October 2011
Feature Story

C. Robert Baisden, MD, was presented Sept. 11 with the Pathologist of the Year Award during an evening event at the CAP ’11 annual meeting in Grapevine, Tex. The Resident of the Year was presented with his award at the same time. Twenty-two others received awards at separate meeting events at the Gaylord Texan.

Dr. Baisden was honored for his contribution to the College’s international market expansion through his leadership role and efforts in the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program.

Dr. Baisden was the program’s state commissioner for Georgia for 17 years, and he was the regional commissioner for the Gulf region, where he oversaw inspection assignments and the post-inspection review. Dr. Baisden broadened participation in the inspection program by including pathology residents as part of the Georgia Health Sciences University’s residency training program in Augusta. He received the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program Service Award in 2000.

Dr. Baisden is a professor and chief of clinical pathology emeritus, and he currently serves as a pathologist on the medical staff of the Georgia Health Sciences University Hospital.

Thomas Arnason, MD, received the Resident of the Year Award for his contributions as the junior member on the Council on Laboratory Accreditation. In this role, Dr. Arnason provided important input to the 2010 accreditation checklist item changes and the CAP’s Laboratory Accreditation Program strategic decisions.

Dr. Arnason’s research manuscripts were accepted for publication in five journals in 2010 and 2011: Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Neuroendocrinology, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Archives of Dermatology, and Diagnostic Cytopathology. He presented preliminary results from his Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine article (to be published in December) at the Canadian Association of Pathologists annual meeting and received the Donald Penner Award, which was the highest resident research award for the Canadian conference. The CAP Foundation has awarded Dr. Arnason with a research grant to study gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Dr. Arnason is a resident in the anatomic pathology residency training program at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He will begin a fellowship in gastrointestinal pathology and research in July 2012 at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Joseph E. Parisi, MD, was presented with the Laboratory Improvement Program Service Award for more than 15 years of service to the College’s neuropathology program. He began his involvement with the Neuropathology Committee in 1995, and since then he has served in virtually every role as a member, advisor, vice chair, and chair.

Dr. Parisi has also served as a member of the Council on Scientific Affairs Education Working Group, and he serves now as a member of the Autopsy Committee and the Cancer Protocol Editorial Panel. He is a 2011 recipient of the CAP Transformation Spotlight Service Award. He was president of the American Association of Neuropathologists from 2003 to 2004.

Dr. Parisi is a professor of pathology and director of the fellowship training program in neuropathology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He is a consultant in the Anatomic Pathology Division in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.

Denise K. Driscoll, MS, MT (ASCP) SBB, was given the Laboratory Accreditation Program Service Award, established in honor of the late Maj. General Joseph Blumberg, for her outstanding service to the Laboratory Accreditation Program. Driscoll has managed the accreditation decisions, requirements, and regulatory and customer relationships since 1995, when she started as a regulatory analyst, then became accreditation cycle director, and in 2004 the CAP’s director of the Laboratory Accreditation Program and regulatory affairs. She is responsible for the success and overall management of the program.

Nancy E. Cornish, MD, received the Excellence in Teaching Award as a leader and mentor in the pathology profession and through her development of exceptional learning presentations and programs in microbiology. For more than two decades, Dr. Cornish has been an active member of the College, and for many years as a presenter of educational courses. In addition, she has made significant contributions to the Curriculum Committee.

Dr. Cornish is the medical officer in the Division of Laboratory Science and Standards, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jennifer Leigh Hunt, MD, MEd, was given the Excellence in Teaching Award for her contributions to the specialty, including teaching courses and laboratory sessions for medical students in several areas of pathology. Dr. Hunt also was recognized for her supervision of residents and her participation in numerous continuing education and postgraduate courses. She is known nationally and internationally as an exceptional lecturer and for her subspecialty expertise in diagnostic head, neck, and endocrine pathology and molecular pathology. She won the CAP Foundation Lansky Award in 2006.

