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 It may contain other out-of-date information as well.
The AACC Lectureship Award
Dr. Vagelos is retired chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Merck & Co. He served as senior surgeon and section head of comparative biochemistry at the National Institutes of Health for a decade. In 1966 he became chair of the department of biological chemistry at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and in 1973 founded the university’s division of biology and biomedical sciences. He joined Merck in 1975 as senior vice president for research and became president of its research division in 1976. In 1985, he became CEO, a post from which he retired in 1994. Before assuming broader responsibilities of business leadership, Dr. Vagelos had won scientific recognition as an authority on lipids and enzymes and as a research manager. The author of more than 100 scientific papers, he received the Enzyme Chemistry Award of the American Chemical Society in 1976. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He has received 14 honorary doctorates, and his many awards in science and business include the Lawrence A. Wien Prize in Social Responsibility from Columbia University and the National Academy of Sciences Award for Chemistry in Service to Society. He served as chairman of the board of the University of Pennsylvania and chairs the board of visitors at Columbia University Medical Center. He is currently chair of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Theravance, two biotech companies.