7/26/2010
This is it! My final blog post for the 2010 AM and the 2010 AMOC. I know Mike expected to have the last word, but I have the link and password. :D Actually, I’m ready to cede the “blogger” title to someone else, but also, I have to say that I’ve had a great time doing it. It’s not every day a person gets to talk non-stop about pretty much anything (AM-related), without any significant censorship. Since this is my last blog, I thought I’d spend it saying THANK YOU to all the people who helped me along the way.
First those non-AMOC people who specifically helped me with the blog posts:
The IT group at the AACC: Christina Elder, Robert Mull and Rose Chery, I would not have been able to do it at all without your help and hard work. Thanks for the constant support, for dealing with my more type-A tendencies, and Bob, especially for helping me find pictures.
Other AACC people: Penny Jones, thank you for occasional proof-reading and the invaluable suggestions. Pamela Nash and Stefanie Kleinman, thanks for your help with the Van Slyke Foundation post. Betsy Garman, I couldn’t do networking without you.
Other people: Loralie Langman, thank you for the NACB Distinguished abstracts help. Corinne Fantz, thank you for the help with the Student Poster Contest.
Now, the 2010 AMOC:
I cannot say enough good things about my fellow members of the 2010 AMOC. Above and beyond the blog, this gang has been an outstanding group to work with and to get to know. Mike, you have superbly directed our efforts and made the process almost painless. You’ve handled all the hard stuff and managed to turn a diverse group into a cohesive whole. We’re incredibly grateful, and I’m grateful for blog topic suggestions and your guest blog. Paula and Dennis, way to go! Your guidance and help along the way has been phenomenal. Rob, your shepherding of the early plenary discussion was masterful and no doubt your shepherding of the plenary speakers themselves will be also. Gwen and Jim, wonderful job on all the symposia. And Jim, a special thanks for your guest blog. You’re the best! Paul Jannetto, my counterpart, thank you soooo much for making me look good. Shannon and Amy, your incredible commitment to the process and hard work with the brown baggers and volunteers has been remarkable. And Paul D’Orazio, you rock! Thanks so much for always instantly responding to my blog questions related to Abstracts, not to mention the fine work you and your crew have done.
This Committee has been AWESOME to work with, and I know we’ll all continue to actively participate in AACC endeavors.
And lest you think I’ve forgotten you: Meetings group – Gail Mutnik, Michele Dubose, Linda Yerby and Karen Ellis. The meeting would not take place without you guys. We seriously appreciate how much you take care of your AMOC people, and Gail, I appreciate how much you’ve let me bug you for details about things. And the two un-sung heroes from Scherago, Tony Maiorino and Jack Ryan, thanks for being there to help us keep everything sorted out. Tony, thanks for the data on the Expo!
For all you people who have been so supportive of the blog efforts – THANK YOU SO MUCH!
It’s been a BLAST!!!!
Patti
That’s all Folks! 7/19/2010
Hello everyone – this will be the final AMOC blog before we all meet in Anaheim for this year’s Annual Meeting (AM), and as AMOC Chair, I get the last word!
 First off, I want to thank Patti Jones for the outstanding job she has done as our AMOC blogger over the last five months and 22 posts! The AMOC blog this year was a new idea and none of us were quite sure how it would work – but Patti took it over enthusiastically and has provided a really comprehensive insight into the internal workings of the AM delivered in bite-size chunks with great clarity and a sense of humor! Well done, Patti!
Organizing an AM is hard work but very rewarding – you can see the meeting taking shape, and it is a task with a clearly defined end-point, rather than something that drags on for years! That cuts both ways, of course – if things start to slip, we don’t have the option to stick a note on the convention center door and ask you to come back in a couple of weeks!
But I’m glad to say that, after all the efforts of the AMOC, the AACC Meetings Dept, Scherago International, exhibiting companies and many, many individual speakers, presenters and moderators – we’re ready for you! The sun is going to shine and the 2010 AM has already broken all records for the number of exhibit booths and is set to break more records next week.
