Star performers celebrated at CAP '07

November 2007
Feature Story

Ronald B. Lepoff, MD, was named the 2007 Pathologist of the Year during a ceremony at CAP '07 in Chicago.

Dr. Lepoff was CAP secretary-treasurer from 2005-2006. He has served as a member of the Board of Governors; as state, regional, and special commissioner for the Laboratory Accreditation Program; as chair of the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation; and as a member of numerous CAP committees and councils, including the councils on Scientific Affairs and on Government and Professional Affairs.

At the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Dr. Lepoff is professor of pathology and medicine, vice chair of pathology and head of the section of clinical pathology, and director of clinical laboratories at the University of Colorado Hospital.

R. Bruce Williams, MD, was awarded the Outstanding Service Award for his contributions to the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program as state commissioner for Louisiana, South Central regional commissioner, and as the current vice chair of the Council on Accreditation and chair of the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation. Dr. Williams is a member of The Delta Pathology Group, LLC, and a clinical associate professor of pathology at Louisiana State University Health Science Center.

Thomas D. Trainer, MD, was honored with the Laboratory Improvement Program Service Award, presented to a person serving within the ranks of the CAP's Council on Scientific Affairs who has demonstrated exceptional service. Dr. Trainer is honored for his contributions and service to CAP laboratory improvement programs. Dr. Trainer is an attending pathologist at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, Burlington, and emeritus professor of pathology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Gerald A. Hoeltge, MD, received the Laboratory Accreditation Program Service Award for his contributions and dedication to the CAP Laboratory Accreditation program by conducting laboratory inspections for the past 30 years, and for his service as Ohio state commissioner, deputy regional commissioner, Great Lakes regional commissioner, and interregional commissioner.

Dr. Hoeltge is a pathologist in the Section of Transfusion Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. He was previously chair of the clinic's Department of Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine.

Joan H. Howanitz, MD, was one of six recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. She was recognized for her service as a member, chair, and advisor to the CAP Chemistry Resource and Special Chemistry committees, support of the EXCEL Committee, and her representation of the CAP as a liaison to the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

Dr. Howanitz is director of laboratories at Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY, and associate director of laboratories, director of clinical chemistry, and vice chair for administration at State University of New York, Brooklyn.

Franklin R. Elevitch, MD, was one of six recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was recognized for his service over the years as a member, chair, and advisor to various CAP councils and committees, including the Informatics and Management Resource committees, the Project Management Team, and the SNOMED International Authority.

Dr. Elevitch is CEO of Health Care Engineering, Palo Alto, Calif.

Chantal R. Harrison, MD, was one of six recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. She was recognized for her service as a member, chair, and advisor to the Transfusion Medicine Resource and the Histocompatibility/ Identity Testing committees and for her continuing service as the Mid-South regional commissioner, chair of the Continuous Compliance Committee, and member of the Executive Committee of the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation.

Dr. Harrison is a professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

P. Joanne Cornbleet, MD, PhD, was one of six recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. She was recognized for her service as a member and chair of the CAP Hematology/ Clinical Microscopy Committee and as a member of the CAP Federal and State Affairs Committee.

Dr. Cornbleet is associate professor of pathology, emeritus, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, Calif.

George W. Knabe, Jr., MD, was one of six recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was recognized for his work in establishing the College's public affairs program and for initiating "NewsPath," the College's series of online, individual articles written by pathologists to enhance pathologists' communication with other physicians.

Dr. Knabe, now retired, was a professor of pathology and later dean of the University of South Dakota School of Medicine.

Thomas A. Merrick, MD, was one of six recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was recognized for his service to the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation as regional commissioner, education commissioner, and Colorado and Wyoming state commissioner.

Dr. Merrick, of Denver, is with Unipath, PC.

Margaret L. Gulley, MD, was honored with the CAP Foundation Lansky Award for her contributions aimed at developing and improving medical practice in the field of molecular pathology through patient care, research, and education.

