In July 2023, we changed our name from AACC (short for the American Association for Clinical Chemistry) to the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM). The National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB) and AACC Academy were also both rebranded to the Academy of Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine. The following page was written prior to this rebranding and contains mentions of the association’s old name, the Academy’s old name, NACB, and/or FACB (one of the old designations for members of the Academy). It may contain other out-of-date information as well.
2003 Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Chemistry
Morton K. Schwartz, PhD, FACB, is attending clinical chemist, chairman of the department of clinical laboratories, and head of the laboratory of applied and diagnostic biochemistry at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He has served as president of AACC, as president of the National Registry in Clinical Chemistry, as chairman of the Food and Drug Administration Clinical Chemistry and Hematology Panel, as a member of the National Cancer Institute immunodiagnosis study section and of numerous National Institutes of Health ad hoc study sections, as secretary of the National Committee on Health Laboratory Services, as secretary of the Committee of Scientific Society Presidents, as a member of the executive committee of the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists, as a member of the board of directors of the Board of the Registry of the American Society for Clinical Pathology, as chair of the 1973 and 1983 AACC annual meetings, and as chair of AACC’s New York Metropolitan Section on two occasions. He has also served on the board of editors of numerous publications. Dr. Schwartz is the author or co-author of more than 385 articles and has been co-editor of Advances in Clinical Chemistry and editor of a series of books on clinical and biochemical analysis.
His early research interests in evaluation of metabolic abnormalities after cancer surgery led to the development of nutritional and pharmacologic treatment of gastrectomy and intestinal resection malabsorption. For the past 30 years he has been deeply involved in studies of tumor markers and their use in predicting prognosis and in monitoring patients with cancer.
1989 Outstanding Contributions through Service to the Profession of Clinical Chemistry
Morton K. Schwartz will receive the 24th annual AACC Award for Outstanding Contributions through Service to the Profession of Clinical Chemistry. The award is sponsored by Instrumentation Laboratory.
Dr. Schwartz is Attending Clinical Chemist and Chairman of the Department of Clinical Chemistry and Member and Head, Laboratory of Applied and Diagnostic Biochemistry at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He was Vice President for Laboratory Affairs and Deputy General Director of Memorial Hospital. He is also Professor of Developmental Therapy and Clinical Investigation in the Sloan-Kettering Division of the Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences. He was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and is married to the former Delia Corr. He has two sons, Gary and Ronald. He received his B.A. degree with honors in chemistry from Lehigh University in 1948, and in 1952 as a Fellow of the National Cancer Institute received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Boston University. His dissertation concerned variants of acid phosphatase.
Dr. Schwartz has been president of AACC, president of the National Registry in Clinical Chemistry, chairman of the FDA Clinical Chemistry and Hematology Panel, a member of the NCI Immunodiagnosis Study Section and numerous NIH ad hoc study sections, secretary of the National Committee on Health Laboratory Services, secretary of the Committee of Scientific Society Presidents, a member of the Executive Committee of the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists, a member of the Board of the Registry of the ASCP, a member of the Evaluation Panel for the Analytical Chemistry Division of the National Bureau of Standards, chairman of the 1973 and 1983 AACC national meetings, and chairman of the New York Metropolitan Section of AACC on two occasions. He has been chairman of the AACC Education Committee and Professional Affairs Committee (Commission) and chairman of the IFCC Committee on Education and the IUPAC Commission on Education of the Clinical Chemistry Division as well as secretary of the IUPAC Division of Clinical Chemistry. In addition, he has been a member of the Scientific Council of the Association of Clinical Scientists, a member of the Immunodiagnosis Committees of the International Union against Cancer (IUCC) and the National Breast and Colon Cancer Task Force, chairman of the ALT Testing Committee of the New York City Blood Program, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Professional Education Testing Service in the Development and Administration of Clinical Laboratory Proficiency Examinations under contract to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and a member of the Ligand Assay Committee and chairman of the CEA Committee of the NCCLS. He has served on New York City’s Advisory Laboratory Committee.
Dr. Schwartz has received the Van Slyke Award, the AACC Award for Efforts in Education and Training, the Certificate of Merit of the New Jersey Section of AACC, and the Wiley Medal and Commissioner’s Citation of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Schwartz is author or co-author of more than 275 articles and has been co-editor of Advances in Clinical Chemistry. At present he is the editor of a series of books on clinical and biochemical analysis. He has been on the editorial boards of Analytical Letters, Annals of Clinical Science, and Clinical Chemistry. He is now on the editorial boards of Clinica Chimica Acta, Journal of Immunoassay, Cancer Investigation, Tumor Biology, and International Journal of Biological Markers.
Dr. Schwartz is chairman of an integrated Department of Clinical Chemistry that is self-standing and has equal status with the other medical departments at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Almost two million tests are provided for the clinical-care patients at this hospital and for the clinical investigation and research studies of the scientific staff. The department is organized in several areas, each managed under his direction by a doctoral-level clinical chemist.
Dr. Schwartz’s early research interests include evaluation of metabolic abnormalities after cancer surgery. These studies led to the development of a gluten-free diet in treatment of non-tropical sprue and nutritional and pharmacological treatment of gastrectomy and intestinal resection malabsorption. He has continued interests in clinical laboratory automation and computerization. He was the first to describe automated methods for enzymes based on changes in ultraviolet absorption and the application of computers to automated analysis. He has been involved in the evaluation of many automated instruments. His interest in clinical enzymology has included studies of 5′-nucleotidase, phosphohexose isomerase, and isoenzymes of lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and other enzymes in serum and tissues of patients with cancer. For the past decade he has been deeply involved in studies of tumor markers and their use in predicting prognosis and in monitoring patients with cancer.
For more than 35 years Dr. Schwartz has worked professionally to enhance the 3 R’s of success for clinical chemists: respect, responsibility, and reward.
1975 AACC Past President’s Award
Morton Schwartz, PhD served as AACC president in 1975.
1974 Outstanding Contributions in Education
Morton K. Schwartz will receive the 1974 AACC Award for Outstanding Efforts in Education and Training, sponsored by Smith Kline & French Laboratories.
Dr. Schwartz was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He is married to Delia Corr and has two sons, Gary and Ronald. He received his B.A. degree in chemistry from Lehigh University in 1948 and his M.A. (1949) and Ph.D. (1952) from Boston University, and has been associated with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center since then. His titles are many: Attending Biochemist, Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Director of Clinical Research Training, Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases; Laboratory Head and Member, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research; and Professor of Biochemistry, Sloan-Kettering Division, Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences.
Dr. Schwartz has been Chairman of the AACC Education Committee 1968–1973, and has been interested in the improvement of clinical chemistry, particularly through education.
He is Chairman of the Committee on Clinical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society, Secretary-Treasurer of the National Council on Health Laboratory Services, and Secretary of the Committee of Scientific Society Presidents. He serves as the American Society of Biological Chemists’ representative on the Board of Directors of the National Registry in Clinical Chemistry and is Chairman of their Examination Committee. He has been on the Editorial Board of Clinical Chemistry and is now on the Editorial Board of Preventative Medicine, Health Laboratory Sciences, and Annals of Clinical Laboratory Science.
His major interests are the development of automated enzyme methods, improvement of clinical chemistry laboratory practice, and the relationship of enzyme activities and tumor-specific antigens to cancer.
Dr. Schwartz was Chairman of the successful AACC National Meeting (1973) in New York City and is AACC President-elect.