We have stellar plenary speakers, over 70 varied symposia and short courses, over 80 brown bag sessions and over 800 posters on display. We have the biggest clinical laboratory exhibit in the world. We have delegates from all over the US and all over the globe, presenting unrivalled networking opportunities – whatever problems or challenges you face in your work as a clinical laboratorian, there will be people in Anaheim who can help you with them. There is a huge amount on offer – more than any of us can take in. But I hope you will take what the AMOC have put together, select what you need and make it yours.
Whether you’re in Anaheim for a day or for the whole meeting, I hope it will be both professionally and personally rewarding, and that you get chance to have some fun while you’re there also.
Safe travels – and we’ll see you next week!
Very best wishes
Mike Hallworth
2010 AMOC Chair
7/12/2010
Wow! The AM is less than 2 weeks away! It’s hard to imagine that it’s arriving so fast. Where does the time go?
Thanks to the Internet, wireless communication, and micro-electronics, the world we live in is becoming increasingly inter-connected. Everywhere you go the people around you are connected to the Internet, via their cell phones, laptops and/or i-pads. Consultation with colleagues, or planning the next social gathering, is just a few finger movements away. The way we communicate, share information and basically interact with the world around us, evolves on a daily basis. That evolution, or perhaps revolution, in communication impacts the way we share information in the Clinical Laboratory Medicine field, as well as every other part of our lives.
These days, AACC is making a concerted effort to be part of that revolution in communication by trialing new ways of utilizing all the latest forms of electronic communication. In fact, AACC has a social media page! The site has lots of information for those who want to join the conversations on twitter, facebook, and LinkedIn. Check it out! http://www.aacc.org/about/social-media/pages/default.aspx
Betsy Garman in the AACC home office takes the lead on these new communication forms. Her official title is Publications and Distance Learning Specialist, but I think of her as our Social Networking Butterfly. And Betsy is happy to hear from AACC memebrs and answer any questions that arise, like: how to set up an account, the reason behind and benefits of having an account, what kinds of information can be shared on the sites (presentations, videos, photos, article links), etc. Feel free to email her: < mailto:bgarman@aacc.org> or stop by the AACC booth on the expo floor if you have questions. She’s always willing to help.
If you haven’t tried any of these formats for staying connected, you should give it a whirl. Twitter is a great way to stay current with up to the minute developments within the AACC and in our chosen field. There are updates posted frequently by Betsy, as well as other AACC members. Those posts are called “tweets”. Most of the Annual Meeting tweets are informational (re: a particular event or award winner), but also welcome are direct replies and retweets of information people find to be useful. Twitter was tried for the first time at the AM last year and it will once again be in evidence this year, with regular updates and information from connected persons. And speaking of ‘connected persons’, the AACC LinkedIn group now has 972 members! LinkedIn is a networking system which caters to professionals and allows you to form and maintain contact with other professionals in your field. It’s a prime opportunity for interfacing with your peers for consultations, or for discussions on pertinent topics. Facebook also has an AACC presence, and it may be that more people are familiar with Facebook than some of the other networking tools. For that matter, this blog is also an experiment in communication forms. Yes, I’m part of an experiment. Bwahahahaha! Oh. Sorry.
Like anything new, these electronic forms of communication are taking the AACC members a while to get used to. My guess (and it’s only a guess) is that that is related to the number of us that did not grow up with electronics. (I did NOT say the “O” word!) Let me ask you though, how many of you were the first person on your block with a cell phone? A laptop? Care to tell me how well you would function without either of those now? The most important thing is to jump in and try the new forms. You may find that Twitter or LinkedIn is exactly what you need to keep up to date on some important aspects of your field.
So be on the lookout for the newest and best while you’re here in Anaheim, not only in the clinical diagnostics field, but also in the filed of communication and interaction.
7/6/2010
If you’ve been attending AACC AM as long as I have, you’ll have noticed that along the way the names of some of the AACC/NACB’s pre-eminent awards have changed, often reflecting changes in sponsorship of the awards. For example, a big change last year was the re-naming of the AACC Lectureship Award to the Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship Award. Later in this post I’ll come back to that particular change. This year the most noticeable change will be that for the first time ever, the name of the sponsoring company has actually been removed from association with specific awards. I suspect most people are aware of why that is, but if you’re not, it’s because of this: Awards are handled differently AAM (after AdvaMed) than they were BAM.
