The HLA community is required to provide the essential training and education of its laboratory professionals for work in the highly complex fields of histocompatibility and immunogenetics. Presently, no formal training is available and requirements for employment vary among states and HLA laboratories. Clinical laboratories necessarily provide patient information and support to clinicians and thus training is often limited to those skills required to meet the needs of distinct clinical programs. Individuals fortunate enough to be in an environment that values and develops its technologists have access to greater educational opportunities.

As a Society, we embrace the challenge of educating our members. We recommend that all ASHI-approved laboratories offer technologists comparable training and support, irrespective of laboratory size, programs supported or test volume processed. The Society champions values of leadership, diversity, integrity, patient satisfaction and expanding knowledge for technologists and other transplant related professionals. The ASHI University Curriculum is a valuable resource to technicians, technologists, directors, clinicians and educators and will help to achieve this goal.

Students of ASHI-U will be able to:

• Have access to a broad range of topics in histocompatibility and immunogenetics, irrespective of the size of their own laboratory
• Learn from text, PowerPoint and video based media
• Obtain CME/CEU credits for their participation
• Engage fully in the educational process by writing or reviewing content for ASHI U
  

ASHI-U will commence with educational materials directed toward the technologist stream. Subsequently, and in parallel, it is anticipated that streams directed toward lab directors, transplant co-coordinators, clinicians/residents/fellows, patients, OPOs, and lab inspectors will be developed. Within each stream, major areas of study are defined as Chapters. For example, serology will be one chapter and DNA Based Methods will be another. Each chapter is composed of modules, which stand alone as learning tools. Modules may be of a technical or application type. For example DNA Extraction may be a technical module within the Serology chapter, whereas Sequencing would be an application module within the DNA Based Methods chapter.

Each chapter will consist of three sections:

INTRODUCTION

An overview of the discipline with an outline of what will be included in the subsequent sections, the clinical context in which the discipline is applied, any relevant basic science, and clinical science review and background.

TECHNICAL MODULES

These are modules concerned with the basic techniques employed in the laboratory or clinical /administrative practice, as determined by the parent tract. For example, in a Chapter on DNA Based Methods, technical modules would include techniques such as DNA extraction or gel electrophoresis.

APPLICATION MODULES

These modules are concerned with the larger scale application of the techniques covered in Section 1. For example, in a Chapter on DNA Based Methods, application modules would include RFLP, sequencing or engraftment monitoring. Each module may have one or more of the following components: a comprehensive text presentation, a PowerPoint slide presentation, and a video component. It is recognized that not all components will be applicable to all modules. At the end of each module there will be a self-assessment multiple choice quiz which will be required in order to obtain CME/CEU credits. As modules will be of varying size and complexity, ABHI will determine the credits to be assigned to each module. Learning from modules not necessarily within one’s area of expertise or usual practice is encouraged. CME/CEU credits will be earned for all modules completed. ASHI-U has been developed to provide a platform from which the Society’s membership can draw upon the expertise of one another to educate and inform the individual. The mission of ASHI-U is to strengthen the Society’s global impact on the field of histocompatibility and Immunogenetics through education and training. Incorporating the Internet as a vehicle of global distribution will allow individuals throughout the world to participate and interact with one another on a more regular basis. ASHI University shares the overall mission and goals of ASHI and will play an integral role in promoting the mission of ASHI. The American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics is an international society of professionals dedicated to advancing the science, education and application of Immunogenetics and Transplant Immunology.

Our Mission:

Core Purpose:

Vision: