Alumni Spotlight: Robert L. Sunheimer, Medical Technology ’74, whose career spanned nearly six decades, established a scholarship that encourages others to pursue Medical Technology, a profession he loves
Robert L. Sunheimer MSMT(ASCP) SC1, SLS2, professor emeritus of Clinical Laboratory ScienceFrom 1985 to 2011, Robert L. Sunheimer MSMT(ASCP) SC1, SLS2, professor emeritus of Clinical Laboratory Science, taught chemistry, laboratory instrumentation, and lab statistics for SUNY Upstate College of Health Professions. His history with Upstate has spanned nearly fifty years, but his career as a Medical Technologist was a lifetime in the making. Sunheimer recently dedicated a scholarship in his name, which he hopes will encourage students to become laboratory professionals.
During high school, Sunheimer knew he wanted to be a chemist, but a lack of financial resources kept him from going to college at that time. Instead, he was drafted into the Army. After being discharged, the GI Bill allowed Sunheimer to pursue his education goals. A friend of his father, who worked at Allied Chemical, recommended Sunheimer apply to Broome Tech, now Broome Community College.
“I applied to the Chemistry program, but since I had been out of school for a few years, they recommended I enter their new program in Medical Laboratory Technology. It included chemistry and biology, the subjects that most interested me. I loved all the sciences, so I said, ‘Sure, I’ll give it a shot.’ Two weeks after my discharge, I started college.” Two years after that, Sunheimer graduated with an AAS in Broome Tech’s second class.
From there, Sunheimer went to the University of Buffalo and in 1971 graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology. “My first full time position after graduation was at the original Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo. I was a Medical Technologist in the clinical chemistry laboratory. I really liked it, but I felt I needed something more. It so happens that Daemen University in Buffalo would send their Med Tech students to Millard Fillmore for clinicals. The supervisors asked me to show the students what I was doing. That went well, so Daemen asked me to give a series of lectures to their Med Tech students. I had no experience in teaching or public speaking, so I read my lecture like I was reading a speech. Looking back now, I feel bad for those students, but at the time, I discovered I liked teaching, so I decided to go to graduate school.
“I applied to Upstate Medical University, University of Vermont and University of Tampa. I was accepted at all three. I knew better than to go to Florida, where I’d be tempted to spend too much time on the beach. I thought about Vermont, but it made more sense to come back home to Syracuse, so I picked Upstate and in 1974 I graduated with a Master of Science in Medical Technology with a major in Chemistry--the MS being the highest degree our profession awards. Unfortunately, there were no positions in Syracuse, so I accepted a teaching job at Cumberland Community College in Cumberland, Maryland. A year and half later, the manager of Clinical Pathology at Upstate called me. ‘Bob, we have a great position for you. Come on back to the Cuse.’ It wasn’t teaching, it was laboratory work. For the next few years, I worked alongside Drs. Peter and Joan Howanitz, both Pathologists in the clinical laboratory.”
Finally, a faculty position opened and Sunheimer was offered a job as a teaching supervisor. He enjoyed teaching, but he had always hoped that someday he would supervise a chemistry lab, so when a chemistry lab supervisor position opened at Crouse Hospital, he took it. In 1980 Sunheimer left teaching to return to clinical work. He worked there for close to five years supervising and modernizing Crouse’s Chemistry Laboratory, which at that time was in the basement of the ‘old’ Crouse Hospital. During that period, he realized he was happier teaching Medical Technology. When his previous teaching position became vacant again, Sunheimer returned to SUNY Upstate College of Health Professions and took his place as a key member of the Clinical Lab Science faculty until his retirement.
“While teaching I focused on lab instrumentation--how does our equipment work? We have huge analyzers, which cost a half million dollars. If they break, how do you fix them? I taught the laboratory instrumentation course and that became my specialty. I love mechanics. At home, I’m a handy man.”
In that position, Sunheimer climbed the ladder of academic success. “I didn’t do it alone. I had a team of people supporting me. Over the course of my tenure, I’ve enjoyed support from two deans of the college, two program directors and the clinical lab scientists on the hospital side, but the person who most influenced my career was Dr. John Bernard Henry, professor and director of Clinical Pathology at SUNY Upstate Medical University from 1964 until 1979. He was the founder of the College of Health Professions, and from 1992 until 2005, Dr. Henry was president and CEO of Upstate Medical University.
Dr Henry was also the chief editor and contributing author for seven editions of Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. “We used to call it the bible of the clinical laboratory. Around 2000, Dr. Henry asked me to review some of the chapters for the upcoming edition. When it came time for the next edition, he approached me again, ‘How would you like to coauthor a chapter or two?’ I cowrote a chapter on laboratory instrumentation and one on laboratory automation. That was the beginning of my writing career. I ended up coauthoring chapters for three editions. Dr. Henry spurred me on. He also introduced me to the pathologists working at Upstate’s Chemistry Lab, for whom I did research and writing.”
Sunheimer expressed gratitude for opportunities he gained at Upstate. “It takes a team of people to climb the ladder. Upstate was very supportive. Without their support, I would not have accomplished all I have.” During his career Sunheimer received a number of awards and recognitions. In 2000, when Laboratory Medicine featured Sunheimer as their cover story, he had yet to produce the majority of his work. All told, Sunheimer published thirty journal articles and book chapters, contributed to fourteen research projects, gave four dozen presentations, and published three textbooks.
Sunheimer recently decided to seed a Clinical Laboratory Sciences scholarship in his name. “I’ve been on the Alumni Association for years and served as treasurer. We have a list of scholarships that people contribute to year after year. In all that time, I never thought that little old me should start a scholarship, until I saw James Vossler, MS, MLSCM (ASCP), SMCM SMCM, assistant professor in Clinical Laboratory Science, had started one. I realized I could do something similar. Mary Knepper, the previous director of the Alumni Association, and Russell Corbin, the new director, encouraged me. We hope additional alumni or retired faculty in Medical Technology and Clinical Laboratory Science will do the same.
The Sunheimer award will likely go to a graduating senior who has demonstrated a strong interest in working in a lab. “CHP’s Clinical Laboratory Sciences degrees are often a steppingstone to medical school or the Physician Assistant program. While that’s a feather in the department’s cap, we need more Clinical Laboratory Technologists out in the field. Labs desperately need qualified people. At present, I consult for labs in Oneida and Cortland, where I engage in quality control. I help the labs meet state regulations. Labs in small or rural communities like Cortland have a hard time recruiting medical technologists. A shortage of Clinical Laboratory Technologist impacts the entire healthcare system, because a majority of all medical decisions rely on lab tests, whether it’s measuring blood sugar or measuring a unique cardiac biomarker whose elevated blood levels may be associated with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI.) The AMI is 99% sensitivity specific for detecting the protein present in heart attack victims. In the case of a possible AMI, when every minute counts, this laboratory test allows the doctor to make a decision much sooner.”
When people ask Sunheimer why he continues working into his 70s, he replies, “I’m not working. It doesn’t feel like work. When I go to Oneida or Cortland, I love what I’m doing.
“I love the work I do.”
1 Specialist in chemistry
2 Specialist in laboratory safety
