ARUP Laboratories, University of Utah Receive $3 Million for Clinical Laboratory Training Center

ARUP Laboratories, an AABB institutional member, and the University of Utah's Division of Medical Laboratory Sciences have secured $3 million in federal funding to build a new Advanced Practice Clinical Laboratory Training Center. The center – a first-of-its-kind collaboration between ARUP and the university – seeks to increase educational opportunities for students in medical laboratory sciences in Utah and beyond and help address a nationwide need for highly trained laboratory professionals.

The $3 million appropriation will fund the training center's construction and state-of-the-art instrumentation, enabling students to gain experience in specialized testing in clinical chemistry, hematology, coagulation, immunohematology, microbiology, virology and immunology. After completing their program at the center, students will finish their clinical education in more specialized testing environments at ARUP and other locations.

"The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us how important well-trained laboratory professionals are to providing accurate and timely test results that are critical to the delivery of the best patient care," said Tracy George, MD, ARUP president and chief scientific officer. "Working together, we've come up with an innovative solution, and we're so pleased that it can now move from concept to reality.”

The center will be located on the ARUP campus at University of Utah Research Park with an expected opening in 2024.