Sandy Liang (center) meets with Program Chair Dr. Karen Thompson at the open house event.
Tucked away in the far corner of the University of Hawai’i Mānoa Campus is a small but mighty program training students for a career essential to the prevention and diagnosis of disease and ultimately creating a healthier state for all of Hawaiʻi. The UH John A. Burns School of Medicine has been graduating Medical Lab Scientists (MLS) since 1946, through its Medical Technology Program.
While the general public may be used to seeing doctors and nurses working directly with patients in a healthcare setting, not many people know about the MLS occupation simply because a lot of the critical work they do happens behind closed doors.
”Our students work in labs, and they run the tests that assist physicians with diagnosing patients. They actually look at cells, look at bacteria under a microscope, and a whole host of other things. They run operations for laboratories and make sure everything is valid and accurate so that patients can get the proper treatment that they need,” said UH Medical Technology Program Director Rhena Singh.
“About 70% of medical decisions rely on test results produced by medical labs and the people that run medical labs are our students, our alumni,” she added.
The vibes are positive and the program itself feels like a family, especially with the program’s efforts in maintaining wonderful relationships with their affiliates. The Medical Technology Program’s Annual Open House at the start of the school year felt more like a gathering of friendly faces– bringing together leaders in the field, including alumni, keen to network with the students and share about their experiences working in MLS.
As the nation’s workforce of medical lab scientists continue to retire, the demand for this career continues to soar.
“The job outlook for our students is excellent. We have a 100% employment rate so every single one of our students gets a job within one year of graduating,” Singh said.
The notion of a seamless transition from the program to starting her career is something that piqued the interest of Sandy Liang, who just began the program this semester, having graduated from UH Mānoa with her Bachelor’s degree in 2025.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to work in the medical field and I knew I loved the lab but honestly, I did not know about med tech until I started working as a lab assistant. Meeting and seeing all the lab scientists working– I can see how important the work is, especially because I do have patient interaction and that’s what really inspired me to join this program,” said Liang.
Liang, a McKinley High School graduate, says that once she learned about the direct career path from lab assistant to working as an MLS, she joined right away.
“I really think lab tech is like the backbone of medicine because a patient can’t get treated without knowing what’s wrong– doctors diagnose based on lab results,” Liang said.
Small But Mighty
The Medical Technology Program aims to support their students in networking with the local workforce community and want to help them foster strong mentorship opportunities.
“We’re trying to leverage the fact that we’re a smaller program and want to make each student feel like they’re part of a family and this community and then we bring in these amazing people who are leaders in the medical technology community and they (students) get to talk to them one-on-one,” said Singh, referring to the open house as one of the examples.
“Here, our students can talk to our department chair, who’s a pathologist while others (undergraduates) are cold-emailing doctors and not getting a response. Or, our students can easily talk to a director of operations here and quickly gain a mentor. So we really try to leverage the smaller size of our program,” Singh said.
Currently, there are 30 students in the program and enrollment will expand through the relaunch of its online program expected in Fall 2027. The two-year bachelor’s degree program is accredited by the NAACLS and is the only Medical Technology Program in the state. The degree provides a direct pathway into an in-demand healthcare profession while also serving as a strong foundation for graduate and medical education.
And for many young adults, like Liang, the program provides another career outlook for those dedicated to serving through healthcare and want to make their mark in Hawaii.
“It’s home, you know? I don’t want to have to leave. I want to live here. I want to stay here. I want to help the people here,” Liang said.
View the full photo album from the Med Tech Open House Fall 2026
