership made me appreciate more how vital our role is in the healthcare system because they explain how vital each procedure is.  

What impact do you hope to make through your work in this field? 

Currently, I play three roles in our medical laboratory field. First, a laboratory scientist, second, an educator, and third, a community leader. As a laboratory scientist, I hope that through my quality of work, I am able to provide the best care a provider can give. I hope through every result I verify I am able to make a family happy and a patient hopeful. 

As an educator, I still actively teach aspiring future laboratory professionals in the Philippines, and in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. I am also an active participant in and educational organization in the United States, I hope that through my words and examples, the future generation of laboratory professionals remember the wisdom I have shared with them, not only in the field of laboratory science, but also outside the corners of our class, when they move out to society and make themselves assets in the community, hopefully as laboratory professionals, or whatever path they choose to take.  

And as a community leader, in 2022 I established an online community called “Aspiring MLS to the US.” This small community helps more than 30,500 laboratory professionals all over the world aspiring to work in the United States. My hope for these young and energetic professionals is that when they achieve their goal, they remain grounded and pass on their wisdom to other aspiring professionals, just as I have shared my wisdom to them in the hopes of creating a collaborative community where everyone helps and helped everyone. 

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? 

As a laboratory professional, when preparing myself to face a responsibility at work, I always bring three things with me: knowledge, patience, and preparedness.  

Knowledge: Our field is a scientific community; we thrive on a scientific foundation where everything has a reason. It is very important to always bring the core theoretical foundations with me every time I come to work, to know how tests affect each other, how a disease condition may affect each analyte. I am a firm believer that a solid scientific knowledge will always anchor you through the day.  

Patience: Not everything will go as planned, sometimes I have to explain myself to my co-workers, to my leaders, sometimes even to doctors and patients, and this takes time. It’s not an instant snap that they will understand thoughts, and because of this, patience is very important. Never get tired of explaining, let people know why things, for example, are not going according to plan, why results are delayed, why there is a need to redraw due to doubt. 

And lastly, Preparedness: Be prepared to fix, be prepared to explain, be prepared to get scolded, be prepared to handle a heavy responsibility. At the end of the day, I am here for a reason, I am here because I deserve to be here, and I am here because people have faith in me.