“The only thing more powerful than a big idea is the team that can guide it through."

Dr. E. Blair Holladay, CEO of the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), is a visionary, provocative, and innovative leader who has committed his life to ensuring that pathology and laboratory medicine are at the heart of medicine's house. Under his leadership, the ASCP has diversified its portfolio, secured patient safety excellence, and expanded its purpose of education, certification, and patient-centered advocacy. The Society has become well-known in healthcare for its capacity to educate those around them on the important significance of the laboratory in healthcare.

Under Dr. Holladay's leadership, ASCP has been a vigorous advocate for doing what is right for the laboratory and for patients. Dr. Holladay has helped develop, foster, and evangelize the laboratory as the central pillar of the healthcare. He is not afraid to challenge standards in healthcare if it benefits patients and laboratory profession. He believes that strategy should be purpose-driven, and works hard to interrogate the business model on a regular basis. He believes that in the creative process there are no such things as mistakes.

Founded 100 years ago, The American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) is the world's foremost medical society for pathologists and medical laboratory specialists. The mission is to provide a high-quality, patient-centered approach in all activities, products and services. Its 100,000 members are the lifeblood of ASCP, and their dedication to its mission is essential to the organization's success. It is the members' passion and commitment to patients and the laboratory that solidifies ASCP’s place as a cornerstone of healthcare and what sets them apart from other healthcare organizations.

In 2015, Holladay launched Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa under the Obama administration, with the help of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. This multi-organizational program provides state of the art diagnostics to some of Sub-Saharan Africa's most disadvantaged countries. The leapfrog technology has enabled pathologists in the United States to connect with laboratory workers in low- and middle-income African countries. This initiative delivers diagnoses for patients who otherwise may not have access to cancer diagnostics, says Holladay. “We're changing the way cancer is diagnosed and treated around the world, and we believe it's our responsibility to pursue these initiatives and opportunities to share our knowledge and education in order to improve patient care for everyone”. Since its inception, they’ve reached out to over 30 countries to assist with their diagnostic medicine needs.

Holladay is also proud of the resources they’ve provided to their members, the public, and key political decision makers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years. Since the beginning of the pandemic, ASCP has been at the forefront of COVID-19 diagnosis and testing. They devised a nationwide testing strategy, some of which was implemented by the Biden Administration. They were one of the first medical societies to urge a vaccination mandate, a decision they felt critical to ending the pandemic.

They offered myriad educational tools to their members, including a Town Hall with Dr. Anthony Fauci, and swiftly moved much of their educational activities online in order to better share knowledge with the pathology and laboratory communities throughout the world. Lastly, they produced two documentaries focusing on pathologists and laboratory experts who assisted in the pandemic response, providing insight into what it was like in the trenches and how we may better prepare for the next pandemic.

Recently, a multi-year research project was concluded on the medical laboratory workforce. A Blueprint for Action was developed to meet the growing demand for pathologists and medical laboratory scientists. The American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) is also developing an awareness campaign for the medical laboratory profession focusing on retention and recruiting, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. Every patient who requires treatment comes into contact with the laboratory, and as the cornerstone of that care, a robust workforce that can support and offer high-quality care for all patients is required. It is the laboratory's responsibility as a leader in healthcare to harness the knowledge and skills and engage with other healthcare teams to ensure that all patients receive patient-centered care.