As every person working in the biomedical or medical field is aware, society as a whole is much more aware and concerned than previously about improprieties between Healthcare Professionals and the medical biotechnology and pharmacy industries that work alongside them. In this open and aware environment it has become just as necessary to APPEAR innocent of any conflicts of interest, as it is to BE innocent of them, because appearances can be damning no matter how innocent the parties may be. In response to changing expectations and increased surveillance from the public at large, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) have both adopted Code of Ethics statements on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals. The most recently revised version of AdvaMed’s Code went into effect on July 1, 2009. Most companies and associations in the medical technology field have voluntarily espoused these codes and many participate in AdvaMed’s Code of Ethics Certification Program. Life in the vast medical field changed, almost overnight it seemed.
For average people in the field, this has probably been most noticeable in that your sales reps no longer treat you to lunch regularly, or drop small gifts in your box. Both Industry representatives and Healthcare professionals have been struggling to understand and conform to the new Code and along the way, everyone has been learning how the Code effects such day-to-day issues as sponsorship of educational programs, traveling to see instruments in operation and lunch meetings to discuss business, to name a few. For big associations like the AACC, life has also changed in some respects. Currently the most noticeable change is that for the first time this year, the AACC’s preeminent awards are no longer listed with “Sponsored by ” and the sponsoring company under the award . In order that there be no appearance of a single company making a payment to a single person, which might be misconstrued, the AACC and the NACB have adopted a formal re-configuring of the way awards are handled. The AACC and NACB now request that sponsorships be made to the overall educational purposes of the Association. Awards are then made out of a general fund and the sponsoring companies are acknowledged as sponsors of the overall awards program.
One seeming exception to this new rule is the Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship Award mentioned above. This award is now endowed by the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation to recognize an outstanding individual who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to, and made important contributions that have had a significant impact on education, practice and /or research in laboratory medicine or patient care. This award honors Wallace H. Coulter and commemorates his revolutionary contributions to diagnostics and his championing of research and innovation. Because the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation is dedicated to the support of education and research in the diagnostic field, endowing a lectureship in memory of Dr. Coulter is fully consistent with AdvaMed’s Code of Ethics.
6/28/2010
If you haven’t yet registered to attend this year’s AACC Annual Meeting, now’s a great time to get that registration in. The meeting is going to be full of outstanding speakers on a multitude of timely topics related to every aspect of clinical laboratory medicine. A good example of the variety of topics that will available at the meeting can be found in the Plenary Sessions. The Plenary Sessions are presented by nationally recognized leaders from the clinical practice, research, business or policy arenas. These men and women speak on their perspectives of the most current happenings in our field.
The Plenary Sessions for this year’s AM are a stellar group of speakers:
The speaker for the Opening Plenary is Dr. John Trojanowski, a leader in the development and characterization of biomarkers of neurological disease, especially the role of abnormal protein aggregates (misfolded proteins) in neurodegenerative disorders . Dr. Trojanowski is the Co-Director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research Director, Institute on Aging, the Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, and the William Maul Measey-Truman G. Schnabel, Jr. MD Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Trojanowski is this year’s recipient of the Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship Award, and he will speak about novel biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease at the Sunday evening Opening session in his talk entitled “The Impact of Biomarkers on the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease”.
Dr. Gail Wilensky will present the Monday morning Plenary Session. Dr Wilensky is an economist and a senior fellow at project HOPE, an international health foundation. Among many other duties, she has served as Administrator of HCFA (now CMS), as a commissioner on the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health and has co-chaired the Dept. of Defense Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care. Dr. Wilensky will discuss possible implications of changes to the healthcare system and provide insights into future trends in healthcare and their impact on laboratory medicine in her talk entitled “The Changing and Challenging Healthcare Landscape”.
