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 It may contain other out-of-date information as well.
1984 International Travel Fellowship
Irving Sunshine will receive the AACC International Fellowship Award, sponsored by Becton Dickinson Vacutainer Systems.
Dr. Sunshine is chief toxicologist at the Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), OH, Coroner’s Office; professor of toxicology and of clinical pharmacology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University; and chief toxicologist for the University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a diplomate of both the American Board of Clinical Chemistry and the American Board of Forensic Toxicology and is on the Board of Directors of these boards. He is also a member of the AACC Board of Directors.
Born in New York City, he obtained all his formal education in various colleges of New York University, earning the B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. While earning his Ph.D., he taught chemistry in various colleges in the New York area; during the war, he worked on a pilot plant for the separation of uranium isotopes as a part of the Manhattan Project. His development in toxicology was encouraged by two esteemed mentors, Drs. Alexander O. Gettler and Bernard Brodie. Before moving to Cleveland, where he has been since 1951, he served as the toxicologist for the City of Kingston (NY) Laboratory and for Ulster County.
He has published almost 100 papers and a dozen monographs. He is also a member of the boards of editors of many of the major toxicology journals.
His educational activities extend beyond the local college campuses. He has organized and participated in numerous toxicology workshops held throughout the United States. In recognition of his achievements in clinical chemistry, Dr. Sunshine was presented the Ames Award by AACC in 1973. The Italian Society of Forensic Toxicologists has elected him an honorary member. In 1978, the International Exchange of Scholars awarded him a Fulbright Visiting Professorship to the Free University of Brussels. In 1982, the World Health Organization appointed him consultant in toxicology and assigned him to Israel.
Dr. Sunshine has been president of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, chairman of the National Council for Poison Control Week, director of the Cleveland Poison Information Center for 24 years, chairman of the Toxicology Section of The Academy of Forensic Sciences, and chairman of the Cleveland Section of AACC, as well as a former member of its Board of Directors. As a member of the AACC Education Committee, he was responsible for the National Tour Speaker Program, the Local Section Guest Lecturer Program, and the Visiting Lecturer Program.
1973 Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Chemistry
Dr. Irving Sunshine will receive the 1973 AACC Award for Outstanding Achievements in Clinical Chemistry, sponsored by the Ames Company, at the 25th National Meeting of the ADLM. The Award was first presented in 1952 as the Ernst Bischoff Award.
Dr. Sunshine was born in New York City and obtained the B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from New York University. His interest in toxicology was stimulated during his graduate years while working at Bellevue Hospital and Goldwater Memorial Hospital under the supervision of Dr. A. O. Gettler. He obtained experience in industrial toxicology on the Manhattan Project, at the City Chemical Co. in New Jersey, and with the city of Kingston (N. Y.) and Ulster County.
In 1951 he migrated “west” to assume the first of the many titles he currently holds. He is presently Professor of Toxicology, School of Medicine, Case-Western Reserve University; Adjunct Professor of Toxicology at Cleveland State University; Chief Toxicologist for the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office; Chief Toxicologist for the University Hospitals of Cleveland; Technical Director for the Cleveland Poison Information Center; and Editor-in-Chief of Biosciences for the Chemical Rubber Company Press in Cleveland.
A Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry in Toxicology, he has served on the AACC National Executive Committee, as a member of the Editorial Board for Clinical Chemistry and as Chairman of the Cleveland Section, AACC. He is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and has also served that organization as chairman of the Toxicology Section and as a member of the Board of Editors of the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
In addition to his roles in the laboratory and classroom, Dr. Sunshine has been an ardent and vocal advocate of both the need and value of analytical toxicology and the need for Poison Prevention Centers. He has been particularly pleased to see a marked increase in the general level of interest in both of these areas in the past few years. His own efforts have been in large part responsible for this growth in interest as demonstrated by his chairmanship of the National Council for Poison Prevention Week; past-presidency of the Poison Control Group, his work as chairman of the Education Committee of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, his work as chairman of the Education Committee of the American Association of Poison Control Centers and the publication of a “Manual of Analytical Toxicology.”
To quote Dr. Sunshine, “safeguarding the community’s well-being—through analytical toxicology—is a rewarding experience” for himself and for those persons who have been stimulated by him to enter this specialty in clinical chemistry.