Beyond the Number: Mastering HbA1c Testing for Better Diabetes Care: Practical Insights, Pitfalls, and Real-World Cases from Emory University
HbA1c testing plays a central role in modern diabetes care, influencing diagnosis, treatment decisions, and long-term patient outcomes. Yet behind every HbA1c result lies a complex interplay of methodology, analytical performance, and clinical interpretation that laboratories must understand to ensure accurate and meaningful reporting.
Join Dr. Janetta Bryksin from Emory University School of Medicine for an engaging and practical discussion on the evolving role of HbA1c testing in the era of the 2023 ADA guidelines. This webinar will explore how different HbA1c methodologies work, where they excel, where they can fail, and what laboratories should consider when selecting, validating, or transitioning testing platforms.

Using real-world examples and challenging patient cases from Emory Healthcare, Dr. Bryksin will discuss common analytical interferences, hemoglobin variants, discordant results, and other situations where HbA1c interpretation becomes complicated. Participants will gain practical strategies for troubleshooting unexpected results, improving assay performance, and strengthening collaboration between the laboratory and clinicians.

Whether you are involved in laboratory operations, quality management, or diabetes testing oversight, this session will provide actionable insights to help optimize the clinical value of HbA1c testing and improve patient care.

Learning objectives:

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Review key updates from the 2023 ADA guidelines and their implications for HbA1c testing and diabetes management.
2. Discuss the strengths and limitations of HbA1c compared with other diabetes biomarkers used in clinical practice.
3. Compare commonly used HbA1c testing methodologies, including their analytical performance and operational considerations.
4. Recognize common causes of misleading HbA1c results, including hemoglobin variants and analytical interferences, and apply practical troubleshooting approaches.
5. Describe Emory Healthcare’s experience with HbA1c testing and identify strategies to optimize quality, efficiency, and clinical impact in the laboratory.

Date: June 10, 2026
Time: 1 pm EST

About Janetta Bryksin, PhD, DABCC, FADLM
Dr. Janetta Bryksin is a board-certified clinical chemist and System Medical Director for Core Laboratories at Emory Healthcare, as well as an Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. In this role, she provides clinical oversight for 12 Core Laboratories across the Emory Healthcare system, in addition to systemwide Laboratory Support Services, including Sample Processing, Referral Testing, Sample Transportation, and Phlebotomy.
Dr. Bryksin is actively engaged in clinical research and is dedicated to education, teaching pathology residents, medical laboratory scientists, and medical students.
Her research interests focus on the prevention of laboratory errors, quality improvement, and test utilization.