Dr. James Thomson is the speaker for the Tuesday morning Plenary Session. Dr. Thomson is a developmental biologist who is best known for deriving the first human embryonic stem cell line. He serves as director of regenerative biology at the Morgridge Institute for Research in Madison, Wisconsin, and is a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. As an expert on stem cells, Dr Thomson will discuss the rapidly emerging field of stem cell utilization in human health in his talk untitled “Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived from Episomal Vectors”.
Wednesday morning’s Plenary Session will be presented by Dr. Paul Ridker. Dr. Ridker is the Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and directs the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, a translational research unit at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston which focuses on the molecular and genetic epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases. A renowned cardiologist and researcher, Dr Ridker will discuss the utilization of hsCRP to predict future cardiovascular events in his talk entitled “Inflammation, hsCRP, and Cardiovascular Prevention: A Paradigm Shift”.
The Plenary Session on Thursday morning will be presented by Dr. Leroy Hood. Dr. Hood is recognized as one of the world's leading scientists in the molecular biotechnology and genomics field. He holds numerous patents and awards for his scientific breakthroughs and in 2007 he was elected to the Inventors Hall of Fame (for the automated DNA sequencer). In 2000, he co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington to pioneer systems approaches to biology and medicine. Dr. Hood will discuss powerful new technologies that allow a new “systems approach” to medicine which involves the patient in their own, preventative health care. Dr Hood’s talk is entitled “Systems Medicine, Transforming technologies and the Emergence of P4 Medicine: Predictive, Personalized, Preventive and Participatory”.
These five Plenary talks will provide an amazing look at cutting edge aspects of healthcare and laboratory medicine from five renowned experts in their respective fields. So if you haven’t yet registered, now would be the time. You won’t want to miss a single session. 6/21/2010
I’m curious. When you’re browsing the AM registration brochure in search of the topics with the most interest for you, and planning your activities for the meeting week, do you notice that phrase “Developed in cooperation with . . .”? The week of the meeting, do you find it helpful in deciding on sessions to attend when going through the AM Program?
The “Developed in cooperation with ….” phrase is found in both the Program Guide and Registration Brochure immediately under the Session Title, Moderator and CE credit information. It is a way for various members and member  groups within the AACC to clearly indicate how the AACC is working with other societies and within itself to further AACC’s strategic educational and scientific aims. In the past, sessions have been developed in collaboration with such associations as College of American Pathologists (CAP), the American Diabetes Association (ADA), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), the National Kidney Disease Education Program and the Personalized Medicine Advisory Group, to name a few. Along with these outside Associations, sessions are also developed within specific Divisions or Local Sections, and knowing that information up front can be incredibly helpful in deciding whether to attend the session. The “Developed in cooperation…” phrase has other utilities as well. Besides reflecting programs developed with outside associations, it is a great way to showcase programs that the Divisions or Local Sections are working on within their own groups. This way the Divisions and Local Sections can not only indicate how actively involved they are with the development of AM submissions, they can also alert their respective group members about sessions of particular interest to them. “Developed in cooperation…” on a session is a way to flag its content and its associations.
As useful as this information can be, sometimes getting it into the Program is problematic. It can be a difficult demographic to capture successfully. Over the years, there have been a number of ways this has been handled. In the past, if a person making a submission had a topic of that might be of interest to a particular Division or Section or an outside Association, the author could simply state that the submission was developed in cooperation with the group. This method was not very well received because sometimes the particular group involved did not know anything about the submission, and was surprised to discover that they had been involved with a program development.
In order to correct that, the rules were changed a few years ago so that if you claim your submission is developed in cooperation with a group, you must name the contact in that group that you dealt with and supply his or her contact information. This method ensures that the Group knows about ‘developed in cooperation” submissions, but the method isn’t fool proof. One of the biggest problems it faces is timing. Like all of us, people making submissions have a tendency to make them right at the deadline. If you’ve done that and then cannot get hold of your contact person, you cannot add that ‘developed in cooperation” on your submission. Also, sometimes people would like to work cooperatively with a group, but are unaware of whom to contact for information and for that all important permission.
