Specialties
Our services support disease management of the pediatric patient and include the following clinical and anatomic specialties:
Anatomic pathology
The Division of Anatomic Pathology services include the gross and microscopic examination of surgical specimens, histology, immunohistochemistry, molecular diagnostics, electron microscopy, cytopathology and post-mortem studies.
Phone: 773.880.4439
Fax: 773.880.8127
Pauline Chou, MD
Hector Melin-Aldana, MD
Maria A. Proytcheva, MD
Veena Rajaram, MBBS
Elizabeth J. Perlman, MD
Robert E. Ruiz, MD, PhD
Blood bank laboratory
The Blood bank laboratory performs blood typing, antibody screening and crossmatching, and provides blood components for the treatment of anemia, thrombocytopenia, and coagulopathy. Transfusion support is provided for acute emergencies, chronic transfusion needs, and special clinical problems such as bone marrow and organ transplantation.
Phone: 773.880.4474
Laboratory director: Glenn Ramsey, MD
Clinical chemistry laboratory
The Clinical chemistry laboratory performs approximately 300,000 tests annually. The laboratory provides a variety of standard pediatric tests on blood, urine and other body fluids including spinal fluid. These standard tests include electrolytes, proteins, hormones, enzymes and therapeutic drug monitoring. The laboratory also offers specialty testing including a bone metabolism panel, urine citrate/oxalate, screening for urine drugs of abuse, Cystic Fybrosis Foundation-accredited sweat test, blood lead by atomic absorption, and hemoglobin variant indentification by electrophoresis.
Phone: 773.880.4597
Diagnostic immunology and flow cytometry
The Diagnostic Immunology Laboratory offers state-of-the-art local and outreach laboratory services for clinicians and investigators involved in the diagnosis, monitoring and evaluation of pediatric immunodeficiency, autoimmune and allergic diseases. Specialized testing includes diagnostic screening for pediatric immune deficiency disease, leukemia/lymphoma immunophenotyping by flow cytometry and full service testing for measuring allergen specific antibody. Other services include the measurement of a wide variety of autoantibodies, routine serum chemistries and customized 4-color flow cytometry panels for the evaluation of novel lymphocyte subsets.
Phone: 773.880.4361
Medical director: Maurice R.G. O'Gorman, PhD, MBA, D(ABMLI)
Genetics laboratories
The Genetics laboratories offers cytogenetic, molecular and biochemical testing for the diagnosis of inherited disorders. The Genetic laboratories include two areas, Cytogenetics and Biochemistry.
The Cytogenetics laboratory performs the preparation of chromosomes from patient material and the study of chromosome morphology. Chromosome abnormalities are detected in approximately 1/150 live births and are the leading known cause of mental retardation. In addition to the morphologic evaluation of chromosomes, the lab also performs the molecular cytogenetics technique of fluoresence in situ hybridization (FISH). FISH analysis allows for the identification of specific chromosome abnormalities, which are beyond the resolution of standard morphologic evaluation. The two tests are complementary and often both evaluations must be performed in order to completely access the chromosome architecture. Currently the laboratory offers FISH testing for eight microdeletion syndromes (DiGeorge syndrome, Williams syndrome, Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome, Kallman syndrome, Wolf-Hirschorn syndrome, Cri-du-Chat syndrome, Smith-Magenis syndrome, and Miller-Dieker syndrome). Specialty FISH testing is also performed when warranted by morphologic chromosome analysis. In addition to chromosome analysis and FISH, the laboratory also serves as a cell culture facility for specimens that need specialized (non-cytogenetic) testing.
The Biochemistry laboratory analyzes amino acid and organic acid levels and performs enzyme assays to comprehensively diagnose metabolic processing disorders such as phenylketonuria and galactosemia.
Phone: 773.880.4462 Genetics 773.880.4543 Cytogenetics
Medical director: Joel Charrow, MD
Sceintific director cytogenetics: Katrin Carlson Leuer, PhD
Hematology and special hematology
The Hematology and special hematology laboratory performs more than 117,000 routine hematologic tests annually on blood and body fluids, including special tests such as osmotic fragility. The coagulation section offers routine and special coagulation tests such as von Willebrand antigen, ristocetin cofactor, inhibitor assays and platelet function analysis. Routine urinalysis is also performed.
This laboratory suports the Hematology/Oncology services by offering diagnostic testing for hematologic abnormalities. This includes the analysis of over 400 bone marrow aspirates and the many related studies required.
Phone: 773.880.4424 Hematology 773.880.4071 Specialty Hematology
Medical director: Maria Proytcheva, MD
Histocompatibility and immunogenetics laboratory
The Histocompatibility and immunogenetics laboratory (HLA) provides molecular histocompatibility testing (DNA-based class I typing, HLA-A, B, and C; and DNA-based class II typing, HLA-DRB1 and DQB1; at low and high resolution levels) that help physicians to identify the best donors for their transplant patients. These types of tests are particulary important for leukemic patients who require unrelated stem cell transplants. These types of patients require donors that are very similar at the HLA molecular level. The laboratory also performs molecular testing to identify the level of engraftment after the transplant has also been performed (chimerism analysis by short-tandem repeats). The HLA laboratory also performs testing for solid organ transplant patients (antibody screening and antibody specificity by flow cytometry analysis).
Phone: 773.880.3015
Associate laboratory director: Lawrence J. Jennings, MD, PhD
Microbiology laboratory
The Microbiology laboratory offers testing for medically important pathogens including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Culture isolation, identification, antimicrobial susceptibility, antibody, and molecular diagnostic assays for infectious diseases such as viral DNA/RNA detection, and other molecular genetic disorders are also offered.
Phone: 773.880.4432
Laboratory director: Xiaotian Zheng, MD, PhD, DABMM
Special infectious diseases laboratory
Special infectious disease laboratory performs tests for the indication of potential HIV-infected patients; monitoring efficacy of antiviral drug therapy; the detection of antiviral drug resistant viruses and the identification of other HIV-related opportunistic infections. The laboratory also participates in AIDS Clinical Treatment Groups (ACTG) in carrying out various clinical protocols as well as helps to adapt and develop new molecular diagnostic methods for the detection of HIV infection and related diseases.
Phone: 773.880.4207
Medical director: Ram Yogev, MD
Stem cell transplantation laboratory
The Stem cell transplantation laboratory offers the most sophisticated testing needed for the management of transplant patients. Inclusive of the laboratory techniques are processing stem cells, graft engineering and engraftment detection by molecular techniques.
Phone: 773.880.6377
Medical director: Morris Kletzel, MD