From left to right: Jose C. Jara Aguirre, Rosa Sierra-Amor, Jessica Colon-Franco, Angel Colon (staff), Veronica Luzzi, and Omar Laterza
Since 2011, the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) has been at the forefront of the association’s drive to improve laboratory medicine in countries where resources are limited. When a few members of the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) with the shared desire to improve laboratory quality in Latin America were invited to come together – the working group was born. Though small at first, the group has grown, changed, and improved.
Where ADLM's Latin America Subcommittee has conducted workshops. Blue markers indicate quality control/method verification workshops. Yellow markers indicate quality control/method verification workshops as well as newborn screening workshops.
For 14 years, they have conducted quality control, method verification, and newborn screening programming in 16 countries reaching 3,171 participants through hands-on workshops that have made an impact on laboratory medicine in the region. In 2025, the structure of Global Affairs at ADLM changed to support global growth. The LAWG became the Latin America Subcommittee, which now reports to the Global Affairs Core Committee (GACC).
Though the operation, feel, and membership of the group have changed over the years, their main mission of improving laboratory quality has stayed the same, and they continue to reach higher to better laboratory medicine in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Though the operation, feel, and membership of the group have changed over the years, their main mission of improving laboratory quality has stayed the same, and they continue to reach higher to better laboratory medicine in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The beginning
It all started in 2010 when Barbara Goldsmith, PhD, ADLM president in 2009, contacted Rosa Sierra-Amor, MSc, PhD, with the idea of joining efforts to create a team to discuss laboratory medicine needs in Latin America. Goldsmith had just returned from Ecuador and noticed the lack of resources in the country’s laboratories. There was research consisting of surveys and analyzing existing programs that led Goldsmith to contact Sierra-Amor. A third of ADLM’s membership at the time were international customers, with a majority being based in Latin America. ADLM's board of directors was aligned with Goldsmith’s idea and pushed for the creation of the group.
Sierra-Amor speaking at an ADLM Latin America Working Group workshop.
Goldsmith knew Sierra-Amor was well connected with La Confederación Latinoamericana de Bioquímica Clínica (COLABIOCLI) and knew many colleagues in the region. Sierra-Amor agreed to join, and along with a few other colleagues from Uruguay, Ecuador, and Guatemala, they met in person for the first time.
The group sought to improve laboratory quality in Latin America through the form of workshops with practical exercises. ADLM staff Angel Colon and Gary Myers, PhD, FACB, were behind the planning and organization of the workshops that were possible because of funding from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation. Colon and Myers worked alongside the original LAWG members to successfully carry out the first events.
The workshops put the onus on the attendees to do the work for maximum takeaway. Jose Jara Aguirre, MD, Omar Laterza, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, Veronica Luzzi, PhD, MS, DABCC, FACB, Sierra-Amor, and Laura Parnas, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, were the original team working on the group’s first few workshops in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru.
Luzzi (chair of the LAWG from 2020-2024) had a vivid memory from the early years of the group from a question asked by an attendee during one of her workshop presentations. The attendee asked when it was necessary to use quality control for a qualitative test. She was shocked by the question, since it was clear that the attendee thought that quality control did not need to be tested with patient samples all the time. It was a testament to the state of quality in the region at the time.
Luzzi thought about her more recent travels to Latin America and said, “When I go to Latin America now, everyone in the audience knows when to run quality control. It was 11 years of digging and pushing, and now people are really being more dedicated to quality altogether; they are now doing risk management. I think our audience evolved.”
Jara-Aguirre presenting at a workshop in Guatemala.
Workshop planning and execution continued, but the group was stuck on how they were going to measure the success. A more technical worry for the group was whether the funds were going to be used effectively. These were problems they continued to work on during the years to come.
LAWG members from left to right: Jose C. Jara Aguirre, Rosa Sierra-Amor, Jessica Colon-Franco, Veronica Luzzi, and Omar Laterza
A few years in
The LAWG hit its 5-year mark in 2016, and members Jessica Colon-Franco, PhD, and Alicia Algeciras-Schimnich, PhD, DABCC, FADLM joined to present in Havana, Cuba. Quality control workshops were still the group’s focus, but the topics broadened to include risk management, method verification, point of care validation, and newborn screening based on demand.
The group continued with workshops in Argentina, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Uruguay. Their approach to content changed slightly with the introduction of virtual learning via online seminars. Of course, with the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning was the only method available. The positive takeaway was that online content became more consistent since then, and the group still produces free virtual seminars in Spanish.
The group continued with workshops in Argentina, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Uruguay. Their approach to content changed slightly with the introduction of virtual learning via online seminars. Of course, with the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning was the only method available. The positive takeaway was that online content became more consistent since then, and the group still produces free virtual seminars in Spanish.
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LAWG members at the ADLM Annual Meeting (formerly the AACC Annual Scientific Meeting).
“We live in two countries, no?” Sierra-Amor pointed out, regarding the group’s connection to the region. “We have this sense of each country... that is a factor [that] improves the way we perform, how we develop our careers.”
This realization demonstrated the uniqueness of the group membership that might set it apart from other groups at ADLM.
But more than this, the connection to the region manifests itself in, as Luzzi noted, “personal satisfaction and the ability to give back to colleagues in Latin America.” She added that she had had the opportunity to move to other groups within the association, but her passion for work in Latin America kept her here.
This realization demonstrated the uniqueness of the group membership that might set it apart from other groups at ADLM.
But more than this, the connection to the region manifests itself in, as Luzzi noted, “personal satisfaction and the ability to give back to colleagues in Latin America.” She added that she had had the opportunity to move to other groups within the association, but her passion for work in Latin America kept her here.
LAWG members in Colombia.
2021 and beyond
Upon moving to other initiatives at ADLM, many, like Luzzi, have looked back with fondness about the support they were able to give the region. The group has found ways to keep colleagues involved through presentations at workshops or virtual events.
Change to the Subcommittee
In August of 2025, the LAWG officially became the Latin America Subcommittee. Along with the Africa and Asia-Pacific Subcommittees, it reports to the newly established GACC (which replaced the Subcommittee on Global Affairs).
Luzzi referred to the change as “icing on the cake” to all the group’s great work, fitting well with the name change of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) into the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM). Both illustrate ADLM’s dedication to the profession of laboratory medicine worldwide.
Luzzi also noted that in the past few years, the group has been busier, mentioning the creation of subgroups; some focused on webinars, publications, and educational content.
Though the Latin America Subcommittee at ADLM evolved since 2011, its goal of improving laboratory quality in Latin America has stayed strong and consistent.
Colon-Franco presenting Luzzi with a certificate at the ADLM/Sociedade Brasileira de Análises Clínicas workshop in Brazil.
The group continues to hit new milestones, such as visiting Brazil for the first time for a workshop and diversifying its membership to include experts in new fields. While still focusing on continuing with its educational efforts, the group is now looking to support ADLM more broadly.
As the first global working group, it inspired the creation of two other regional groups, the new structure of Global Affairs at ADLM, and countless improvements in laboratory medicine in Latin America. The question remains: What more lies in its future?
As the first global working group, it inspired the creation of two other regional groups, the new structure of Global Affairs at ADLM, and countless improvements in laboratory medicine in Latin America. The question remains: What more lies in its future?
A thank you to Angel Colon, Barbara Goldsmith, PhD, Veronica Luzzi, PhD, MS, DABCC, FACB, Gary Myers, PhD, FACB, and Rosa Sierra-Amor, MSc, PhD, for their assistance in writing this article.
Any laboratory medicine society interested in conducting activities with ADLM's Latin America Subcommittee can email [email protected]