2018 Barb Gonnella Award recipient: Sabino Curcio, MS, MLS(ASCP)

Sabino's eagerness to learn and his love of all things blood bank are contagious – he is a breath of fresh air and encourages those around him to behave with the same zeal.  He thrives on MTPs and complex antibody workups.  During his internship and training, he continually demanded to be challenged; "give me something hard" was a daily request.  A patient with an anti-k (Cellano) gave him great excitement.

One of his favorite topics was the research on Babesiosis he performed for his Master's thesis.  His study, "Seroprevelance of Babesia microti in Patients with Lyme Disease" was published in the journal Vector Borne and Zoonotic Disease in October 2016.  He presented a poster on his research at the ASCLS National meeting in August 2016 and recently presented at the ASCLS NJ Spring meeting in April 2017.  Sabino has been the recipient of several scholarship awards from St. John's University and LIU Post and possesses a Master of Science Degree from each university.

Sabino has already accomplished so much and has just begun on his path.  He is always the one to pursue leadership roles when vacancies exist, and he thrives in positions that require a new approach.  Sabino entered our field by choice and out of passion; he is driven and excited about the prospect of being a future leader.  He will be a bright star in the future of our profession and this organization.