‘A Perfect Profession’
MLS Student, CHS Celebrate Medical Laboratory Professionals Week
By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director
Yuri Grace Takagawa always wanted to work in the medical field. And she always wanted to work in a big hospital.
Naturally, the University of Kentucky — and the College of Health Sciences’ Medical Laboratory Sciences program (MLS) — was the perfect place to study.
“I chose UK because my dream was to work in a big hospital where I could be exposed to unique cases,” said the 21-year-old junior MLS major from Tokyo. “As UK Chandler is a Level 1 trauma center, I wanted to learn Medical Lab Science adjacent to such a place to maximize my opportunities, as well as to expand my interest and knowledge. In addition, UK has a lot of extracurricular opportunities, which allowed me to meet people and gain diverse experiences.”
Like graduate research. “I was involved in Alzheimer’s disease research during my freshman and sophomore years,” she said. “The focus was on how TPD-43 and tau protein impact the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. I investigated the mislocalization of TDP-43 in the cytoplasm in Alzheimer’s disease, instead of the nucleus, where it normally resides, using immunohistochemistry.”
All of this before she was even a junior in college.
Now, on Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, we highlight students in the MLS Program, including Takagawa, and we ask why she chose the program, how the experience has been, and what her future will look like.
Here’s 5 questions with … MLS junior Yuri Grace Takagawa:
Why did you choose MLS?
I found out about MLS when I saw some blood tubes being picked up from my parents’ dermatology clinic. As MLS is a combination of what I love — hands-on lab work and saving patients' lives — it was a perfect profession to pursue for me.
Tell me about your time in the College — favorite things, memories?
One of my favorite things about the MLS program is that all students and faculty are very close. We spend all day together, so we get to know each other well. A good memory is the escape room activities we did in immunology and clinical chemistry. We performed different lab tests to solve a series of questions. Being able to apply what I learned in class with my classmates was fun and rewarding.
What does the future look like for you — your goals, etc.?
I am planning to work in a clinical lab after graduating from the MLS program. My goal is to specialize in an area of interest, possibly related to pathology or testing related to cancer diagnoses.
Why is it important to have and celebrate a Medical Lab Professionals Week?
It is important to celebrate Medical Lab Professionals Week because MLS is the foundation of the medical field. Physicians rely on the lab results that MLS provides to determine the patient’s condition and to decide on the treatment. Although MLS is not a well-known field, I hope more people will become aware of it, as most individuals will need MLS at some point in their lives without even realizing it.
If someone wanted to go down a similar road, what advice would you give them?
I would advise trying anything that interests you, staying curious and open-minded. For me, being involved in research made me sure that I wanted to work in a clinical lab and prepared me well for the MLS program. So, getting experience in what interests you will not only help you discover what you want to do as a career, but also prepare you for that path.