ASCP News - January 2026

Gregory G. Davis, MD, MSPH, FASCP, Installed as 2025–2026 President of the American Society for Clinical Pathology

Gregory G. Davis, MD, MSPH, FASCP, was installed as the 2025-2026 President of the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) during the Society’s Annual Business Meeting, November 17-20, in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Davis, a nationally recognized leader in forensic pathology, has dedicated his career to advancing medical science, public health, and the mission of ASCP. 

Dr. Davis graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and completed his pathology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. He pursued a fellowship in forensic pathology at the San Diego County Medical Examiner Office in San Diego, CA, before joining the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). At UAB, he currently serves as Professor and Director of the Forensic Division in the Department of Pathology. He is also the Chief Coroner/Medical Examiner for Jefferson County, Alabama. 

In addition to his clinical and academic leadership, Dr. Davis earned a Master of Science in Public Health from the UAB School of Public Health. His research focuses on applying epidemiology to forensic pathology, particularly in the area of drug abuse. He has authored 80 peer-reviewed publications, including serving as lead author on the 2013 opioid position paper of the National Association of Medical Examiners and the 2020 revision. He also serves on the editorial board of Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology. 

“Dr. Davis brings a remarkable combination of not just expertise, but also dedication, authenticity, and compassion to the role of ASCP President,” says Alexandra Brown, MD, FASCP, Interim Chief Executive Officer of ASCP. “His leadership will strengthen ASCP’s ability to advance pathology and laboratory medicine while addressing critical challenges in public health. We are proud to welcome him as our president.” 

Dr. Davis is a past president of the National Association of Medical Examiners and has served on the ASCP Board of Directors since 2018. His leadership within ASCP includes serving as Chair of the Commission on Science, Technology & Policy, Chair of ASCP Case Reports, and member of the Bylaws Committee. He began his volunteer service with ASCP in 2005 as co-editor of the forensic pathology section of ASCP Case Reports (then known as Check Sample), later serving as chief editor of ASCP Case Reports from 2011–2017. 

“I am honored to assume the presidency of ASCP, and I am eager to continue working with my colleagues to promote outstanding laboratory care for our patients,” says Dr. Davis. “My forensic experience has taught me not only the importance of engaging with others for a worthy cause, but also the deep satisfaction that comes from that engagement as we work together to improve public health.” 

As ASCP President, Dr. Davis will lead the organization in its mission to empower laboratory professionals, pathologists, and patients by advancing knowledge, fostering innovation, and advocating for the critical role of diagnostic medicine in healthcare. 

ASHI Tech Affairs Happy Hour: Sharing ASCP Workforce Insights

On November 5, 2025, ASCP joined the American Society for Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics (ASHI) for their Tech Affairs Happy Hour webinar to share the latest findings from its workforce research initiatives. During this event, ASCP provided preliminary findings from the 2024 Wage Survey focusing on histocompatibility professionals alongside early insights from the Laboratory Education Financing study. The session also highlighted national trends from the 2024 ASCP Vacancy survey and key findings from the MPHLW Coalition Report. 

As part of its ongoing mission to advocate for the medical laboratory workforce, ASCP continues to investigate how wage trends, staffing shortages and education and career barriers impact the profession. With limited national research on how education financing impacts entry into laboratory careers, ASCP’s work fills a critical gap in understanding workforce access and equity. Events like the ASHI Tech Affairs Happy Hour offer valuable opportunities to discuss and align strategies across the medical laboratory community. These efforts support ASCP’s broader goal of building a resilient, well-supported and inclusive laboratory workforce for the future. 

ASCP Supports Comprehensive Care for Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease

ASCP recently supported our partners at the American Society of Hematology (ASH), and more than 70 other groups in urging the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health to include the Sickle Cell Disease Comprehensive Care Act (S. 721 / H.R. 5178) in an upcoming markup or hearing. 

ASCP is proud to collaborate with members of the Sickle Cell Disease Coalition to support this bipartisan legislation as it aims to ensure that individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) have better access to comprehensive, high-quality outpatient care, including recommended clinical, mental health, ancillary, and support services by allowing states to establish Medicaid Health Home programs with SCD as the single qualifying condition for eligibility. 

ASCP will continue to urge passage of this important legislation and update the membership on any developments as they arise.

ACCME Accreditation with Commendation Places ASCP in Top Tier of CME Providers

ASCP has achieved Accreditation with Commendation from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, placing the Society in the highest tier of all continuing medical education providers. 

“ASCP is thrilled to receive this prestigious award. ACCME is the premier professional organization for medical educators,” says Devon Cortright, MEd, ASCP Chief Officer of Continuing Professional Development. “It speaks to the extraordinary commitment and hard work of ASCP’s education staff and members.” 

