“We didn’t just want to inspire; we wanted to educate accurately,” Whitehead says, noting it’s appropriate for parents and schools. “Some of the adults who have purchased it found it educational too, which has been validating for us, because lab medicine is so underrepresented.”
ABCs is the first in a Little Lab Learners series, which Odegard will lead. The next in the series will focus on microbiology. “We have outlines for the rest,” Whitehead says of the series, which will include chemistry, blood bank, anatomic pathology, and others. The ABCs book, as well as the audiobook and read-along audiobook (which Whitehead notes support diverse learning needs and accessibility), are available at https://stem-to-stat.myshopify.com.
Drs. Mirza and Mulder, too, would like to write another book.
“There are many important topics that still need to be addressed,” Dr. Mirza says. “There is a great deal of misinformation about health, and children deserve to hear directly from experts what diseases truly look like. The key is translating that information in a way they can understand.”
“We don’t know specifically what’s next for Mia, but we do hope she has more adventures,” he says.
He and Dr. Mulder decided to self-publish the book to get it out quickly (in November 2025) and in particular in time for Childhood Cancer Awareness Day on Feb. 15. “The Amazon market allows us accessibility internationally,” Dr. Mirza says, adding they also worked to make it accessible to local bookstores through a different vendor. “It’s the best of both worlds at this point,” he says. Some buyers have purchased books to donate to local libraries and pediatric clinics, Dr. Mulder says.
The ABCs coauthors sell through their storefront website. “We’re making sure we have the infrastructure so when we kick off, when schools want to order, they can,” Dr. Nelson says. Two hundred books were sold in January in the three-week preorder period alone.
Getting the word out about pathology and laboratory medicine is important. Says Odegard: “We want students to know who we are and what we do. Kids know what a nurse or a physician outside of pathology does, but do they know what a pathologist does? No. I don’t want laboratories to be something students have to stumble across or find out by accident. I want laboratory medicine to be just like with any other health care profession.”
In a nutshell, Whitehead says, the message of the STEM to STAT framework and the books is this: “There’s a future in diagnostic medicine that you were not aware of and that we would love for you to consider. There’s a place for you in science.” And educational materials that demystify laboratory professionals support both emotional comfort and health literacy, she says.
Like so many in pathology and laboratory medicine, Dr. Mirza takes great pride in his career. (He volunteers his time as a facilitator of the CAP’s Future Pathologist Champions group, whose aim is medical student exposure to and recruitment into the specialty.) “But I think this book may be one of the most meaningful things we leave behind,” he says. “It feels almost surreal to say that, because it’s a simple book, but I truly believe it carries that kind of value.”
Valerie Neff Newitt is a writer in Audubon, Pa.