Initially considering becoming a doctor, Tammy-Lyn Yapp was inspired to the field of medical technology by a professor during her undergraduate studies at Marquette University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in clinical laboratory sciences. She went on to earn a Master of Science in clinical laboratory sciences from the Chicago Medical School at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Over the years, she has also received certification in immunodiagnostics and clinical flow cytometry from Michigan State University and completed graduate coursework at the Illinois Institute of Technology. She is also certified in good laboratory practice, as a medical technologist through the American Society for Clinical Pathology and licensed as a clinical laboratory supervisor by the Florida Department of Health.
Dedicating over 30 years of experience to the field, Ms. Yapp specializes in laboratory work as well as blood banking. Her wide variety of experiences led her to open Tammy-Lyn Yapp Consulting in 2017, where she proffers her expertise as a clinical trials specialist and a quality systems integration specialist. Prior to this, she worked as a senior medical scientist for research and development and a staff applications scientist with Beckman Coulter, Inc. from 2013 to 2017; a supervisor for the flow cytometry laboratory with Vitro Molecular Laboratories from 2012 to 2013; and a scientist in the division of transplantation and translational medicine with the Pharmacodynamics Bioanalytical Laboratory from 2009 to 2011.
From 2008 to 2009, Ms. Yapp was the supervisor of the clinical flow cytometry lab and a senior medical technologist in the department of hematology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, having previously been the supervisor of the clinical analytical cytometry laboratory at the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County from 2003 to 2008. Earlier in her career, she was the healthcare account manager for Fisher Scientific, now known as Thermo Fisher Scientific, from 2000 to 2003; the assistant technical director of the Heartland Blood Centers from 1999 to 2000; a software validation technician with Abbott Laboratories from 1998 to 1999; and a senior medical technologist at the blood center of Rush University Medical Center from 1995 to 1998. She began her career as a medical technologist and second shift rapid response laboratory float generalist at the Wheaton Franciscan Shared Laboratories in 1992.
Attributing much of her success to hard work and dedication, Ms. Yapp notes that she does not like to be inactive, much preferring to be up and about helping her team. She maintains professional affiliation with the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the International Society for Analytical Cytology, the International Society for Laboratory Hematology and the International Clinical Cytometry Society in order to keep abreast of new developments in her field. Looking toward the future, she intends to continue her current work, which involves bringing companion diagnostics to the field of hematology and increasing the use of hematology in personalized medicine.
For excellence in her career, Ms. Yapp has been the recipient of a number of honors and accolades. Notably, she was recognized early on with Master of Science Graduate Research Award for her thesis, “Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Collection, 1998: Fenwal CS 3000 Plus VS COBE Spectra with AutoPBSC.” She has also received certificates of achievement for her work in IRICELL customer training, UNICEL DHX 800 and slidemaker stainer operator training, MPL operator training, and Biomek NXP Span8 instrument training, in addition to a certificate of accomplishment from the HealthCare New Account Manager Program. Above everything, she considers the highlight of her career to be leaving her laboratory work to open her consulting firm. It was a huge leap of faith and it paid of tremendously. Ms. Yapp considers entering this new stage of her career to be the best thing she has ever done.