A team of recent NIU Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) graduates showed their skills during Race to JAM, a nationwide trivia-style game. Huskies competed in the finals held during the 2026 Joint Annual Meeting (JAM), a powerful collaboration uniting the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS), Association of Genetic Technologists (AGT) and Society of American Federal Medical Laboratory Scientists (SAFMLS) in St. Louis, Missouri. 
Under the guidance of Professor Jeanne Isabel, Mackenzie Reigler, Anna Lantz, Izzy Horbenko and Allison McDonald represented the Huskies, snagging first place in the MLS competition by beating University of California – Davis team in the finals.
“Our team did an amazing job,” Isabel said. “I am so proud of the professionalism exhibited by these MLS graduates who took time away from their new jobs to participate in this.”
The team initially competed in the “Jeopardy” style competition online in April where they excelled in each of the four rounds. Due to their outstanding scores, the students who are now graduates earned a spot – including travel and registration fees – in the finals.
“It was a great experience for everyone,” Isabel said. “They had fun, met many people, and learned about the value of belonging to a professional society.”
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