As part of the lead up to Histotechnology Professionals Day on March 10th, NSH is celebrating you by sharing stories from across the field. Through this series, we’ll highlight the journeys, challenges, and successes of histologists at every stage of their careers. To kick things off, we’re featuring Dr. Toysha Mayer, a dedicated educator and histotechnologist with over 30 years of experience. Her path in histotechnology is filled with unexpected turns, invaluable lessons, and a deep passion for shaping the next generation of professionals.
Wow! Last year, I celebrated 30 years in histology. I never thought I’d stay in the field this long, but here I am! The best advice I ever got came from my mama (yes, I’m from the South) was that it didn’t matter what I studied in college, as long as I gained a marketable skill along the way.
I was first introduced to histology in an undergraduate pre-med course. I had no idea it was a real career, but I enjoyed the technical labs. Fast forward to 1991 and Operation Desert Shield—I was serving in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves and was called up for ship escorts out of Houston. The timing was rough; I had just moved to Baton Rouge for veterinary school. After my short tour, I returned to Louisiana, and LSU gave me a job in the veterinary histology lab. School didn’t work out, but I was gaining that marketable skill.
With my BS in Biology, I sat for my HT certification—I wasn’t encouraged to take the brand-new HTL exam at the time. Learning on the job wasn’t easy. I made mistakes, but I pushed through. Back then, the certification required a practical exam, and I had to redo mine because of something as small as gauze dust. It was also the first year the computer-based test was offered, so I had to drive from a small rural hospital in Plaquemine, Louisiana, to New Orleans to take it. On my way home, I got lost—this was before GPS—and ended up at a federal prison and a Hansen’s Disease Center by mistake!
Over the years, my skills and curiosity grew. I’ve had the opportunity to work with an incredible variety of specimens: white tigers, whales, elephants with tuberculosis, fruit flies, oysters, fish eggs, jalapeño peppers, armadillos, suspected hantavirus cases, degenerative brain diseases, Alzheimer’s, feline HIV—just to name a few. One of my proudest moments was working on a suspected hantavirus case. The pathologist allowed me to sit in while he read the slides. The case was negative, but he was the only pathologist in the state with hantavirus experience, making it a fascinating learning opportunity.
Looking back, I sometimes wonder if I should have pursued additional certifications or written more papers—but overall, I’m content. I still run into people who trained me, proving how small and connected histology truly is. I’ll never forget my first mentor, who passed away during COVID. I’m grateful I got the chance to thank her before she passed. She was tough on me, but that made me a better tech and honed my critical thinking skills.
I love what I do! When I retire, I plan to spend a year as a travel tech, exploring the country and meeting fellow histologists. When people ask about my job, I tell them I’m a highly specialized medical laboratory technician who finger-paints by numbers for a living. It’s a simplified description, but it captures the essence of our work—we are the only discipline that provides a visual to the diagnosis.
As an Associate Professor and Associate Program Director for the HTL program at MD Anderson, many of my former students have gone on to work in bench tech roles, sales, applications, management, leadership, pathology assistant positions, and even medical residency in pathology. I’m grateful I listened to my mama’s advice and had mentors who gave me a chance. Because of them, I’ve spent 30 years in a field I love, shaping the next generation of histologists.
By Toysha Mayer, DHSc, MBA, HT (ASCP)
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