In celebration of Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Week, we sat down with Lab Manager Peyman Javaherbin to get the full story on the MHF Lab.

Thank you for chatting with us, Peyman. To get started, let’s go back to origins of the MHF Lab. How did it all begin?

PJ: “I Met Dr. Mills in the mid ‘90s when I provided laboratory services for his practice…Around June or July 2010, Dr. Mills asked if I was interested working with him to set up his laboratory. Of course, my answer was yes, and here I am, 12 years later.”

We’ve heard from MHF CEO Dr. Mills how the lab began from our mission of providing accessible care to men-at-risk. What was your experience working through the HIV/AIDS epidemic?

PJ: “I am old enough to remember when the first HIV case was announced and unfortunately saw so many beautiful young people succumb to the disease. There were no drugs and not many tests available to treat or diagnose the cases. I was fortunate to have met and worked with doctors and scientist that did not give up hope and did not let their patients give up as well. I was involved with HIV research early on in my career and have been fortunate to have continued to provide laboratory services in the same field by working with great organizations. Men’s Health Foundation is one of those organizations and I am proud to have been able to work and contribute.”

Thank you for sharing this powerful perspective, Peyman. Please tell us about your background - what brought you to MHF?

PJ “I came from Iran at age 13 and grew up in Sacramento, California and received my bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Sacramento state University (CSUS) in 1987. I continued my studies in Clinical Microbiology at University of Southern California (USC) and received clinical laboratory license in Microbiology in 1989. I continued my association with USC as Instructor in Pathology from 1996 to 2011.”

What would you like for MHF patients to know about the Lab?

PJ: “We strive to provide the best quality laboratory results. Dr Mills has always insured we have the most updated instruments and technology at our disposal to achieve accurate and timely results for our patients.”

What’s ahead for lab professionals - what trends are you seeing that are on the horizon?

PJ “I see a great future for lab professionals even though most tests have become automated but still experts are needed to perform the tests.”

Anything else you’d like to share?

PJ: “I am extremely proud of my lab team members: Fara Ghandeharizadeh, Tan Nguyen, Victor Torres, Reinier Razon, and Zahra Medhiyar; because they are dedicated professionals and truly care about our patients’ wellbeing.”

Learn more about the MHF Lab at menshealthfound.org/lab.