Kimberly Helton is the new director of Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) at Volunteer State Community College. She has taught at Vol State since 2013. She also works at Centennial Medical Center as a Medical Laboratory Scientist II. Medical Laboratory Technicians collect samples from patients and perform tests to analyze body fluids, tissue, and other substances. An MLT degree can lead to many different career directions, including forensic science in law enforcement. Vol State has a dedicated state-of-the-art training lab at the campus in Gallatin.
“I love my career. It’s a lot of fun to teach other people and get them excited about MLT as well,” Helton said. “I would really like to expand in the future. We’re going to be asking for more student seats for the program. We’re going to be doing simulated labs for some areas and that should help us add more students.”
Helton has also worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology from Lipscomb University, and a Master’s of Science degree in Medical Laboratory Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.
For more information about the Medical Laboratory Technology program at Vol State visit www.volstate.edu/medlabtech
