Our Team of Mad Scientist Writers

Posts written by our bloggers may contain content that is not the opinion, stance, or policy of the ASCP.

Christi Wojewoda, MD, is certified by the American Board of Pathology in AP/CP and Medical Microbiology. She is currently the Director of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Vermont Medical Center and an Associate Professor at the University of Vermont. She enjoys teaching pathology residents, medical students and clinical laboratory science students. One of her interests is test utilization.

Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ) “Dan The Lab Safety Man” has over 25 years experience as a certified medical technologist. He has a bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dan worked as a laboratory generalist in hospitals ranging in size from 75 to 800 beds before becoming a laboratory manager. Today he is the Laboratory Safety Officer for Sentara Healthcare, a system of seven hospitals and over 20 laboratories and draw sites in the Tidewater area of Virginia. He is also known as Dan the Lab Safety Man, a lab safety consultant, educator, and trainer.

Xin Yi, PhD, DABCC, FACB is a board-certified clinical chemist. She currently serves as the Co-director of Clinical Chemistry at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Becky Socha, MS, MLS(ASCP)^CMBB^CM graduated from Merrimack College in N. Andover, Massachusetts with a BS in Medical Technology and completed her MS in Clinical Laboratory Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She has worked as a Medical Technologist for over 40 years and has taught as an adjunct faculty member at Merrimack College, UMass Lowell and Stevenson University for over 20 years. She has worked in all areas of the clinical laboratory, but has a special interest in Hematology and Blood Banking. She currently works at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Md. When she’s not busy being a mad scientist, she can be found outside riding her bicycle.

Jeff SoRelle, MD is Assistant Instructor of Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX working in the Next Generation Sequencing lab. His clinical research interests include understanding how lab medicine impacts transgender healthcare and improving genetic variant interpretation.

Clare McCormick-Baw, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Microbiology at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. She completed her Medical Microbiology fellowship in 2019 following completion of her Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency in Temple, Texas at Baylor Scott and White. Prior to attending medical school in her home state of Louisiana at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, she defended her dissertation in Medical Bacteriology at University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2009. She has a passion for teaching about laboratory medicine in general and the best uses of the microbiology lab in particular.

Darryl Elzie, PsyD, MHA, MT(ASCP), CQA(ASQ), has been an ASCP Medical Technologist for over 30 years and has been performing CAP inspections for 15+ years. He has a Masters of Healthcare Administration from Ashford University, a Doctorate of Psychology from The University of the Rockies, and is a Certified Quality Auditor (ASQ). He is a Laboratory Quality Coordinator for Sentara Healthcare. Sentara Laboratory Services provides services for 12 full-service hospitals, five ambulatory care centers, and a large number of medical group practices. Dr. Elzie provides laboratory quality oversight for four hospitals, one ambulatory care center, and supports laboratory quality initiatives throughout the Sentara Healthcare system.

Taryn Waraksa-Deutsch, MS, SCT(ASCP) ^CM, CT(IAC), has worked as a cytotechnologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since earning her master’s degree from Thomas Jefferson University in 2014. She returned to her alma mater to create and instruct a graduate-level course in “Cellular, Molecular, and Immuno Diagnostics,” as the field of cancer diagnostics requires a comprehensive theranostic approach. She is an ASCP board-certified Specialist in Cytotechnology with an additional certification by the International Academy of Cytology (IAC). She is also a 2020 ASCP 40 Under Forty Honoree. Outside of her work, she is a certified rescue diver. Scuba diving in freshwater caverns is her favorite way to “rest my eyes from the microscope.”

Andrew Clark, PhD, D(ABMM) is an Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Department of Pathology, and Associate Director of the Clements University Hospital microbiology laboratory. He completed a CPEP-accredited postdoctoral fellowship in Medical and Public Health Microbiology at National Institutes of Health, and is interested in antimicrobial susceptibility and anaerobe pathophysiology.

Phyu Thwe, PhD, MLS(ASCP)^CMis Technical Consultant/Technical Director of Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at Vidant Medical Center, Greenville, NC.

Paige M.K. Larkin, PhD, D(ABMM), M(ASCP)CM is the Director of Molecular Microbiology and Associate Director of Clinical Microbiology at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL. Her interests include mycology, mycobacteriology, point-of-care testing, and molecular diagnostics, especially next generation sequencing.

Rebecca Yee, PhD, D(ABMM), M(ASCP)^CM is the Chief of Microbiology, Director of Clinical Microbiology and Molecular Microbiology Laboratory at the George Washington University Hospital. Her interests include bacteriology, antimicrobial resistance, and development of infectious disease diagnostics.

Hasan Samra, MD is the Director of Clinical Microbiology at Augusta University and an Assistant Professor at the Medical College of Georgia.

Alison Krywanczyk, MD, FASCP, grew up in the Burlington, Vermont area and attended the University of Vermont for medical school and residency in anatomic and clinical pathology. She then did a fellowship in forensic pathology at the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office (in Cleveland, Ohio) and a fellowship in cardiovascular pathology at the Cleveland Clinic. She is currently a Deputy Medical Examiner at the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Jason P. Nagy, PhD, MLS(ASCP)^CMis a Lab Safety Coordinator for Sentara Healthcare, a hospital system with laboratories throughout Virginia and North Carolina. He is an experienced Technical Specialist with a background in biotechnology, molecular biology, clinical labs, and most recently, a focus in laboratory safety.

Kelly Swails, MT(ASCP) graduated from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Science. She worked in clinical laboratories for almost 20 years before joining the publication team at American Society for Clinical Pathology. Her first love is microbiology, but she enjoys all areas of the lab. She’s the Digital Managing Editor at ASCP.

To learn more about former bloggers, see our past contributors page.