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 following page links to resources that were written prior to the rebranding and/or mentions events that took place prior to the rebranding and that contain mentions of the association’s old name.
Jocelyn M. Hicks, DSc, PhD, FRCPA, NRCC, FADLM, who served as ADLM president in 1982, passed away on October 7, 2023, at the age of 86.
Born in Leamington Spa, England, Dr. Hicks received her BSc (honors) and MSc degrees from the University of London and her PhD in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University School of Medicine. She was chief of laboratory medicine and pathology at Children’s National Medical Center and professor of pediatrics and pathology at the George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
An ADLM member since 1966, Dr. Hicks served as a member of the ADLM Board of Directors from 1977 to 1983 and was president of ADLM in 1982, the youngest ever in ADLM history at the time. She was also chair of the Publications Committee from 1983 to 1987 and chair of the Board of Editors of Clinical Chemistry News (an earlier incarnation of Clinical Laboratory News) in 1979. She received the Outstanding Contributions Through Service to the Profession of Clinical Chemistry in 1984 and the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine in 1993.
During her career, Dr. Hicks authored numerous publications, including several books, such as Pediatric Clinical Chemistry, which she co-edited with Roger Boeckx, PhD; The Biochemical Basis of Pediatric Disease, which she co-authored with Steven J. Soldin, PhD, and Nader Rifai, PhD; and Point-of-Care Testing, co-authored with Christopher P. Price, PhD. She also edited the Directory of Rare Analyses (DORA) with Donald S. Young, MB, PhD.
Dr. Hicks was involved with many professional societies outside of ADLM. She was the first female president of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), serving from 2006 to 2008, and founded the International Association of Pediatric Laboratory Medicine. She lectured in nearly 50 different countries throughout her career, for which she was honored with the 2017 IFCC Henry Wishinsky Award for Distinguished International Service.
Dr. Hicks served as a mentor to scores of colleagues and students, who have themselves assumed leadership roles in laboratory medicine. She will be remembered for her kindness, leadership, and commitment to pediatric health.