News & Announcements

The High Cost of Johne’s Disease

By Ashley Stewart posted 2 days ago
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Johne’s Disease, which is caused by Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP), is not just a disease that’s potentially devastating for the cattle, sheep, and goats that contract it. It can be a costly nightmare for farmers and may even have health impacts on humans. In the NSH webinar, Jonesing For Johne’s - AFB Control Tissue , presenters Kathryn Stoll, AS, HT (ASCP) CM of Newcomer Supply and Tori Smith, HT (ASCP) CM of Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory give us a comprehensive look at the various effects of Johne’s Disease, as well as how histotechnologists use their expertise to confirm it. The Toll Johne’s Disease Can Take Since Johne’s ...
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Top 5 Traits of a Great Histotechnologist

By Ashley Stewart posted 16 days ago
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Listen to Article Whether you’re trying to fill vacancies in your lab—or wondering if a career in histology might be right for you—consider this: ask any two histology professionals how they entered the field, and you’ll likely hear wildly different stories. There’s no single path into histology, but no matter who you talk to, you’ll notice strong common threads in personality that define a great histotech. Here are the top five traits nearly all successful histotechnologists share. Patient-Focused Mindset (Behind-the-Scenes Helping) You care about helping people, even if you’re not providing hands-on patient care. Every tissue slide you prepare ...
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Are Multiple GMS-Stained Levels Needed? Not Necessarily, According to Study

By Ashley Stewart posted 01-09-2026
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Listen to Article Gomori methenamine silver (GMS) stains are commonly used for esophageal biopsies in order to determine if a sample has fungal esophagitis. During this process, many labs require two GMS-stained levels, but is it necessary and cost effective? In an article published in the Journal of Histotechnology , researchers Michael Occidental from The Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU Langone Grossman School of Medicine; Andrew Dunn of Hattiesburg Clinic’s Department of Pathology and Dermatopathology; and Aaron R. Huber from the University of Rochester Medical Center tackled that question. In order to find the answer, the ...
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NSH Was Doing Distance Learning Before It Was Cool — Here’s Why It Still Works

By Ashley Stewart posted 12-12-2025
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Listen to Article NSH is the leading provider of histology education—from the NSH Annual Convention , to eLearn , our online learning center, to our online histology community, The Block . But there’s another NSH educational gem that’s been around since the days of kodachromes—one many members don’t even realize exists. The NSH Laboratory Webinar Series (formerly the Teleconference Series) has quietly delivered high-quality, histology-focused education for nearly thirty years, curated—and often taught—by NSH members themselves. Despite its long history, this program remains one of NSH’s best-kept secrets. Curious why ...
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The Hunt for the Perfect Slide

By Ashley Stewart posted 11-26-2025
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Listen to Article Every histologist has had some kind of adhesion slide mishap in the lab. Maybe you put a tissue on a slide and can’t keep it in place. Maybe you find a background stain on the slide as you’re working. Maybe some water gets trapped under the tissue and you can’t get a good scan when doing digital pathology. Whatever the case, you end up with a problem that means you have to start over—which will not make your colleagues happy. “Nobody wants to have an unhappy pathologist,” said Rachel Finn, MBA, HTL (ASCP)CM, Product Marketing Specialist at StatLab. “Nobody wants to take that extra time to have to repair that slide or to recut and restain ...
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From Professional to Patient: A Med Tech’s Organ Donation Journey

By Ashley Stewart posted 11-10-2025
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Listen to Article As a med tech with a medical laboratory science education, Natasha Leon, MLS(ASCP)SBB (sister in law of our 2025 Histotechnologist of the Year, Nicole Leon), of Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin feels very comfortable with healthcare procedures. She spent most of her career in a hospital setting doing transfusion service, and has since moved to the blood donor side of the field. However, when her personal and professional lives collided, she got a crash course in the organ donation area of healthcare, which Leon shares in the NSH When Worlds Collide Through Organ Donation webinar. While Leon understood what was happening when ...
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Dementia Demystified

By Ashley Stewart posted 10-31-2025
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Listen to Article According to the Alzheimer’s Association , there are currently over 7 million people around the country living with Alzheimer’s disease—and that amount is expected to skyrocket to 13 million by 2050. And as the number of people living with the condition increases, so does the price tag for their care. The organization also reports that the health and long-term care costs for dementia patients is currently $384 billion and by 2050, it will be $1 trillion. Despite this prevalence and cost, Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia are not as understood as they could be. One example of the consequences of this ...
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So You Want To Be A Manager?

By Ashley Stewart posted 10-27-2025
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Listen to Article Sometimes management gets a bad reputation. The stress, the long hours, and the tough decisions are not for everyone, but there is so much positive if you do it right. Leadership isn’t just about meetings and managing tasks; it’s about teaching, influencing, and helping others find real satisfaction in their work. I’ve learned more about myself being a manager than I ever would have otherwise. Here are some truths about being a manager that no one told me when I started. Leadership is a Journey, Not a Destination Leadership never stops and that’s a good thing! Every day you must grow as a person to keep growing as a leader. You need ...
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Meet Nicole Leon, NSH’s 2025 Histotechnologist of the Year

By Ashley Stewart posted 10-27-2025
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Listen to Article It’s no surprise that Nicole Leon, BS, HTL(ASCP), ended up becoming the Senior Coordinator of the Histology Research Laboratory at the Versiti Blood Research Institute. Although when she was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, she was unsure about what career path she wanted to pursue, she always loved being in the lab. When her advisor mentioned histotechnology as a possible career, Nicole knew it was the right choice for her because she could sit behind a microscope and multitask other job duties. Since starting out as a bench histotechnologist in 1998, Nicole has gone on to move into managerial roles and now ...
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How Digital Image Analysis Strengthens H&E Staining Quality Control

By Ashley Stewart posted 10-27-2025
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Listen to Article Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining underpins nearly every diagnostic and research decision made in histology laboratories. With thousands of slides processed daily, even small fluctuations in staining quality can compromise reproducibility, turnaround times, and ultimately patient care. Yet, most laboratories still rely on subjective visual checks to monitor reagent performance. A new study “ Utilizing image analysis by optical density to evaluate changes in hematoxylin and eosin staining quality after reagent overuse ” published in the Journal of Histotechnology demonstrates how digital image analysis can quantify subtle changes ...
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U.S. Cancer Research at a Breaking Point: NIH’s Grant Race Tightens Sharply

By Ashley Stewart posted 10-27-2025
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Listen to Article The United States has long been a global leader in cancer research, channeling billions of federal dollars into laboratories that have transformed once-fatal diagnoses into treatable or even curable conditions. Steady support from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has underpinned landmark discoveries—from targeted therapies to cutting-edge immunotherapies—while training the next generation of investigators. That foundation is now under acute strain. With critical projects stalled, the funding crisis threatens not only laboratory progress but the trajectory of cancer care itself. In ...
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The Devil You Know: Common Reasons Change Doesn’t Happen in the Lab

By Ashley Stewart posted 10-27-2025
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Listen to Article Woodrow Wilson was famously quoted as saying, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” This bit of wisdom is not only true for politics; it’s also true in the lab. But, although we may be initially inclined to resist change, we have to remember that it has been an integral part of the histology profession since the beginning. The Godfather of Histology, Johannes Müller, would hardly recognize the scientific discipline he established in 1838. Since publishing On the Nature and Structural Characteristics of Cancer and of Those Morbid Growths Which May Be Confounded With It, we have seen the introduction of the use of microtomes ...
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Are You Making Time to Invest in Your Career?

By Ashley Stewart posted 10-27-2025
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Listen to Article When was the last time you prioritized learning something to help advance your career? If you're like most people, you probably can't remember. After all, work is busy, life is busy—and every day we're making decisions about how to spend our time. Should you pick up an extra shift or go grocery shopping? Stay late at work or keep your weekly date night? Carving out 30–60 minutes to learn a new career skill may not feel urgent today—but these are exactly the skills that can help elevate your role and your salary in the future. Even more importantly, the skills that make employees truly irreplaceable are often overlooked because they’re ...
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So You Want To Be A Manager?

