“While enrolled in the Graduate Certificate Program in Clinical Pathology, I worked at the U.S. Embassy in the Middle East… I truly enjoyed every course in the program and the professors were phenomenal! Hats off to you for the superb design of this program! The program truly does meet the needs of professionals in the field!”– Rosemary Gieseke, Online Program Graduate

The online Graduate Certificate in Clinical Pathology is a unique program that was developed for medical laboratory personnel, medical professionals, nurses, and people working in the pharmaceutical industry who are interested in expanding and updating their knowledge in clinical pathology. Personnel employed in the biomedical device and biotechnology industries are another population of students who benefit from this certificate program. 

This program is part of the graduate offering in Clinical Laboratory Sciences. For qualified candidates, courses in this graduate certificate can be applied to the on campus Master's Degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences.

The Graduate Certificate in Clinical Pathology consists of 4 online courses offered by the Department of Clinical Laboratory and Nutritional Sciences. These include 2 required courses and 2 elective courses:

Required Courses:
30.550 Human Development and  Pathophysiology (Dr. Alease Bruce) - Available Fall 2009!
36.551 Advanced Pathophysiology (Dr. Kay Doyle, MT [ASCP])

Electives - Choose 2:
36.580 Clinical Applications of Molecular Genetics (Dr. Ted Namm)
32.504 Health Data Analysis (Dr. Beverly Volicer) - Available Fall 2009!
36.613 Infectious Disease (Dr. Guixin He)
36.553 Advanced Clinical Chemistry (Dr. Eugene Rogers)
36.615 Medical Mycology and Parasitology (Dr. Nancy Goodyear)

To Apply into the Certificate Program
To apply into this certificate program, download the Application Form in .pdf file format.

Please note: Graduate students will be assessed a “First Year Student Services Fee” upon matriculation into a graduate degree or certificate program. Please see the Accounts Receivable website

View our latest online course listing to see which of these clinical pathology courses you can register for this semester! For registration information, visit our registration information page.

Contact Information:
For general questions and information about registering for these courses each semester, email Continuing_Education@uml.edu or call (800) 480-3190

For specific questions regarding clinical pathology course and program content, email Eugene_Rogers@uml.edu

For questions regarding your application status, contact the Graduate School at (800) 656-GRAD.
 

Course Descriptions

30.550 Human Development and  Pathophysiology
The physiological steady state of the human body and disruptions that result over the life span will be examined as well as the pathophysiological mechanism manifested in disease states.  The course addresses defense, compensating, and adaptive responses to the pathophysiological processes as they apply to the various systems rather than being a survey course of diseases. 3 credits.

32.504 Health Data Analysis
This course is focused on the application of epidemiological and biostatistical methods to the analysis and interpretation of health data. Topics include: epidemiological and statistical measurement, statistical inference, hypothesis testing, anova, correlation and regression, chi-square, and non-parametric statistics. Heavy emphasis on actual health data analysis, using SPSS. Prerequisite: an elementary statistics course. 3 credits.

36.551 Advanced Pathophysiology
Disease processes as appropriate and inappropriate as variants of normal physiological functions. A detailed examination of certain important and illustrative diseases rather than a survey of diseases in general. 3 credits.

36.553 Advanced Clinical Chemistry
This course is designed to give an in-depth understanding in clinical chemistry. Topics include: analytical techniques and the selection of methodologies. The course allows for a detailed examination and discussion of selected articles from the Journal of Clinical Chemistry. 3 credits.

36.580 Clinical Applications of Molecular Genetics
This course begins with a review of basic molecular genetics, followed by a discussion of the human genome project, including the application of its technology to the management of genetic diseases. Laboratory techniques used to analyze pre- and postnatal tissue samples is described, including RFLP-Southern blot technology, real- time PCR, VNTR assessment, and gene expression analysis by microchip arrays. Cloning and stem cell analysis follows, including the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding these areas. Cancer genetics and cytogenesis is presented, with emphasis on molecular changes that lead to the onset of cancer. Genetic treatments for cancer are reviewed. Gene therapy is detailed, including the historical perspective, gene therapy vectors and their mode of action, and the newest methods for treating genetic disorders at the DNA level. Structural and functional genomics follows, centering around the creation of pharmaceuticals solely based on the genetic basis of diseases. The course ends with a discussion of the human proteome project, including goals and objectives, current progress, and the storage of data in complex bioinformatic databases. 3 credits.

36.613 Infectious Disease
This course is designed for graduate students in the health sciences focusing on the pathophysiology of infectious disease. Major infectious organisms will be discussed as biological models and presented in the way they affect major systems of the body. Emphasis will be placed on journal readings describing significant episodes of emerging infections and current technology in diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. 3 credits.

36.615 Medical Mycology and Parasitology
This course is designed to instruct students in diagnostic medical mycology and parasitology. Diseases, specimen collection and handling, laboratory identification and treatment of medically significant fungi and parasites will be studied. Discussion of AIDS related infections and prophylactic treatment will be evaluated. Life cycles of parasites, prevention and environmental protection plans will be analyzed. 3 credits.