Dennis J. Dietzen, PhD, DABCC, FAACC

2019 AACC Past President’s Award

Dr. Dietzen is professor of pathology and immunology as well as pediatrics at Washington University, where he is the medical director of laboratory services at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Prior to his work at Washington University, he was a development chemist at DuPont Diagnostics (now a part of Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics) and director of clinical laboratories at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The AACC enjoyed another successful year during Dr. Dietzen’s presidency. The association broke new ground in its congressional advocacy efforts, securing a $2 million appropriation in support of laboratory harmonization efforts, spearheading a coalition to urge Congress to fund a collaboration led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish pediatric reference intervals, and opposing the creation of a new regulatory structure for laboratory-developed tests. The year also saw the first point-of-care professional certification examination, the groundwork for a new strategic plan to be unveiled at the 2019 annual meeting, and continued global educational efforts in Latin America and Asia. AACC also began the process of contracting with a commercial publishing partner to expand the reach and stabilize the financial footing of AACC journals. In addition to being president, Dr. Dietzen has served the AACC in numerous capacities. He has been on organizing committees of two Oak Ridge conferences and two annual meetings. He was newsletter editor for the Pediatric-Maternal Fetal Division and has served on the pediatric reference range committee since its inception. He serves on the editorial boards of Clinical Biochemistry and Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences and is associate editor of the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine. He is an author or co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, monographs, and chapters on a wide range of subjects.