Dr. Hunt is chair of pathology at the University of Arkansas, where she holds the Aubrey J. Hough Jr., MD, endowed professorship. She is president-elect of the Association for Molecular Pathology.

David G. Hicks, MD, was honored with the Excellence in Education Award for his work on the Breast Predictive Factors Testing Advanced Practical Pathology Program (BPFT AP3). The program, a key activity of the College’s transformation initiative, offers interested pathologists the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate and interpret accurately breast cancer predictive factors.

Dr. Hicks has presented numerous workshops at national meetings, and he was vice chair of the Self-Assessment Module Committee. He has served as a subject matter expert for the Breast Predictive Factors Testing and Multidisciplinary Breast Pathology working groups. Dr. Hicks was also a member of the ASCO/CAP ER-PgR Full Panel Guideline Committee, and he is now co-chair of the ASCO/CAP HER2 Testing in Breast Cancer Committee for revision of the HER2 guidelines for breast cancer.

Dr. Hicks is director of surgical pathology at the University of Rochester (NY) Medical Center.

David M. Parham, MD, won the Distinguished Patient Care Award for his contributions to patient care, especially for children afflicted with cancer and other diseases. Dr. Parham has devoted more than 30 years of service working with local, national, and international groups to expand the knowledge and understanding of diseases and their diagnosis in pediatric pathology.

Dr. Parham has contributed countless hours to professional medical and pathology societies and committees, including as president of the Society for Pediatric Pathology, consultant to the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration, and chair of the Pathology Discipline Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group, which he and others organized from several previously separate national oncology research groups.

Dr. Parham is a pediatric pathologist at the Children’s Hospital at Oklahoma University Medical Center and director of pediatric pathology at Oklahoma Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Oklahoma City. He is a professor of pathology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Robert L. Breckenridge, MD, MBA, was given the Outstanding Service Award, established in honor of the late Frank W. Hartman, MD, for his extensive service and contributions to the College. He has been active in the CAP for more than 25 years, most notably as a member of the Board of Governors. He has served on numerous councils and committees, including as chair of the Council on Membership and Professional Development and as member of the Council on Scientific Affairs, Council on Government and Professional Affairs, and Microbiology Resource Committee. He was a member and chair of the CAP EXCEL Advisory Committee. Dr. Breckenridge held the position of key contact and represented Missouri as a member of the House of Delegates from 1983 to 2004. He also served as delegation chair. In addition, Dr. Breckenridge was a member of the CAP Foundation’s Board of Directors. Currently, he is a member of the Spokespersons Network and serves as an advisor to the Residents Forum Executive Committee.

Dr. Breckenridge is a pathologist with MAWD Pathology Group in North Kansas City, Mo., and laboratory medical director, North Kansas City Hospital Laboratory. He was secretary/treasurer and president of the Missouri Society of Pathologists.

David S. Wilkinson, MD, PhD, received the Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to pathology and the CAP through his work developing innovative programs in evidence-based quality laboratory performance and management. In his more than 25 years of service with the CAP, Dr. Wilkinson has served as an inspector and participated in numerous committees, including as the chair of the Quality Practices Committee.

Dr. Wilkinson is a professor of pathology and health administration, chairman of the Department of Pathology, and director of the molecular genetic pathology fellowship at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond. He is laboratory director, Virginia Commonwealth Health System, Department of Pathology.

Kathleen A. McMonigal, MD, was given the Public Service Award, established in honor of the late Frank C. Coleman, MD, for her accomplishments and dedication to patients while serving as chief pathologist and director of clinical laboratories for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Her contributions to the U.S. Space Program include designing, organizing, and implementing a system for data and specimen retrieval that allows astronauts to obtain their own specimens in microgravity and during flight for current and future investigations. These specimens are housed in the NASA Biological Specimen Repository, which the clinical laboratory maintains. She serves as a consultant to physicians who study the effects of space travel on astronauts.

