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Bylaws of the Personalized Medicine Division

Article I. ORGANIZATION NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Personalized Medicine (PM) Division of the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (formerly AACC), Inc. (the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM)).

Article II. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the PM Division shall be consistent with those of the Association with an emphasis in Personalized Medicine:

Become the key laboratory medicine group focused on personalized medicine. Promote the concepts and current and potential contributions of personalized medicine to laboratory medicine and patient care.
Build a division dedicated to personalized medicine that complements the interests of other Divisions. Serve as a resource for other ADLM entities, programs, and publications for issues relating to personalized medicine. Collaborate with other groups to encourage evidence-based medicine analyses for personalized medicine applications already in use or entering clinical practice.
Develop and present educational programming on personalized medicine within the ADLM, including sessions at the Annual Meeting and at onsite and on demand activities that address topics such as implementing testing to support personalized medicine, and regulatory and reimbursement issues impacting personalized medicine.
Establish and maintain a personalized medicine Division website that includes a repository of peer-reviewed and other personalized medicine application information as a resource for website visitors.
Collaborate with selected diagnostic-oriented (laboratory and imaging) and disease-oriented organizations that are active in personalized medicine; with therapeutics and diagnostics manufacturers; and with clinical and pharmacological organizations.

Article IV. OFFICERS

A. Officers of the Division shall be Professional or Transitional Members in good standing of ADLM and of the Division.

B. Officers of the Division shall consist of the following elected positions:

Chair
Chair-Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Nominating Committee (4)

C. Terms of Office:

Terms of office shall be two (2) years for each officer.
Terms of office are by calendar year, January 1—December 31.
Officers may be elected to the same position for a maximum of two terms. Officers shall not be eligible for election to their respective offices until two years has elapsed following their last eligible term of office.
Past-officers may choose to stay member-at-large. A limit of four members at-large will be applied.

D. Election of Officers:

1. The Secretary shall prepare the ballot with a nominee for each office to be filled. Brief descriptions of nominees’ qualifications will be included. The ballot shall be distributed electronically to the membership by October 1st. The ballot shall include provisions for a write-in candidate for each office. Written requests for a mailed ballot may be submitted to the Secretary.

Nominees for each office shall be submitted by the Officers, by a Nominating Committee (as designated by the Chair), or by members through email.
Prior to the election all nominees must consent to serve if elected.
Ballots shall be collected and tabulated through the ADLM electronic ballot process. Any votes submitted by mail will be added by the Secretary.
Ballots must be received electronically or by the Secretary thirty days from the date the ballots are distributed. The Secretary will inform the nominees and members of the election results.
The nominee receiving a plurality of valid votes shall be elected. In the event of a tie, another election for that office shall be held.
In the event that an officer is not elected by January 1, the officer currently holding that office on December 31 shall continue to serve until relieved by the duly elected officer.

E. Meetings:

The Officers shall hold an annual meeting of the Officers during the annual ADLM Meeting for the purpose of transacting Division business. There will be no other regularly scheduled in-person meeting of the Officers. Periodic meetings of the Officers may be called, and their time and place fixed by the Chair, or a majority of the Officers, and shall be held upon due notice to the Officers. Such meetings may take place by means of a telephone conference call or similar means.
A quorum for such meetings as are held shall consist of a majority of its voting members.

F. Removal of Officers.

Officers who fail to fulfill their responsibilities, as outlined in these bylaws, may be removed from office by a majority vote of the other Officers.

G. Vacancies.

In the event that the office of the Chair becomes vacant, the Chair-Elect shall assume this position for the remainder of the term. Should any other Officer resign or no longer be able to fulfill his/her responsibilities prior to completion of his/her term of office, or is removed as described in these Bylaws, the incumbent Officers shall appoint a qualified person to discharge the duties of that office for the remainder of the departing Officer’s term. Resignations of officers, with the exception of the Chair, shall be submitted, in writing, to the Chair. The resignation of the Chair shall be submitted, in writing, to the Officers and upon acceptance, the Chair-Elect shall assume that office. Article V. DUTIES OF OFFICERS

A. The Chair shall:

Be the executive officer for the PM Division of the ADLM, and preside at all meetings of the Officers and/or the Membership.
Appoint the chairs of all committees.
Serve as an ex-officio member of each committee excluding the Nominating Committee.
Be responsible for the business meeting agendas at the annual Division Meeting held in conjunction with the Annual ADLM Meeting.
Prepare and submit the Annual Division Meeting Report summarizing the logistics, educational performance and scientific benefits of the Division and making recommendations for improvements in future meetings.
Plan, schedule, and make the necessary arrangements for the annual Division Meeting held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Association.
Provide a smooth transition from Chair to Chair-Elect. The outgoing Chair shall serve as Past-Chair for up to one year, supporting and mentoring the Chair who replaces them. The Past-Chair shall have no voting rights in Division Officer meetings.