There has been some discussion about changing this process again, to possibly allow the “Developed in..” phrase to be added to sessions AFTER the submission deadline. To date, no really good suggestion has yet been proposed for doing this, as many of the proposed suggestions involve activities that will make already tight timelines even worse for the Meetings Staff and the AMOC. So currently there isn’t a magic bullet for ensuring that all sessions get their appropriate association tagged with a “developed in cooperation”. I am interested in how important the AACC members consider this tag. I wonder if most people find it useful? Does the average attendee notice it and plan accordingly? Does anyone think the process should be changed and improved? I’d love to hear suggestions or comments from the membership, as well as from various groups. So if you’ve never commented on a blog before, here’s your chance! 6/9/2010
The Van Slyke Foundation (VSF) is the AACC’s philanthropic arm. The Society is named after Dr. Donald Dexter Van  Slyke, one of the fathers of clinical chemistry. He began his career with a PhD in organic chemistry and played a vital role in making chemistry an integral part of medicine. His more than 250 papers on a multitude of analytes and the clinical investigation of disease states had a profound effect on the approach to treatment of many of them. Dr. Van Slyke was nicknamed “The Chief” for his leadership role in training many, many clinical scientists. The VSF is dedicated to supporting and encouraging clinical laboratory scientists from emerging areas and science students. Originating in 1988, the then-Van Slyke Society was created by the AACC Board of Directors to support research and education in clinical laboratory medicine. The VSF is governed by a Board of Trustees and funded by donation s from individuals and corporations that share its vision and passion for the field of clinical laboratory medicine. VSF donations support student and international travel grants to the AACC Annual Meeting, , numerous student awards,, science fair prizes scholarships for post-doctoral studies, research grants, AACC memberships and other awards for deserving clinical scientists around the world. Click here to read more about the Foundations grants and awards.
The Foundation will hold its fourth Silent Auction and Reception at the 2010 AM. This year’s event is on Wednesday evening, July 28th, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the elegant Tiffany Terrace, Sheraton Hotel in Anaheim. Tickets are $75.00 each and all proceeds from ticket sales and the auction bids go to VSF grants and awards. Silent Auction tickets may be purchased here. The Foundation and its grantees are grateful to all the contributors who support the mission to improve clinical laboratory medicine worldwide. For just $5, you can also buy a raffle ticket to win a Kindle 2, but only at the Annual Meeting. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to help the Foundation support deserving young investigators and those working in laboratories in emerging countries around the globe. Raffle tickets are for sale at the AM. Your Foundation contribution is an investment in the future of clinical laboratory medicine. Click here to donate today. Thank you for your support! 6/4/2010
Along with the Division structure, the AACC is divided up into 15 Local Sections. If you are a member of the AACC in the US, you are a member of a Local Section. Local Sections are geographical entities for the most part and provide educational and networking opportunities on a local level. Although I will say, “local” is being interpreted fairly loosely when you consider the area covered by the Rocky Mountain Section (Canada to Mexico down through the Rockies) or the Texas Section or the Midwest Section. And of course only the AACC would consider Hawaii as ‘local’ to the Northern California Section and Alaska as ‘local’ to the Northwest Section.
I thought about doing this post as a quiz, but decided people might not be in the mood to take a quiz, so here are a few fun facts about the Local Sections:
- One state is part of four Local Sections: Ohio is part of Ohio Valley, Northeast Ohio, Pittsburgh and Michigan Local Sections.
- One state is divided among three Local Sections: California is divided among the Northern California, Southern California and San Diego Local Sections.
- Two cities have their own Local Sections: San Diego and New York Metro.
- Four Local Sections are named for cities, but include other states: Chicago (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, Delaware), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia) and Capitol (DC, Maryland, Virginia)
- New York Metro is probably the smallest Local Section geographically, while the largest might be in some dispute between the Rocky Mountain Section, the Midwest Section, the Texas Section and Northwest Section, which includes Alaska.
- The Southeast Section includes portions of the most states (8!) (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee), followed closely by the Midwest Section with 7 states (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska).
- Florida, New Jersey and Upstate New York are Local Sections named after states that only contain that state.
- Three Local Sections are named for states but contain more than one state: Texas (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana), Michigan (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio) and North Carolina (North Carolina, Virginia).