Dr. McMonigal also was instrumental in setting medical standards for astronaut selection before review by the Aerospace Medicine Board. As chair of the Johnson Space Center’s Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (NASA’s institutional review board), she currently oversees the safety and ethics of all human research involved in space travel. Previously, she was the medical director of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory of NASA. She also serves as chair on the Human Research Multilateral Review Board, and she is the lead developer and director of the NASA Biospecimen Repository.

Suzanne Zein-Eldin Powell, MD, won the Resident Advocate Award for her contributions to and support of pathology residents and fellows. She has work-ed extensively in the development of resident education with the Residents Forum, and as current chair of the Residency Review Committee for Pathology of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and chair of the Residency Program Directors Section of the Association of Pa-thology Chairs.

Dr. Powell has been vice chair of the CAP Graduate Medical Education Committee and the Neuropathology Committee. She also was a member of the Education/Curriculum Committee.

Dr. Powell is chief of neuropathology and vice chair of education in the Department of Pathology at the Methodist Hospital System and a consulting neuropathologist at the Texas Children’s Hospital and Ben Taub General Hospital, Houston. Dr. Powell is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and clinical professor of pathology at Baylor College of Medicine.

Caroline Leilani Valdes, MD, was honored with the CAP Foundation Lansky Award, established to honor the late Herbert Lansky, MD, for her service and commitment to excellence, leadership, and the advancement of pathology education and science.

Dr. Valdes has made significant contributions to the College since joining in 2004 as a resident. She has served on many CAP committees, including Member and Public Communications, Strategic Planning, Strategy Management, Federal and State Affairs, and Transformation Program Office Module 2. She currently participates in curriculum development for the Advanced Practical Pathology programs, serves on the Patient Simulations Program Task Force, and participates as an active member of the Spokespersons Network. She is the editor of NewsPath and chair of the NewsPath Editorial Board. She has been an active member of the Residents Forum.

Dr. Valdes is a staff pathologist at Regional Medical Laboratory, Victoria, Tex.

Ranjana Arora, MBBS, MD, MPH, received the CAP Foundation Leadership Development Award for her service to the pathology profession in her dedication to improving public health, disease surveillance, and clinical microbiology instruction and research.

Dr. Arora’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and she has presented her research and case reports at national and international meetings. She has won several research awards, among them the Gold Medal and Dr. Kusum Pandit Memorial Award for Best MD Thesis in 2000. In 2005, Dr. Arora authored Review of Microbiology, a guide for residents and medical students preparing for their boards. She received a CAP 2011 Futurescape Conference Award.

Dr. Arora is a resident at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Ten pathologists were honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their contributions to one or more areas of the CAP over an extended period. They are as follows:

David J. Blomberg, MD, for his devotion to the Laboratory Accreditation Program, having conducted more than 150 inspections in the U.S. and abroad. During his 30-year service, Dr. Blomberg was Minnesota state commissioner for seven years and deputy regional commissioner for pediatric hospitals for an additional 15 years. As a member of the Hematology and Clinical Microscopy Resource Committee and the Publications Committee, Dr. Blomberg co-authored two successful CAP books, Color Atlas of Body Fluids and Color Atlas of the Urinary Sediment. He also has contributed countless hours organizing and giving pathology lectures in chemistry and physiology, as well as general pathology.

Dr. Blomberg was president of the Lake Superior Pathology Society and the Minnesota Society of Pathologists, where he still serves on its board of directors. He was a member of the Duluth Graduate Medical Education Advisory Committee from 1998 to 2005.

Most recently, Dr. Blomberg was the director of laboratories at the White Community Hospital in Aurora, Minn., and at the North Shore Hospital in Grand Marais, Minn. He was a faculty member in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.