B. The Chair-Elect shall:

Preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair and act for him/her in case of his/her absence or disability.
2. Serve as Chair of the Program Committee to:
a. Plan, schedule, and make the necessary arrangements for the annual symposium or workshop to be sponsored by the Personalized Medicine Division at the Annual ADLM Meeting for approval by the Officers.
b. Plan, schedule, and make the necessary arrangements for any other educational seminars to be sponsored by the Personalized Medicine Division, outside of the Annual ADLM Meeting. c. Accede to office of Chair at completion of chair-elect term.

C. The Secretary shall:

Keep minutes of all meetings of the Division at which business is conducted, submit them to the Chair for approval, and make them available to the membership.
Maintain the minutes of meetings as a record and transmit them to the succeeding Secretary.
Prepare a semiannual Newsletter, submit them to Chair for approval, and make them available electronically to the Personalized Medicine Division membership.
Carry out such correspondence of the Division as delegated by the Chair.
Distribute notices of meetings, ballots and election results to the membership.
Notify the Association of the results of election of officers.

D. The Treasurer shall:

Present a statement of the financial condition of the Division at its meetings.
Assist the Chair-Elect with preparation of the annual Division budget.
Monitor compliance with the Division Budget and bring significant variances to the attention of the Officers.

E. The Nominating Committee shall:

Consist of the not less than two Division members elected by the membership. At the initiation of the Division and prior to elections for the position, Nominating Committee members may be appointed by the Chair.
The function of this committee shall be to provide a slate of candidates for the elected offices as described in these Bylaws.
Nominations from the floor shall be entertained at the Annual Division Meeting.
This committee shall report its slate of nominees to the Secretary at least one month prior to the Annual Division Meeting.
Each candidate nominated must agree in writing to serve before his or her nomination can be placed on the ballot.
Membership in the Division shall be open to all members in good standing of the ADLM who pay the annual dues established by the Division.
Only Professional, Transitional, and Emeritus members of the Division may vote in a Division election.
Only Professional and Transitional members of the Division in good standing may hold Division office.

Article VII. COMMITTEES

Education Committee: The Education Committee shall consist of up to 3 Members (or additional as appointed by the Division Chair) including the Education Chair. Members of this Committee shall be appointed by the Education Chair. This committee will work closely with the Chair-Elect in planning the educational activities of the Division.
Communication Committee: The Communication Committee shall consist of up to 3 Members (or additional as appointed by the Division Chair) including the Communication Chair. Members of this Committee shall be appointed by the Division Chair. This committee will work closely with the Officers to communicate the objectives of the Division and drive awareness of the Division and its activities.
Outreach Committee: The Outreach Committee shall consist of up to 3 Members (or additional as appointed by the Division Chair) including the Outreach Chair. Members of this Committee shall be appointed by the Outreach Chair. This committee will work closely with the Officers to develop outreach opportunities to drive relationships between the Personalized Medicine Division and other agencies or industries interested in personalized medicine.
Other Committees: Additional committees may be formed at the discretion of the officers.

Article VIII. FISCAL MATTERS

The fiscal year of the Division shall be January 1-- December 31.
Division members shall pay annual dues, the amount of which shall be determined by the Officers of the Division in accordance with ADLM policies and procedures.
The Division has no assets owned separately from ADLM and all assets are deemed to belong to ADLM.

Article IX. MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS

The Division shall have one regularly scheduled membership meeting each year:
1. A meeting consisting of a business meeting and a scientific program, scheduled in conjunction with the Association’s Annual Meeting shall be held.
2. Other meetings during the year may be added in conjunction with any educational programs co-sponsored by the Personalized Medicine Division.
A quorum for the transaction of any business at any membership meeting shall consist of a minimum of 10 voting members in good standing. If the Chair wishes to ensure that a quorum is present for a meeting, he or she may invoke proxy voting for that meeting by:
1. Sending a copy of the agenda to all Division members 45 days in advance of the scheduled meeting date.
2. Including a list of proposed motions (if known) with the agenda.
3. Requesting that members unable to attend send their signed proxy vote forms to the Chair or to another Division member to permit votes to be cast on their behalf. In the event of insufficient numbers for a quorum to transact business, a second meeting shall be called within 30 days. The foregoing notwithstanding such a second meeting shall constitute a quorum.
At all meetings where questions of parliamentary procedure arise, “Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised” shall prevail.

Article X. NOTICE OF MEETINGS

Notice of the annual meeting of the Officers will be delivered electronically to each Officer at least 30 days prior to the date of the meeting.
Notice of the regularly scheduled membership meetings will be delivered electronically to the membership of the Division at least 30 days prior to the dates of the meetings.
Periodic meetings shall be scheduled with sufficient notice to allow maximal attendance of the Officers, except under extenuating circumstances.

Article XII. GOVERNANCE

A. The Personalized Medicine Division shall be governed by these Bylaws. In the event of a conflict between the Bylaws of the Personalized Medicine Division and the Association’s Bylaws, the Association’s Bylaws shall prevail.

B. Amendments to these Bylaws may be proposed by: