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The Clinical Chemistry Laboratory At Yale-New Haven Hospital

Clinical Chemistry laboratories are often thought of as factories generating large numbers of routine results by automated methods. But for the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory at Yale, this is less than half the story. Not only does our Laboratory generate 2 million results a year, it also offers assays for nearly 200 different analytes. The high volume tests (>10,000 results/year) comprise less than 1/8 of our total menu. The remaining tests are done by a wide variety of techniques ranging from fully automated to completely manual. While we did 200,000 potassium assays last year (our highest volume automated test), we also did 5000 alcohol screens (ethanol, methanol, isopropanol and acetone) using a manual gas chromatography assay and 400 methotrexate assays using an enzyme inhibition technique developed and automated in house.

The common perception that all chemistry assays are done with commercial kits also falters here. We have developed many of our assays in house, using state of the art technologies. These include not only new and/or esoteric tests (for which there are no kits), but also many high-volume, automated assays. This allows us to provide routine tests that are faster and more reliable than commercially available products, and also to provide highly specialized assays needed for research and cutting-edge therapies. Developing our own tests gives us an intimate knowledge of assay performance characteristics not easily obtained otherwise and helps assure the highest quality results.

A key ingredient in this approach is our team of well-trained and dedicated medical technologists. Human intelligence and flexibility remain critical ingredients in allowing the Yale Clinical Chemistry Laboratory to fulfill its mission of providing a broad array of medically useful tests, with results that are accurate, reliable, and available in a timely and cost-effective manner.

We also provide more than just results. In depth clinical consultation is available from our Laboratory Medicine residents and Clinical Chemistry Directors for all tests offered.

Staff

Richard K. Donabedian, MD
Director, Clinical Chemistry
Director, Special Chemistry
special expertise in endocrinology, lipids, metabolism

Peter Jatlow, MD
Director, Clinical Laboratories
special expertise in psychotropic drugs and abused drugs

Herbert Malkus, PhD, DABCC
Associate Director, Clinical Chemistry
Director, Automated Chemistry
special expertise in cardiac markers, automated chemistry

Michael E Hodsdon, MD, PhD
Assistant Director, Clinical Chemistry
Director, Toxicology and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

Timothy Shizume, MT (ASCP)
Laboratory Manager, Clinical Chemistry

Carol Walker, MT (ASCP)
Administrative Technologist, Clinical Chemistry

Darlene Bartoszek
Laboratory Associate Coordinator