Joseph Watkins
According to the Centers for Disease Control, roughly 70% of healthcare decisions depend on laboratory test results – making laboratory professionals a vital part of the healthcare team.
Histotechnologists, who process tissue for examination following a surgical procedure, are one of these crucial professionals.
“I often have to explain what I do to people because of how niche this area of medicine truly is,” Joseph Watkins, a Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics (BLD) program senior, said. “While most people might not know exactly what we do in histotechnology, patients and healthcare professionals rely on the report we give them to determine the next phase of patient care.”
The West Virginia University School of Medicine provides a path into the in-demand profession of histotechnology with one of only eleven programs offered in the United States.
Students in WVU’s Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics program can choose two tracks, either medical laboratory sciences where they train to discover the presence or absence of disease in blood and body fluids or histotechnology where they train to perform routine and complex procedures on tissue specimens that aid pathologists in determining the diagnosis, prognosis and best treatment for the patient.
Watkins opted into histotechnology, and he and his fellow BLD peers began their track as juniors. The program boasts small class sizes and lots of hands-on laboratory experience. Students gain two semesters of clinical experience during which they explore different sub-specialties of histology, including Mohs surgery, gross pathology, autopsy pathology and research.
For Watkins, working in a lab and pursuing a career in the field of pathology has been his goal since high school.
“The BLD Program has allowed me to truly grow as a laboratory specialist,” Watkins said. “The program allowed me to do more hands-on learning by offering both lab time and a year's worth of clinical experience to where I am not afraid of jumping into work after graduation. The program also offered me a nurturing environment with amazing professors who got to know each student on a personal level. The program also gave me the tools to succeed in graduate school following graduation.”
After graduation, Watkins hopes to earn his histotechnologist certification before beginning the WVU Pathologists’ Assistant program in spring 2026.
Watkins is a recipient of the Mildred C. Swanson Scholarship in Histotechnology, an endowment established for the histotechnology program by Richard Swanson and his wife Kathryn Skitarelic Swanson, M.D., to honor Richard’s mother, Mildred, who worked as a histologist at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital for 18 years.
“It is a great honor to be awarded the Mildred C. Swanson Scholarship,” Watkins said. “The legacy that Mildred had while working as a histologist for Ruby Memorial skyrocketed her to be awarded a Distinguished West Virginian by the governor. Being able to now associate myself with such a legend makes me feel thankful to the Swanson Family for such a generous and thoughtful scholarship. Being awarded the scholarship allowed for less of a financial burden on me during the six-week intensive summer semester and allowed me to focus further on my education.”
In addition to his academic experience, Watkins is also involved in the community and numerous student organizations. Watkins is an EMT for MonEMS; the co-president of MuTau, the BLD Student Honorary Society; the treasurer of the WVU First Responders Club; and a member of the WVU Beekeeping Club.
To learn more about the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics program at WVU, visit medicine.wvu.edu/biomedical-laboratory-diagnostics/.
The Mildred C. Swanson Scholarship was made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.