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 was written prior to this rebranding and contains mentions of the association’s old name. It may contain other out-of-date information as well.
Dr. Miriam Reiner ("Mim") was one of the nine founders of AACC (then known as the American Association of Clinical Chemists) in 1948. She was an associate of Dr. Harry Sobotka's at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York in the 1940's. In 1953, she edited Standard Methods of Clinical Chemistry, published by Academic Press. She was president of AACC in 1962-1963. She received the Arnold O. Beckman Award for outstanding contributions through service to the profession of clinical chemistry in 1971.
Dr. Reiner was Director of Clinical Chemistry at Washington, DC General Hospital for many years. She was one of the founding members of the Capital Section, originally the Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond Section. Mim was a very active member of the Capital Section until her death in 1991, and always attended local section meetings. She also attended many IFCC meetings. Dr. Reiner received the Capital Section's Joseph H. Roe award in 1965. Members who knew her say she was interested in people, in finding out what they were doing, asking what their goals were, inspiring them, and encouraging them to be more active in AACC.
In an article discussing the first 25 years of AACC, Dr. Reiner stated, "The future progress of AACC lies in the awareness of all of its members of the problems of clinical chemistry and their responsibility in helping to resolve them. This can be accomplished by high standards in the laboratory, research, teaching, and taking part in meetings and seminars, and being generally active in the organization." As anyone who knew her will tell you, this is how she lived her life. You can read her historical article about the first 25 years of AACC in Clinical Chemistry 1973, Volume 19, pages 1409-11.