Читать книгу Practical Guide to Diagnostic Parasitology - Lynne Shore Garcia - Страница 7

I thank the hundreds of colleagues over the past years who have shared their thoughts and suggestions regarding this fascinating field of diagnostic parasitology. There are too many of you to name—you all know who you are and we all recognize the pitfalls, as well as the fun, in providing diagnostic services in this field of microbiology.

I also thank the many bench techs and microbiologists who have tackled this field over the last 30+ years, including those who attended workshops and seminars; your contributions to the growth and expansion of diagnostic parasitology have been significant. Discussions of questions asked, problems for resolution, and reviews of testing options have been invaluable in shaping our approach to diagnostics in this field. This type of interaction, including the many discussions with the UCLA microbiology staff in the parasitology area, helped all of us keep an open mind when reviewing options and possible new ways to approach the work.

Over the years, our association with many companies has also been extremely valuable in helping understand test development, test trials, and relevance of results to the ultimate user within the diagnostic laboratory. Again, these interactions have helped maintain some balance and perspective on new options and their relevance to improved patient care.

A challenge to all of us who are still actively working in this area of diagnostic microbiology: serve as a mentor to some of the young people entering the field of microbiology. The number of personnel trained in this field continues to decline. Until parasite morphology is no longer required for differentiation and diagnosis, skilled microscopists will remain valuable members of the microbiology team and mandatory for the practice of diagnostic medical parasitology.

I thank Sharon Belkin for the new illustrations; she is always capable of translating my verbal descriptions into clear and accurate depictions of the various organisms. This is a true art, and she brings considerable expertise to the process; pictures are always a tremendous addition to verbal descriptions.

I also thank members of the editorial staff of ASM Press, including Susan Birch, Jeff Holtmeier, and our copy editor, Yvonne Strong; they are outstanding professionals. Susan’s expertise always helps the authors “look good,” and I appreciate her collaboration not only as an editor but also as a friend and colleague.

Above all, my very special thanks go to my husband, John, for his love and support for this and other projects over the years. I could never have taken on these challenges without his help, understanding, and wonderful sense of humor.