The achievement recognizes accredited CME providers for implementing best practices in pedagogy, engagement, evaluation, and change management, and focusing on generating meaningful outcomes. It also recognizes the achievements of organizations that advance interprofessional collaborative practice, address public health priorities, create behavioral change, show leadership leverage educational technology, and demonstrate the impact of education on healthcare professionals and patients. 

The Accreditation with Commendation recognition is the highest honor a CME provider can receive from the ACCME and is valid for six years, the longest term the ACCME offers. It signifies a provider has met the core accreditation requirements and demonstrated exceptional educational leadership and innovation. 

This means ASCP: 

• Delivers education that is relevant to clinicians’ needs, evidence-based, and free of commercial bias. 
• Demonstrates its ability to achieve outcomes, meaning its educational activities improve the practices of clinicians and patient care. 

To be eligible for Accreditation with Commendation, CME providers must demonstrate compliance with the Core Accreditation Criteria, Standards for Integrity and Independence and required policies, in addition to the Menus of Commendation Criteria, shown below. 

The five categories of ACCME’s commendation criteria are: 

• Promoting team-based education 
• Addressing public health priorities 
• Enhancing skills 
• Demonstrating educational leadership 

Choosing from the menu, providers need to demonstrate compliance with any seven criteria of their choice, from any category, and at least one of the Achieves Outcomes category, for a total of eight criteria. 

“At the core of ASCP’s mission is patient care,” Ms. Cortright says. “This ACCME accreditation recognizes that ASCP’s accredited education helps clinicians and teams improve their practice and ultimately optimize the care and wellness of their patients.”

ASCP Raises Concern about USCIS H-1B Visa Proposal

On November 24, ASCP urged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) not to adopt its proposal to create a salary-weighted H-1B visa selection process. Currently, USCIS uses a lottery system to award the 85,000 H-1B visas available each year.

Under the USCIS proposal, individuals with higher salary offers within their profession would be more likely to secure a visa. As individuals who are just beginning their careers typically earn less than individuals with more experience, pathologists and laboratory professionals who have recently completed their training programs would have a much harder time securing an H-1B visa to work temporarily in the United States.

ASCP opposed the proposal, arguing that it “would exacerbate the shortages of pathologist and laboratory professionals.” ASCP also noted that the USCIS proposal fails to reflect Congress’s intent that the H-1B program help address labor shortages in specialized, high-skilled fields, such as healthcare.

The H-1B visas is a temporary, non-resident visa (meaning it does not confer citizenship) for skilled professionals (generally individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree).

ASCP Education Grant Bolsters Joint Venture Hospital Laboratories’ Career Outreach Efforts

An education grant that ASCP provided to Joint Venture Hospital Laboratories (JVHL) is making a significant impact on JVHL’s efforts to promote laboratory careers and education programs in Michigan. 

JVHL used the Program Director Educational Grant to finance student recruitment and outreach efforts in support of the NAACLS-accredited laboratory education programs within Michigan. It bought three Meta Quest 3S Virtual Reality headsets, supporting devices, and supplies for use in large career event exhibits and classroom presentations, according to JVHL’s Dawn Taylor, MA, MLS(ASCP)^CM, in JVHL’s September 2025 report on its use of the grant. The headsets allow students to explore the laboratory environment virtually via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s OneLab virtual reality (VR) program. 

“This has enhanced the experience we provide to students at our events,” writes Ms. Taylor, who is Recruitment Liaison for JVHL’s Virtual Reality Exhibit and a member of the ASCP Laboratory Medicine Workforce Steering Committee. She adds that JVHL leadership “observed significant increase in foot traffic in our booths after implementing the headsets. . .and [an] increase in student engagement with hands-on activities." 

JVHL also applied part of the education grant funds to its pilot Summer Immersion program for high school students in June 2025. In collaboration with Oakland University School of Health Sciences in Michigan and four JVHL member laboratories, students got to spend three days experiencing an MLS education program while exploring laboratory careers. During the remaining week, students each had a shadowing experience in a host laboratory. 

“Collaboration is a key strategy for making a lasting impact,” Ms. Taylor says. “The Summer Immersion program is an example of JVHL’s collaboration with our state workforce development agency, an established laboratory academic program and our network laboratories. We plan to expand the program in future years, thanks to the successful pilot in 2025.” 

One way that JVHL measures success is to monitor attendance at recruiting events, immersion programs, workshops, and classroom presentations. Its staff is already seeing promising signs of increased attendance and interest. While there are multiple factors impacting enrollment, JVHL leaders believe promoting visibility of the laboratory profession through targeted workforce initiatives will result in increased student numbers in Michigan’s laboratory education programs. 

“We have heard from program directors in our state that student applications are increasing as they engage in our recruiting events,” she says. “We are grateful for ASCP’s support of our work promoting laboratory careers and education programs in Michigan.”