William J. Castellani, MD, for his contributions to the Laboratory Accreditation Program, having participated in more than 50 CAP inspections in his 25 years of service. Dr. Castellani holds several leadership positions: LAP interregional commissioner, chair of the CAP 15189 Committee, and vice chair of the Standards Committee. He also serves on a work group of the International Organization for Standardization as CAP liaison and as an expert member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group. Dr. Castellani is a member of the CAP Diagnostic Intelligence and Health Information Technology Committee and the Checklists Committee. He has served on numerous committees and councils, including as chair of the Instrumentation Resource Committee.

Dr. Castellani is a consultant with the Food and Drug Administration. In addition, he is the medical director of clinical chemistry and a professor of pathology at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine.

Diane D. Davey, MD, for her commitment to patients and pathology. Dr. Davey is a founding member of the CAP Cytopathology Committee. She served as the committee’s chair from 1998 to 2001. She was president in 2001 and 2002 of the American Society of Cytopathology and moderator for the National Cancer Institute Bethesda 2001 Workshop for Cervical Cytology Terminology. Dr. Davey has served on committees of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology and American Cancer Society, and she developed management guidelines for Pap tests and the HPV vaccine. She has been an advisor to the FDA and NCI and serves on editorial boards for four journals, including Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. She has represented Kentucky in the CAP House of Delegates.

Dr. Davey serves as vice president and trustee for the American Board of Pathology and is a member of the Pathology Residency Review Committee for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

She is a professor of pathology and assistant dean in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando. She is a pathologist at the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Paul S. Fekete, MD, for his role in the growth of the Competency Assessment Program, his passion for improving laboratory quality, and his entrepreneurial style, all of which have provided a model for the practice of laboratory medicine and the College.

Dr. Fekete has since 2003 been an advisor to and member of the Education Committee and a member of the Curriculum Committee. His contributions have included expanding the curriculum, enhancing course objectives to align with the scope of service and test activities in the clinical lab, improving system capabilities, and offering a selection of OSHA compliance courses to round out the program’s course offerings.

Dr. Fekete is an active member of the Georgia Association of Pathologists, and he has been president of the Atlanta Society of Pathologists.

Dr. Fekete is president of Gwinnett Pathology Associates, PC, Atlanta. He serves as president of MediaLab, also in Atlanta, which is a strategic alliance partner to the CAP and a provider of online safety training, compliance courses, and continuing education to clinical laboratories and medical technologists.

Gerald R. Hanson, MD, for his contributions to the profession and to the College as a representative in the House of Delegates and as a member of numerous councils and committees.

Dr. Hanson’s involvement with the College spans nearly three decades. He is a member now of the Council on Government and Professional Affairs and chair of the Member Professional Affairs Committee, and he serves on the Diagnostic Intelligence and Health IT Committee Policy Working Group under this council. He is a member of the ACO Steering Committee and ACO Network, and the CAP’s Case for Change Module 3 workgroup. He previously was vice chair of the Practice Management Committee.

Dr. Hanson has held leadership positions in the California Society of Pathologists, including the presidency from 2000 to 2002 and vice presidency from 1997 to 1999. He was treasurer and a member of the American Pathology Foundation’s board of trustees.

Dr. Hanson’s career as a pathologist includes leadership roles as associate director and vice chair in the Department of Pathology at Long Beach (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center. He was a clinical associate professor in pathology at the University of California, Irvine.

Henry A. Homburger, MD, for his contributions to the College and pathology for more than 30 years. Since joining the CAP in 1978 as a member of the Chemistry Committee, Dr. Homburger has held several leadership positions. He was chair of the Commission on Clinical Pathology, the Diagnostic Immunology Committee, and the Cell Markers Committee. He has served as an advisor to the Molecular Pathology Committee. Dr. Homburger served on the Council on Scientific Affairs and on several committees: Publications, Surveys, Information Sciences and Technology, Quality Improvement, Strategy Management, and Education. He is a member now of the Diagnostic Immunology Committee.

Dr. Homburger is laboratory director at Phadia Immunology Reference Laboratory, Kalamazoo, Mich. He is a professor emeritus of laboratory medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, where he practiced until retiring in 2008.