A map of the Local Sections can be found on the AACC website.
The Local sections are not as active at the AM as the Divisions tend to be, probably because many of them are truly “local” and can gather members together more easily than Divisions can. There are a number of Local Section functions at the AM however, and they are listed below:
Northeast Local Section Reception: Sunday, July 25th, 4:00 pm
Local Section Chairs and Chairs Elect Breakfast: Tuesday, July 27th, 7:00 am
Midwest Section Annual Meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 12:00 pm
Texas, Southeast and North Carolina Sections Joint Breakfast: Wednesday, July 28th, 7:00 am
Rocky Mountain Section Members Lunch: Wednesday, July 28th, 12:00 pm
If you fall into any of these Local Sections, be sure and come by and join the fun. And if you’re not involved in activities at your own Local Section, I strongly encourage you to contact your Section officers and begin volunteering. Local Sections are an ideal way to begin becoming engaged with the AACC. 5/24/2010
The AACC has 14 Divisions, 13 permanent and 1 provisional. If you’re not familiar with the Division structure, AACC Divisions are groups of AACC members who are brought together by common interests, for example Molecular Pathology or Animal Clinical Chemistry. The Divisions are a forum for actively involved members with mutual interests and similar career paths to interact and often to accomplish things which are difficult for single individuals to accomplish. The AACC Divisions are generally focused on achieving educational, research and clinical objectives related to their specific field of clinical chemistry.
The AACC AM is a busy time for the Divisions because it provides a great opportunity for members who are geographically widely separated to come together and interact. The Divisions take full advantage of this opportunity and many of them hold executive board meetings and/or membership meetings during the week of the AM. There are also many, many Division-sponsored educational sessions during the week, including symposia, short courses … basically every type of session possible. Along with that, many Divisions have special events planned and are presenting various awards. In this post I’ve attempted to list the Division meetings, the special Division-sponsored activities and the Division awards. I also tried to include the award winners, but if I couldn’t determine the winner, I simply listed the award. I apologize up front if I’ve missed your Division’s activity or award. I very quickly discovered that there’s A LOT of activity going on among the 14 Divisions. You might wish to try to attend as many of these events as you can and perhaps you’ll discover a group of people with interests similar to your own.
The Divisions below are listed in no particular order, mostly because I get bored with always listing things in alphabetical order. Hey, I have to have SOME fun doing this blog. I started listing them as they returned information to me. Of course this random scheme does make it a little interesting to locate your specific Division. Sorry if you have to search a little. Consider it an opportunity to scan and see what everyone is doing!
Therapeutic Drug Management and Toxicology (TDM/Tox) Division:
Meetings:
Division Membership Meeting: Monday, July 26th, 12:30 pm
Awards: to be acknowledged at the Division lunch meeting
TDM/Tox Abstract Awards to
Lindsay Hardy, MD of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA for "Ethylene Glycol Screening: Adapting the CATACHEM Enzymatic Assay to Minimize False Positives" (#E-70)
Roy Gerona, PhD of San Francisco General Hospital / UCSF, San Francisco, CA for "Clinical Utility of an LC-MS/TOF Seizure Panel in Emergency Department's Seizure Patients" (#E-120)
TDM/Tox Young Investigator Awards to
Stacy Melanson, MD, PhD of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA and
Christine Snozek, PhD of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Critical and Point of Care Testing (CPOCT) Division:
Meetings:
Executive Committee Meeting: Sunday, July 25th, 3:30 pm
Division Membership Meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 5:30 pm
Awards:
Point of Care Coordinator of the Year to be awarded at the CPOCT Mixer on Tuesday evening (winner to be announced in the CPOCT newsletter)
Events:
8th Annual POCC Forum
Thursday morning, July 29th from 7:30 – 10:00 am with a $20.00 registration fee.
