Transfusion Medicine Fellowship (Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine Fellowship)

Joseph Griggs, DO, Transfusion Medicine Fellowship Program Director
After graduating from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, Dr. Griggs attended medical school at Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine. He later completed a combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. After residency, Dr. Griggs completed his fellowship in Transfusion Medicine at UNM.

Dr. Griggs is currently an Associate Professor of Pathology and the Medical Director of UNM Hospital, UNM Cancer Center, and Sandoval Regional Medical Center (SRMC) Blood Banking/Transfusion Services. He also covers apheresis and electrophoresis services and is the Health Sciences Center (HSC) Tissue Bank Medical Director. In addition to being the Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine Program Director, he is also one of the Associate Program Directors for the UNM Pathology Residency Program. His other areas of interest include medical education, hemoglobinopathies, and patient blood management in the setting of massive hemorrhage.

Andres Mindiola Romero, MD
Dr. Mindiola Romero attended medical school at the University of Zulia School of Medicine, located in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and was awarded Cum Laude graduate in 2015. He later completed combined anatomic and clinical pathology residency at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where he served as Chief Resident and was appointed Instructor in Pathology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in 2021. After residency, Dr. Mindiola Romero completed hematopathology and transfusion medicine fellowships at the University of New Mexico.

He has been appointed Assistant Professor of Pathology at the UNM School of Medicine. He also covers blood bank, apheresis, coagulation, and histocompatibility testing at the UNM Health Sciences Center and TriCore laboratories. He is an active member of AABB and the College of American Pathologists (CAP); and is an elected member of the CAP Transfusion Medicine, Apheresis and Cellular Therapies Committee. His other areas of interest include medical education, quality improvement, and cellular therapies.

Nathan Nielsen, MD, MSc
Dr. Nathan Nielsen is a physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine, who is also Board Certified in Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine. In his role with his secondary appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology, Dr. Nielsen provides patient care and training for residents and clinical fellows in Apheresis/Transfusion Medicine. After earning a Master of Science degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr. Nielsen completed medical school at Duke University School of Medicine. He then completed a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, followed by a fellowship in Transfusion Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Nielsen has taught and been an invited lecturer nationally and internationally.

Liz Marinaro, MD
After graduating from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Archeology, Dr. Marinaro attended the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and was nominated to AOA in 2004. She completed a combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency program and served as Chief Resident in 2009. After residency, Dr. Marinaro completed a fellowship in Transfusion Medicine at UNM. She served as the Regional Medical Director of Texas and New Mexico with Vitalant (formerly United Blood Services) and as a part-time Clinical Associate Professor in Transfusion Medicine and Apheresis at the University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology, until 2022. Dr. Marinaro briefly joined Pathology Associates of Albuquerque as a Transfusion Medicine and Apheresis physician and served as the Medical Director of the Lovelace Health Systems laboratories. As of July 2023, Dr. Marinaro returned to Vitalant to serve as a Medical Director of the Southwest Division and to maintain her role as a part-time Clinical Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. She remains an active member of the AABB Patient Blood Management and Annual Meeting Education Committees.

Evelyn Lockhart, MD
Evelyn Lockhart, MD, Professor, is a transfusion medicine physician and clinical pathologist with a specialization in laboratory hemostasis. She has over two decades of experience in medical education, where she has dedicated her time to establishing clear communication with patients and colleagues. She recently completed a Master of Science in Biomedical Communication at the University of Toronto, focusing on visualization design and animation.

Richard A. Marlar, PhD
Dr. Marlar is working part-time as Professor in Pathology where he serves as Medical Director of Coagulation at University Hospital. He has worked in the field of clinical coagulation and overseen clinical laboratories for over 40 years. He retired in 2015 as Director of Clinical Pathology at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center and Professor of Pathology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where he served as Medical Director of Coagulation and Special Coagulation at three hospitals. Dr. Marlar established and has overseen Special Coagulation Laboratories at seven medical centers. He has conducted basic science, epidemiological and clinical research in coagulation and hemostasis, specializing in the areas of the protein C/protein S system, pre-analytical variables and coagulation testing.

Dr. Marlar has served on numerous organizations working and leadership coagulation committees, including International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis- Scientific and Standardization Committee, International Society of Laboratory Hematology, North American Special Coagulation Laboratory Association, Clinical Laboratory Standardization Institute (Coagulation Committee, and Hematology Oversight Committee), and the External Quality Assurance in Thrombosis and Hemostasis.