She is director of molecular pathology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and director of UNC's Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship training program. Under her guidance, this training program was the first in the nation to graduate a fellow who went on to become a board-certified molecular genetic pathologist.

Dr. Gulley is chair of the CAP Molecular Pathology Committee and of the Molecular Pathology and Genetics Cluster. She holds positions in many professional groups, including the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Cancer and Leukemia Group B sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. She is a former president of the Association for Molecular Pathology.

Ronald M. Harris, MD, MBA, was one of five recipients of the CAP Foundation Humanitarian Grant Award, supported by the CAP and Olympus America. This grant will support the collaborative vision of Dr. Harris and the Opportunity Fund for Developing Countries to improve HIV/AIDS testing in Nakuru, Kenya. Dr. Harris has been a member of the Opportunity Fund board since early this year and has made five trips to Nakuru, Kenya, in hopes of improving medical care in the region. The CAP Foundation's grant will make it possible for him to purchase medical equipment and supplies.

Dr. Harris is an associate professor in the Departments of Dermatology and Pathology and associate vice president for health sciences diversity, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City.

Cathy A. Petti, MD, was one of five recipients of the CAP Foundation Humanitarian Grant Award, supported by the CAP and Olympus America. This grant will support the collaborative vision of Dr. Petti and the Department of Pathology, University of Utah, to improve the quality of medical care in Eldoret, Kenya. Through the University of Utah School of Medicine, Dr. Petti has been involved with a team of physicians in field-based volunteer work for the past four years. Her most recent trip to Eldoret made clear the need for improvements in the anatomic and clinical laboratory infrastructure of Moi University School of Medicine and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. This grant will make it possible for Dr. Petti to collaborate with faculty at Moi University to shift the region's practice of syndromic diagnoses toward laboratory-supported diagnoses.

Dr. Petti is medical director of the infectious diseases laboratory at ARUP Laboratories, Salt Lake City, and assistant professor of pathology and medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine.

James F. Keefe, MD, was one of five recipients of the CAP Foundation Humanitarian Grant Award, supported by the CAP and Olympus America. He is recognized for his work in helping developing countries through the Los Angeles Society of Pathology Education Fund. Dr. Keefe and others train pathologists from underdeveloped countries so they can return to their native countries with more knowledge of pathology. The grant will make it possible for Dr. Keefe to train Arturo Heredia, MD, a pathologist who finished his training recently in Lima, Peru, and is now the sole pathologist working in Pucallpa, Peru. The grant will cover Dr. Heredia's travel and other expenses while he is in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Society of Pathology began its support and education project seven years ago. To date, more than $50,000 has been raised to fund it.

Dr. Keefe is a staff pathologist at Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Inglewood, Calif.

Adekunle M. Adesina, MD, PhD, was one of five recipients of the CAP Foundation Humanitarian Grant Award, supported by the CAP and Olympus America. This grant will support the collaborative vision of Dr. Adesina and Friends of Africa to improve the medical care of sub-Saharan Africa. The project was developed through Friends of Africa, which a group of North American and North American-based African pathologists initiated to help pathologists in Africa. Free journals began to be provided in January 2006 and have been funded through donation efforts led by Dr. Adesina and through the Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. This grant will make it possible for Dr. Adesina to mail copies of two pathology journals to 55 pathologists in 15 sub-Saharan countries.

Dr. Adesina is chief of the neuropathology program at Baylor College of Medicine and director of neuropathology and molecular neuropathology, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston.

Shabin Nanji, MBChB, was one of five recipients of the CAP Foundation Humanitarian Grant Award, supported by the CAP and Olympus America. This grant will support Dr. Nanji's vision to improve medical care for women in the cities of Narok, Tigoni, and Nakuru in Kenya. Dr. Nanji developed this project and is now creating a formal organization. The grant will make it possible for her to strengthen the infrastructure of medical facilities and to begin screening thousands of Kenyan women for cervical cancer.

Dr. Nanji is a faculty member in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, and a staff pathologist in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto.