Bridging Program for Internationally Trained Medical Laboratory Technologist

Adela is a Medical Laboratory Technologist, who graduated from the Medical Laboratory Technology Program at the Michener Institute in 2010, after gaining a strong foundation in her native country, Romania, by graduating Biology and Ecology University Sibiu.

Ever since becoming a registered MLT she has dedicated her professional life to working and continuously learning, in various departments in a few Ontario hospitals: Stratford General Hospital, Grand River Hospital, St Marys Hospital, Brantford Hospital. She has strong technical skills in departments such as Hematology, Transfusion Medicine and Microbiology and she has also been involved with teaching MLT students that were having their placement done in these departments.

Managing supplies inventory, contributing to SOPs writing and being a Safety Officer for 2 years as part of the Safety Committee, were also some of the skills she has amassed during her over 12 years of working in the industry.

She is looking forward to growing, teaching and not lastly, learning more along with the students in the MLTH program at Anderson College.

Heng recently transitioned his career from clinical practice to education at Anderson College. After graduating from the Medical Laboratory Sciences program at Michener in 2017, Heng began his career as a Medical Laboratory Technologist (MLT) at University Health Network (UHN) where he participated in clinical education for placement students. Having found his passion in education, in 2021, Heng returned to the University of Toronto to pursue his Master of Education in Education in the Professions. Beginning of 2022, Heng was involved in the Synapse Clinical Transformation project at UHN and became a Credential Trainer for the Beaker Lab Module of EPIC Health Information System. During this time, he conducted numerous virtual end-user trainings for laboratory leaders and staff at UHN.

Sally is a creative and passionate MLT and educator. She focuses on quality learning and training and emphasizes connecting theoretical practices into the clinical laboratory. She likes to build strong foundations and collaborate with her students and fellow MLT colleagues to continue to grow and advocate the field with confidence. Sally commits to challenging herself with continued learning and taking on new roles and experiences to enhance her knowledge in the field.

Sally began her Medical Laboratory career in 2019 and has worked in hospital and reference laboratory settings, both offering their unique experiences. She also possesses a Bachelor of Education and worked in the York Region District School Board for several years. However, realizing that her passion was in healthcare, she left the teaching world and enrolled in the MLT program. Now, she hopes to combine her knowledge and experiences as an MLT and educator to lead the future MLTs at Anderson College.

Realizing the MLT field is one that is vast and ever-growing and being in the fairly early stages of her career, Sally hopes that her future in the field will continue to expand within Education, accreditation, and advocacy.

Shweta is a Medical Laboratory Technologist who has dedicated her life to learning and teaching others. She continuously strives to expand her knowledge, and is highly passionate about the medical laboratory field.

Shweta gained a strong foundation in microbiology and biological sciences owing to the Honors Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph. After realizing her aptitude for the laboratory during her undergraduate degree, she completed a 3 year Advanced Diploma in Medical Laboratory Science from St. Lawrence College in Kingston Ontario, where she graduated with distinction.

She earned her MLT certification in 2018, and has since worked in various departments at multiple hospitals in Ontario. She has amassed clinical experience in clinical microbiology, chemistry, hematology, transfusion medicine, phlebotomy and molecular biology. In addition to working as a MLT, she has been involved in managing a student training program, performing internal audits, writing SOPs and conducting literature reviews for new processes at her workplaces. During the pandemic, she was part of the laboratory which processed regional COVID-19 tests in Waterloo region. Currently, she works as a casual MLT at Cambridge Memorial Hospital’s core laboratory. She also continues to demonstrate her commitment to learning as she is also pursuing a Master of Public Health Degree from the University of Waterloo.

Gemma is a hardworking, highly organized, has a strong work ethic and exhibits professionalism in her ability. Gemma is highly motivated dependable in her career. She Always want to learn and expand her knowledge and skills. She believes that education is a continuous process.

Gemma finished her Medical Laboratory Assistant program at Anderson College of Health, Business and technology – North York Campus. She completed her internship program at Humber River Hospital. Started her Medical Lab career before and after completing her course. She works at Alpha Laboratory as a Medical Laboratory Technician for a year. Right after she completed her internship, she got absorb at Sick Kids Hospital as Medical Laboratory Technician. She also a member certified Medical Laboratory Professionals in Ontario. Joined the CSMLS seminar in Transfusion Science Certification.

Taking great pride in her work and consistently working on her skills to ensure she is operating at the highest caliber. Has a positive outlook and energy as an asset to any organization.

Ashneet Saini is an enthusiastic and highly motivated individual who inspires students to learn and grow in their careers. She has a passion for learning and always finds opportunities to expand her knowledge and understanding. She believes that education is the key to success and is grateful to be a part of the medical laboratory technologist program (MLT) and faculty.

Ashneet graduated from the University of Toronto in 2015 with an Honours Bachelor of Science and began a position as a medical laboratory technician of haematology at LifeLabs in 2017.

Through her experiences, she discovered the medical laboratory sciences profession and completed her schooling at The Michener Institute of Education. She has been a certified MLT since 2020 and worked in the core lab at William Osler Health System and Mackenzie Health. She played a vital role in staff training and teaching MLT students during their clinical placements at her sites.

Ashneet loves to give back to her community, advocate for her profession and is always looking for ways to volunteer in her spare time. As a Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) member, she volunteered on the exam panel and was the charity committee Vice President at The Michener Institute of Education. Ashneet hopes to motivate her students to pursue their goals and ambitions and guide them towards success.

Since he was a child, Frank Kwa was interested in the sciences. Whether building a steam engine from a tin can or exploring nature in a conservation area, he had passion and curiosity. This love of the sciences enables him to keep growing as a medical laboratory technologist (MLT) and an MLT instructor.
After earning an HBSc in Human Biology from the University of Toronto, he completed his MLT training at The Michener Institute of Education in 1998. Since then, he has worked in various hospital laboratories in Toronto and is now the charge medical laboratory technologist of haematology for Scarborough Health Network at both the Lawrence Ave E and Birchmount Rd hospitals.

Frank has experience working in a core laboratory and an additional 5 years specializing in haematology, his passion and dedication to the medical laboratory profession have enriched the students that he teaches.

His teaching philosophy is captured in the words of Bertrand Russell:
“Education is not to be viewed as something like filling a vessel with water but, rather, assisting a flower to grow in its way.”
In Frank’s own words, “I began my career in the medical laboratory sciences field in 1998 and I can think of no better way of giving back to it than by educating and inspiring the future generation of our profession. Many can teach but few can inspire, and it is that which I want to accomplish.”

Megan Spencer started working as a medical laboratory technologist (MLT) in 2012. A mere 2 years after her career beginnings she started working in the biochemistry department at the University Health Network (UHN) and became a senior worker in the immunology department. She brings 11 years of experience working in fast-paced core labs with her to Anderson College.

Megan discovered her love for teaching when she became a clinical educator at UHN, teaching MLT students rotating through the lab. Since 2014, she trains and teaches clinical chemistry post-doctoral fellows and medical students doing elective rotations. Previously, she designed a 1-week enrichment rotation in autoimmune diagnostics for the clinical chemistry fellows for which she was the supervising faculty.

She has presented at Med Lab Week seminars and scientific conferences, including the AutoAntibody Summit. She welcomes opportunities to conduct academic research and with that attitude, she is the co-author of four different peer-reviewed publications. You can see Megan’s work for poster presentations at conferences at both the national and international levels.