CPOCT Mixer and Awards Ceremony
Tuesday evening, July 27, 6:00 – 8:00
Pediatric and Maternal-Fetal (PMF) Division:
Meetings:
Executive Committee Meeting: Saturday, July 24th, 4:00 pm
Awards:
Outstanding Contributions to Pediatric and Maternal-Fetal Clinical Chemistry to
Edward Ashwood MD, of ARUP Laboratories, Salt Lake City, UT to be awarded at the Joint Mixer
Best Poster Award
Qingge Li, Xiamen University, China
Student and Young Faculty Poster Award
Christina Lockwood PhD, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Events:
Pediatric Reference Range Initiative Forum and Update
Tuesday, July 27th, 12:30 – 3:00 pm
Pediatric Maternal-Fetal, Industry, Molecular Pathology Joint Mixer and Awards Celebration
Tuesday, July 27th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Management Sciences and Patient Safety (MSPSD) Division:
(the AM also marks the roll-out of this Division’s new name!)
Meetings:
Executive Committee Meeting: Saturday, July 25th, 8:00 am
Awards:
2010 MSPSD Outstanding Contribution to Management Sciences and Patient Safety Award to
James Hernandez, MD from Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
2010 AACC Management Sciences Division Abstract Award for Outstanding Project in Laboratory Management and Patient Safety to
Denise Uettwiller-Geiger PhD, John T Mather Hospital, Port Jefferson, NY for “The Clinical laboratory’s critical role in decreasing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) hospital infection (HAI) by implementing a rapid screening program in a community hospital” (A-129)
Events:
15th Annual Management Sciences and Patient Safety Leadership Seminar
Manage your Employee Training Needs with Asynchronous Learning
Saturday, July 24th, 5:30 – 8:30 pm with a $20.00 registration fee
Industry Division:
Meetings:
Division Membership Meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 4:00 pm
Awards:
Louis J. Dunka Jr. Memorial Service Award to be awarded at the Business Meeting, Tuesday, July 27, 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Best Abstract of Interest to the Industry Division to be presented at the Joint Mixer
Events:
Industry, Pediatric Maternal-Fetal, Molecular Pathology Joint Mixer and Awards Celebration
Tuesday, July 27th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Animal Clinical Chemistry Division (DACC):
Meetings:
Executive Committee meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 8:30 am
Division General Business Meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 12:30 pm
Awards:
Award for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Clinical Chemistry
Outstanding Research in Animal Clinical Laboratory Medicine
Proteomics Division:
Awards:
Award for Outstanding Research in Proteomics
Events:
Proteomics Division Annual Meeting and Debate:
Tuesday, July 27th, 7:00 am
Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology Division (CDID):
Meetings:
Business Meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 6:00 pm
Awards:
Carl Jolliff Award for Lifetime Achievement in Clinical or Diagnostic Immunology
Outstanding Research in Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology
International Travel Grant to
Margarita de Cabral, Asociacion de Bioquimicos del Paraguay ABP, Asuncion, Paraguay
Nutrition Division:
Awards:
Gary Labbe Award for Contributions to Laboratory Assessment of Nutritional Status to
Michael M. Meguid, MD, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY
Nutrition Division Service Award to
Sandy Botnen, Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, ND
Events:
Annual Nutrition Division Networking Seminar
Laboratory Assessment of Nutritional Status
Saturday, July 24th, 5:30 – 9:30 pm with a $20.00 registration fee
Clinical Translational Science (CTS) Division:
Meetings:
Executive Committee Meeting: Sunday, July 25th, 9:00 am
Awards:
Outstanding Research in Translational Medicine
Molecular Pathology Division:
Meetings:
Board of Directors Meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 3:30 pm
General Membership Meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 4:30 pm
Awards:
Outstanding Research in the Area of Molecular Pathology or Pharmacogenomics
Young Investigator Award for Outstanding Research in Molecular Pathology or Pharmacogenomics
Student/Medical Technologist Award for Outstanding Research in Molecular Pathology or Pharmacogenomics
Events:
Molecular Pathology Division Poster Awards:
Monday, July 26th, 12:00 pm
Molecular Pathology, Industry, Pediatric Maternal-Fetal Joint Mixer and Awards Celebration
Tuesday, July 27th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
History Division:
Meetings:
Division Meeting: Tuesday, July 27th, 12:00 pm
Awards:
Carraway-Meites Award for Enhancing our Knowledge of the History of Clinical Chemistry
Lipoproteins and Vascular Diseases Division (LVDD):
Meetings:
Executive Committee and Membership Meeting: Sunday, July 25th, 8:00 am