Alvin M. Ring, MD, for his contributions to the CAP and to pathology spanning more than four decades. He has been a member of the Insurance and Membership committees and chair of the task force on emeritus members. He is now a member of the CAP Political Action Committee and the CAP Foundation Awards subcommittee. Dr. Ring is a member of the Spokespersons Network and House of Delegates. He also is a member of the CAP Advocacy Network, and he has led three laboratory tours for local members of the U.S. Congress.

Dr. Ring established medical technology and histotechnology teaching programs and served as a chairman of the National Accrediting Agency for five years. He developed and coordinated national postgraduate and board review courses for pathologists, primary care physicians, and surgeons and authored four textbooks and many scientific papers. Dr. Ring served on the editorial boards of two journals.

He was on the board and on committees of the Illinois Society of Pathologists and the Chicago Pathology Society. He was on the board of trustees of the Association for Brain Tumor Research.

Dr. Ring is chief pathologist and medical director of laboratories at Silver Cross Hospital, Joliet, Ill. He is a clinical professor of pathology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and was adjunct professor and medical director of the medical technology program at Moraine Valley Community College.

Susan M. Strate, MD, for her contributions to the CAP and pathology. Dr. Strate has served on the Practice Management, Finance, and Economic Affairs committees, among others. She has served as an inspector in the Laboratory Accreditation Program for more than 25 years and has served in the House of Delegates for nearly two decades.

Dr. Strate is active in the AMA, Texas Medical Association, and Wichita County Medical Society, in which she has held many leadership positions. She exemplifies lifelong involvement as a patient and physician advocate, for which she received the Wichita General Hospital Phillip A. Carpenter Memorial Award in 1997 and the Wichita County Medical Society Distinguished Service Award in 2010.

Dr. Strate is the medical director at Kell West Regional Hospital Laboratory, Sheppard Air Force Base Ambulatory Care Facility Laboratory, Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District Laboratory, and North Texas Medical Laboratory, all in Wichita Falls, Tex. She is a consulting physician and medical director at the Hamilton Hospital Laboratory in Olney, Tex. In addition, Dr. Strate is a consulting pathologist at the Faith Community Hospital in Jacksboro, Tex.; a consulting physician at the Seymour Hospital in Seymour, Tex.; and a pathologist for the United Regional Health Care System, Wichita Falls.

Ronald L. Weiss, MD, MBA, for his contributions to patient care and pathology. Dr. Weiss since 1984 has been an active member in the CAP House of Delegates as the Utah representative. He has been a member of the Laboratory Fiscal Management and the Economic Affairs committees. He is active now in many of the CAP’s transformation work groups and serves as the state issues advisor for Utah.

He is a leader in community service with the University of Utah School of Business National Advisory Board, University of Utah Commercialization Advisory Board and Executive Board, and the Utah Technology Council Life Sciences P2P Workshop. Dr. Weiss is past chairman of the board of the American Clinical Laboratory Association and past president of the American Pathology Foundation.

Dr. Weiss is a professor of pathology and staff hematopathologist at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City. He is the director of faculty outreach for technology ventures development, University of Utah. He previously served on the executive management team of the university’s ARUP Laboratories.

Washington C. Winn Jr., MD, posthumously, for service to the College and to the profession. Dr. Winn first joined the College in 1989 as a member of the Microbiology Committee. He later served on the Laboratory Fiscal Management Committee and Council on Scientific Affairs, and he had been chair of the Microbiology and Surveys committees. He was a member of the Checklists Committee at the time of his death, on July 3, 2011.

Dr. Winn contributed to numerous local and national committees and professional organizations, among them the American Registry of Medical Technology, National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, and Infection Control Committee of the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont.

Dr. Winn was a professor of pathology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, and director of the clinical microbiology laboratory, Fletcher Allen Health Care Center, Burlington.