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 It may contain other out-of-date information as well.
Award for Outstanding Contributions through Service to the Profession of Clinical Chemistry
Dr. Sherwin recently retired from his position as director of laboratory operations for PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences in Waltham, Mass., where he was responsible for the genetic screening and neural tube defects laboratories. Prior to that position, he was chief of the genetic disease laboratory and genetic disease program of the California Department of Health Services. He was clinical associate professor of laboratory medicine at the University of California San Francisco Medical School. For many years he was director of chemistry and toxicology services at Valley Children's Hospital, a tertiary care pediatric hospital in Fresno, Calif. He has held positions as senior technical director, general manager, and chief operating officer of large reference laboratories. He served the the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (formerly AACC) as president and in many other capacities, including as local section education coordinator and in organizing national meetings. He was instrumental in establishing the Past Presidents' Scholarship for postdoctoral training and in providing educational opportunities for clinical chemists worldwide through the Van Slyke Foundation. He served as president of the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry. His service with other organizations includes being a member of the newborn screening and genetic research committee of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. He is a member of council for the International Society for Neonatal Screening and of the Newborn Screening Translational Research Network of the American College of Medical Genetics. Dr. Sherwin has published more than 50 scientific papers. His research focused primarily on pediatric laboratory medicine, with interests in liver function, blood gas analysis, and inborn errors of metabolism. He was also active in genetic disease and public health research.
2006 AACC Past President's Award
Dr. Sherwin is currently the acting chief of the Genetic Disease Branch that is responsible for the prenatal and newborn screening testing programs of the state of California in Richmond, Calif. His previous positions include directing laboratories at hospitals in Chicago and Fresno, Calif. He has held positions as technical director and chief operating officer of multimillion-dollar reference laboratories and been a consultant to a variety of businesses and physician practices. He has more than 50 publications to his credit, primarily in his main research area of pediatric laboratory medicine. He has served the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) in many capacities with both the Chicago and Northern California local sections. Among his many contributions at the national level, he has chaired the Commission for Education and Scientific Affairs, the Commission on Publications, and the Public Relations Program. He considers his greatest accomplishment as AACC president to be the establishment, with the generous support of Gopal Savjani, of the Past Presidents' Scholarship fund, which is designed to help young clinical chemists receive the quality postdoctoral training that will keep the AACC and the field of laboratory medicine vibrant for years to come. He also successfully completed the merger of the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry with the AACC. He has served many other organizations as well, including being president of the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry. He is also active in the Association of Public Health Laboratories and is a member of the governing council of the International Society for Newborn Screening.