Awards:
Cooper Award for Outstanding Contributions to Service in the Area of Lipoproteins and Vascular Diseases
Pacific Biometrics Research Foundation Award for Contributions to the Technology of Clinical Chemistry
Outstanding Article in Fats of Life Newsletter
Poster Award Winners
Events:
Annual LVDD Dinner Meeting
Current Topics in Cardiovascular Disease
Monday, July 26th, 5:30 – 9:30 pm with $50.00 registration, limited to first 90 LVDD members
International Lipoprotein Standardization Forum
Tuesday, July 27th,6:00 – 9:30 pm with $35.00 registration, limited to first 60 LVDD members
Laboratory Information Systems and Medical Informatics (LISMI) Division:
Meetings:
Annual Business Meeting: Monday, July 26th, 7:00 am
Awards:
Award for Outstanding Research in Medical Informatics
Events:
LIS Forum
The Pathology Laboratory: Critical in Promoting Patient Safety and Containing Health Care Costs
Saturday, July 24th, 6:00 – 8:30 pm with a $10.00 registration
5/17/2010
Every year at the Annual Meeting (AM) a poster competition for young researchers is held. This competition has been referred to as the Student Poster Contest since its inception more than 20 years ago. It is officially part of the Student Awards Program, and it occurs on Monday afternoon at the AM. To be considered for the contest, an abstract author must be a student (undergraduate, graduate, post-doc, etc), must be lead author on the accepted abstract and must be able to present the poster at the Student Poster Contest on Monday at the AM. To apply, the author checks the box that says “Check to be considered for the Student Awards Program” when submitting an abstract to the AM. Following submission, the author must also send a fax, letter or email to the AACC Education Coordinator indicating a desire to be considered for the program. Abstracts that are accepted to the AM, meet the requirements, and whose authors have indicated the desire to be considered, become part of the Student Awards Program. On average, about 35 – 40 posters are entered in the contest each year.
 In the beginning the Student Poster Contest was held on Monday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, as part of the Student Mixer and Research Awards and the event remained in that time slot through 2004. In 2005 for the first time the session was moved to Monday afternoon from 2:00 – 4:30 pm, which is the time slot that it currently holds. Also for the first time at the 2005 AM, a Student Oral Presentation Contest began to be held with the poster contest as part of the Student Awards Program. The oral presentation contest involves the 4 students who have the top ranked posters as graded in the pre-selection process for the Student Research Awards. The lead authors of these top four ranked posters are invited to give platform presentations which are judged for scientific quality as well as the organization and quality of the presentation and accompanying slides. Since 2005, the student oral presentation contest comes first, from 2:00 – 3:00, followed by the poster contest from 3:00 – 4:30 on Monday afternoon.
The posters are graded on site at the Student Awards Program session by a group of volunteer judges who look for scientific quality, clarity of display, and presentation style. This year Dr. Corinne Fantz is moderating the oral and poster contests and has been tasked with rounding up sufficient high-quality judges for the contest. Student Travel Grants, supported by the Van Slyke Society (through a gift from Beckman Coulter), assist the authors of abstracts which have been accepted for the Student Poster Contest by waiving AM registration and contributing toward expenses for the AM. Both competitions are designed to encourage young investigators, and at the same time, to introduce them to the AACC. The Student Research Awards are supported by the Van Slyke Society (through a gift from Genzyme), and there is some absolutely stellar work being done by these young investigators. If you don’t already have definite plans for your Monday afternoon at the AM, don’t miss this opportunity to view the outstanding display of work by new people in the field and encourage their efforts and future participation. Also, next year Dr. Nikola Baumann will be moderating, so contact her early if you’d like to be a judge.
| Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XsnLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xsn | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.2 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.3 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.4 | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 255 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 256 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /events/2010am/am10blog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 256 |
|
|
|
|
|