BOZEMAN – A student in Montana State University’s medical laboratory science program and a lifelong Bobcat was recognized with a national scholarship last month by one of the nation’s preeminent medical laboratory science organizations. 

Tami Peters was one of four students in the U.S. to receive a $5,000 scholarship from the American Proficiency Institute. The organization conducts evaluations of medical labs to ensure a high standard of care and accurate results.

Peters, who grew up on a family farm near the Crazy Mountains, entered the Montana Medical Laboratory Science Professional Program this spring, but it was far from her first time on the MSU campus. Both her grandfather and her father attended MSU as well. 

“My grandfather graduated from MSU in chemistry and then went to pharmacy school. He taught me to see life through scientific eyes,” she said. “And then I came to class with my dad when I was 2 or 3 years old.”

Peters later received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from MSU and moved on to graduate studies and research in the College of Letters and Science’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She spent more than a decade as an adjunct professor and a lab manager, guiding and mentoring undergraduate researchers.

While she aspired toward medical school, Peters said the right opportunity never arose. She went on multiple medical service trips to Ethiopia and Kenya and said she has spent most of her life in a scientific environment. After getting married and homeschooling her three children, she said the med lab science program at MSU provided an accessible opportunity to blend her extensive scientific experience with hands-on work in the medical field.

“Even though I have this background in biochemistry and teaching and research, there is a lot to learn and so much I’ve never done,” she said of the MMLS program. “It’s no less work for me than for anyone else. But because I have that foundation, a lot of it makes sense. The foundation is fantastic.”

MSU’s nationally accredited medical laboratory science program, housed in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology in the College of Agriculture, trains students to serve as professional lab scientists. The program accepts 19 students per year and has had a 100% rate of both graduation and carer placement since 2017, meaning all the graduates who sought employment or further education in the field after graduation succeeded.

“MSU’s MMLS program is the sole MLS training program in Montana, and we are incredibly fortunate to have students of such high caliber, like Tami Peters,” said Alison Mizner, director of the MMLS program. “At a time when there is a national shortage of certified medical laboratory scientists, our program is essential in serving the health care needs of Montana. By training and certifying more medical laboratory scientists, we are ensuring that the state has the skilled professionals to provide accurate and reliable medical testing, which is crucial for patient care.”

For Peters, the MMLS program provided an opportunity to add the missing piece to her already extensive scientific repertoire. Noting that the program carries a much lighter financial burden for its students than medical school, she said every topic the cohort has studied so far, from blood banking to microbiology, has fascinated her and drawn her in. Beginning in the fall, she and her classmates will complete nine months of extensive clinical rotations in hospitals around the state, something she said carries immense importance and weight.

“Academics is important because it teaches you information, but you need to really find out day-to-day what the science looks like,” she said. “Get in the environment and experience it. The subject matter is an important part, but the day-to-day environment is maybe even more important.”

While she doesn’t know exactly where her scientific career will go next, Peters said moving on from MSU, which has been such a touchstone throughout her life, will be bittersweet.

“I have literally been on this campus since I was about 18 months old,” she said. “I finished my undergraduate degree here, I went to graduate school here, then I taught here. I’ve been here for my whole life. I’m really thankful for the research and the quality of science that goes on here."