By Ashley Stewart posted 10-17-2025
1 person recommends this.
Listen to Article Sometimes management gets a bad reputation. The stress, the long hours, and the tough decisions are not for everyone, but there is so much positive if you do it right. Leadership isn’t just about meetings and managing tasks; it’s about teaching, influencing, and helping others find real satisfaction in their work. I’ve learned more about myself being a manager than I ever would have otherwise. Here are some truths about being a manager that no one told me when I started. Leadership is a Journey, Not a Destination Leadership never stops and that’s a good thing! Every day you must grow as a person to keep growing as a leader. You need ...
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Meet Nicole Leon, NSH’s 2025 Histotechnologist of the Year

By Ashley Stewart posted 09-30-2025
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Listen to Article It’s no surprise that Nicole Leon, BS, HTL(ASCP), ended up becoming the Senior Coordinator of the Histology Research Laboratory at the Versiti Blood Research Institute. Although when she was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, she was unsure about what career path she wanted to pursue, she always loved being in the lab. When her advisor mentioned histotechnology as a possible career, Nicole knew it was the right choice for her because she could sit behind a microscope and multitask other job duties. Since starting out as a bench histotechnologist in 1998, Nicole has gone on to move into managerial roles and now ...
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How Digital Image Analysis Strengthens H&E Staining Quality Control

By Ashley Stewart posted 09-19-2025
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Listen to Article Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining underpins nearly every diagnostic and research decision made in histology laboratories. With thousands of slides processed daily, even small fluctuations in staining quality can compromise reproducibility, turnaround times, and ultimately patient care. Yet, most laboratories still rely on subjective visual checks to monitor reagent performance. A new study “ Utilizing image analysis by optical density to evaluate changes in hematoxylin and eosin staining quality after reagent overuse ” published in the Journal of Histotechnology demonstrates how digital image analysis can quantify subtle changes ...
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U.S. Cancer Research at a Breaking Point: NIH’s Grant Race Tightens Sharply

By Ashley Stewart posted 09-05-2025
1 person recommends this.
Listen to Article The United States has long been a global leader in cancer research, channeling billions of federal dollars into laboratories that have transformed once-fatal diagnoses into treatable or even curable conditions. Steady support from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has underpinned landmark discoveries—from targeted therapies to cutting-edge immunotherapies—while training the next generation of investigators. That foundation is now under acute strain. With critical projects stalled, the funding crisis threatens not only laboratory progress but the trajectory of cancer care itself. In ...
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The Devil You Know: Common Reasons Change Doesn’t Happen in the Lab

By Ashley Stewart posted 08-22-2025
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Listen to Article Woodrow Wilson was famously quoted as saying, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” This bit of wisdom is not only true for politics; it’s also true in the lab. But, although we may be initially inclined to resist change, we have to remember that it has been an integral part of the histology profession since the beginning. The Godfather of Histology, Johannes Müller, would hardly recognize the scientific discipline he established in 1838. Since publishing On the Nature and Structural Characteristics of Cancer and of Those Morbid Growths Which May Be Confounded With It, we have seen the introduction of the use of microtomes ...
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Are You Making Time to Invest in Your Career?

By Ashley Stewart posted 08-08-2025
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Listen to Article When was the last time you prioritized learning something to help advance your career? If you're like most people, you probably can't remember. After all, work is busy, life is busy—and every day we're making decisions about how to spend our time. Should you pick up an extra shift or go grocery shopping? Stay late at work or keep your weekly date night? Carving out 30–60 minutes to learn a new career skill may not feel urgent today—but these are exactly the skills that can help elevate your role and your salary in the future. Even more importantly, the skills that make employees truly irreplaceable are often overlooked because they’re ...
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Remembering the Person Behind the Pieces of Tissue

By Ashley Stewart posted 07-25-2025
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Listen to Article We know that our work as histologists is an important part of patient care, and what we do can help doctors save lives. But since we’re not working directly with patients, sometimes we may not always remember that there’s a person behind every piece of tissue we handle. “I like how pathology plays such a vital role even though we’re generally behind the scenes—but with being behind the scenes, that comes with an increased likelihood of dissociating the patient from the specimen since we’re only working with small pieces of them,” said Tiffany Mainella, M. ED., HTL(ASCP), Education Coordinator for Digital Pathology at the ...
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