Milenko Tanasijevic is the Vice Chair for Clinical Pathology and Quality of the Pathology Department of the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), the Director of the BWH Clinical Laboratories and an associate professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. He has co-founded Cell Imaging Systems Inc. and co-invented the technology that served as the basis for building the world’s first hematology instrument that integrates digital morphology, cell counting and classification into a single instrument. 

Introduction of advanced diagnostics modalities has become an imperative for many hospital-based laboratories in the era of precision medicine. Yet, building a robust advanced laboratory diagnostics program poses significant challenges from the perspective of ensuring adequate human resources, access to technology and appropriate space. In this workshop, I will share our experience with strategic planning and implementation of key laboratory diagnostic initiatives such as advanced molecular diagnostics, histocompatibility, LC/MS, molecular microbiology and total laboratory automation. I will describe several frameworks for competitive positioning for modern diagnostic laboratories and describe some of the key factors for their ongoing success and sustainability. Finally, I will go over some important financial and regulatory challenges confronting clinical pathology programs.