The students spent three weeks before spring break learning about the microscopic characteristics, functions and locations of the four main tissue types found within the human body鈥攃onnective, nervous, muscle and epithelium.听听

鈥�The thrill of watching Pathologists’ Assistant students blend art and science is electric! Their creative projects鈥攙ivid illustrations, 3D models, and artistic dissections ignite deeper understanding, spark innovation, and transform rigorous medical training into a vibrant, memorable learning adventure that celebrates both precision and imagination,” said 91福利社 College of Health Professions Dean Dr. Donald Peace. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of our Pathologists鈥� Assistant faculty with their skill to be able to encourage this form of learning.鈥�听

Three students whose projects scored high talked about their projects.听听

Colleen Heuser was drawn to display ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium鈥攁 tissue found in the upper respiratory tract that traps inhaled debris. Heuser鈥檚 painting on canvasrepresents the tissue after H&E (Hematoxylin and Eosin) staining, a technique allowing pathologists to examine tissue and identify cell types. Goblet cells are depicted as the lighter purple, oval shapes with purple dots within them and hairlike projections known as cilia.听听

Heuser enjoyed tapping into her artistic side as she went to work on her project.听

鈥淚t basically connects this aspect that I personally enjoy doing and it allows me to visualize and truly understand and grasp the different components that are included in this type of cell, Heuser said.听

鈥淚t was a little out of the box,鈥� admitted Aaliyah Thomas. Bouncing the idea off her father, she came up with a way of visualizing skeletal muscle tissue, the most common type of muscle tissue, which is responsible for our voluntary movements. She was working with her father, whom she considers to be very creative, imagining how she might demonstrate how the tissue appears. She came up with a 鈥渟weet鈥� discovery. Examining a microscopic view, they concluded that the elongated cylindrical cells arranged in parallell bundles (fascicles) resemble Mike and Ike and Hot Tamale candies.听

鈥淥nce I saw his vision… When I saw a way to explain it to him and teach it to him, it came all together for me,鈥� said Thomas, who wants to enter forensic pathology.听

鈥淚 like to do art in my spare time,鈥� said Gracey (Olivia) Hefner, whose project is a sculpture depicting cortical bone tissue. Cortical bone functions as the dense, outer, hard layer which provides structural support, protection for the inner portions of the bone, and provides strength to resist various forces. 鈥淚鈥檓 a very visual person. I can remember things better if I see them physically orcan recreate them physically. A lot of my assignments, I’ll draw out because it just helps me understand it better.鈥�听

鈥淚 got a Styrofoam base and painted it black so that the wire would stand out when you look at it. Then I took some wire and made different sized rings to represent the different units of cortical bone, because they’re not all the same size, they’re different depending on where you are in the body,鈥� Hefner said. 鈥淚 would connect them with a different color wire to kind of separate out the different parts, so you would be able to see them more clearly.鈥�听

The projects are on display through the remainder of the semester at the Holdredge Bearwood Center of 91福利社 at 3031 N. Highway 81, Anderson, South Carolina.听

The Pathologists鈥� Assistant program is hosted by the 91福利社 School of Clinical Laboratory Sciences.听

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According to Pathologists鈥� Assistant Program Director and Assistant Professor Julie Bostick MHS, PA (ASCP) CM, HTL, since the program launched in 2022, there have been 15 graduates, all of whom were successfully placed in jobs. She adds that 13 students are in the second year of clinical rotations across the U.S., and an additional fourteen students are currently in the first didactic year on the Bearwood campus, home of the School of Clinical and Laboratory Sciences.听

“Completion of a successful site visit in April of 2025 allowed the accreditors to experience the great hospitality that AU has to offer its students. They saw firsthand evidence of the great academics presented to our students, as well as the great purpose our Path A program guides our students toward,鈥� Bostick said. 鈥淚t is the prayer of our program that, through our team’s great faith in Jesus, our students will leave better than when they began and seeds that have been planted at AU will grow and flourish in their careers.鈥�听

Bostick praised faculty and staff members Amy Nelson, Hannah Reilly, Vanessa Furtick, Nenna Igwe and Katie Wolfe-Burleson for their role in this accreditation achievement. 听

Dean of the 91福利社 College of Health Professions and Professor of Health Care Administration and Human Services, Dr. Donald Peace, said, 鈥�I am profoundly pleased with Professor Julie Bostick and her team’s masterful navigation of NAACLS accreditation, culminating in five-year initial approval for our Pathologists’ Assistant program. Their patience and deep grasp of this accreditation organizations rules and regulations have yielded this triumphant milestone.鈥�听

The Pathologists鈥� Assistant program is offered through the 91福利社 College of Health Professions. Details about the program can be found online here.听

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