Awards, honors given for sterling service

Philip T. Cagle, MD, was presented Oct. 13 with the Pathologist of the Year award during an evening event at the CAP ’13 annual meeting in Kissimmee, Fla. At the same event, at the Gaylord Palms Orlando, Feriyl Bhaijee, MBChB, was honored as Resident of the Year, and Si Van Nguyen, MD, received the second annual CAP Foundation Gene & Jean Herbek Humanitarian award.

Twenty-three others received CAP or CAP Foundation awards at other times during CAP ’13.

Dr. Cagle, editor-in-chief of the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, is not only Pathologist of the Year but also a recipient of the Distinguished Patient Care award for his leadership in the development of consensus recommendations for lung cancer biomarkers and in the continuing development of best practices for molecular medicine.

Dr. Cagle co-chaired the multiyear CAP Pathology and Laboratory Quality Center’s lung cancer biomarker consensus initiative. He has worked across disciplines and organizations to standardize molecular test reporting, demonstrating the pathologist’s role as the interpreter who helps guide discussions of treatment options.

Dr. Cagle is the S. Donald Greenberg chair and director of pulmonary pathology, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, and professor of pathology at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City.

In his published note of acceptance of the Pathologist of the Year award, Dr. Cagle said, “It is my distinct privilege to serve alongside so many devoted colleagues—every accomplished goal is the result of team effort. This award belongs to the team.”

Dr. Feriyl Bhaijee was honored for her dedication to the highest standards of patient care and medical student and resident education and for her achievements as a “next-generation pathologist” who represents and communicates the specialty’s value across interdisciplinary teams within her program and to the public, from patients to policymakers.

Dr. Bhaijee is chief resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). An international medical graduate with Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certification, Dr. Bhaijee completed a six-year undergraduate medical curriculum, graduating with distinction in clinical examinations to earn her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. There, her academic focus included two special study modules in anatomic pathology. Her postgraduate training included a two-year internship at Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital, additional medical teaching and process improvement coursework at UMMC, and electives in gastrointestinal and liver pathology at Johns Hopkins University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She has authored or coauthored 37 peer-reviewed publications and 26 abstracts presented at meetings.

Dr. Si Van Nguyen was given the CAP Foundation Gene & Jean Herbek Humanitarian award for his insight, leadership, and commitment to providing direct-patient services to women through the Foundation’s See, Test & Treat program.

A native of Vietnam who came to the U.S. as a refugee more than 30 years ago, Dr. Si Nguyen recognized early and responded often to health vulnerabilities among Southeast Asians living in the U.S. Last year he spearheaded the first See, Test & Treat in Southern California, bringing together more than 70 volunteers to screen nearly 200 women in a single day at the Nhân Hòa Comprehensive Health Care Clinic in Garden Grove. He led a second such screening on Nov. 2.

Dr. Si Nguyen is a member of Affiliated Pathologists Medical Group in Torrance. He serves as laboratory medical director for Orange County’s Huntington Beach and Garden Grove hospitals. He also provides pathology services to Cynogen, a molecular testing lab in Irvine.

Dr. Si Nguyen is a past president of the Vietnamese American Physicians Association of Southern California and is now vice president of the Vietnamese American Medical Association (VAMA). He has participated in numerous cancer screenings, surveys, and studies for the Asian community, including cervical cancer prevention projects in Vietnam, the Project Vietnam initiative of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the World Health Ambassadors Project of the VAMA.

Other awards presented were as follows:

Distinguished Patient Care award, to Marc Ladanyi, MD, for his collaborative success in developing evidence-based recommendations for lung cancer biomarkers and in the continuing development of best practices for molecular medicine.

Dr. Ladanyi served as one of the co-chairs of the Pathology and Laboratory Quality Center expert panel that created evidence-based recommendations for lung cancer biomarkers. He and his co-chairs led the review of the significant volume of evidence that provides the foundation for the credibility of the guideline.

Dr. Ladanyi is an attending pathologist in the Molecular Diagnostics Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he codirects the Genome Data Analysis Center, which is part of The Cancer Genome Atlas project network. In 2004, as head of the clinical molecular diagnostic laboratories at MSKCC, Dr. Ladanyi established EGFR mutation detection assays that allowed early implementation of lung cancer mutation testing, and since then the clinical laboratory at MSKCC has analyzed the tumors from more than 6,000 lung cancer patients for EGFR mutations and more than 1,000 patients for ALK fusions. Dr. Ladanyi has been a leader in recent efforts to introduce into routine practice even broader large-scale screening of patient tumor specimens for additional mutations that can be targets for new drugs.

Distinguished Patient Care award, to Neal I. Lindeman, MD, for his collaborative success in developing evidence-based recommendations for lung cancer biomarkers and in the continuing development of best practices for molecular medicine.

As a current member of the CAP Molecular Oncology Committee, he has contributed significantly to the College-wide efforts to standardize molecular testing.

Dr. Lindeman co-chaired the Pathology and Laboratory Quality Center expert panel that created evidence-based recommendations for lung cancer biomarkers. He and his co-chairs led the review of the significant volume of evidence that provides the foundation for the credibility of the guideline.

Dr. Lindeman’s leadership in developing best practices for molecular medicine, including his work on a multiorganizational team to standardize molecular test reporting, demonstrates the importance of the pathologist’s role in the high-value oncology practicing pathway.

Dr. Lindeman serves as director of molecular diagnostics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate professor of pathology, Harvard Medical School.

Outstanding Service award, to Teresa M. Darragh, MD, for her contributions to a standardized terminology for HPV-associated squamous lesions.

Dr. Darragh co-chaired, with David C. Wilbur, MD, the steering committee for the Lower Anogenital Squamous Terminology (LAST) Standardization Project for HPV-associated Lesions. This joint project with the CAP’s Pathology and Laboratory Quality Center and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology provided consensus recommendations for unifying the terminology used to describe histopathologic diagnoses of HPV-associated squamous lesions of the lower anogenital tract. More than 40 panel members were involved in the multiyear project that resulted in a consensus conference with 35 participating organizations voting on the final recommendations. Dr. Darragh designed a logical approach to the topic, identified the barriers to implementation, and created a forum for discussing the disparate points of view. In addition, she co-chaired the work group responsible for the unification of terminology of superficially invasive cancers.

Dr. Darragh is president of the ASCCP.

Outstanding Service award, to David C. Wilbur, MD, for his contributions to standardizing cytopathology practices.

Dr. Wilbur chairs the CAP’s Technology Assessment Committee and is a former chair of the Cytopathology Committee and Anatomic Pathology Cluster. He served the Council on Scientific Affairs, Performance Measures Working Group, and Workload Recording Committee. Dr. Wilbur co-chaired with Teresa Darragh, MD, the CAP’s Pathology and Laboratory Quality Center’s steering committee to create consensus recommendations for unifying the terminology used to describe HPV-associated squamous lesions of the lower anogenital tract. He co-chaired the work group that examined the potential molecular markers for diagnosis and brought the stakeholders to consensus on this issue.

Dr. Wilbur is a former president of the American Society of Cytopathology.

Distinguished Service award, to Alfred Lui, MD, for his leadership in the successful promotion of private pathology practices and his ongoing contributions to organized pathology at the local, state, and national levels.

Dr. Lui has held multiple roles in professional societies, often simultaneously, all while developing one of the largest and most successful private practices in California. His leadership roles include service to the CAP Council on Education, Council on Membership and Professional Development, and Publications Committee. He is past president of the California Society of Pathologists, where he serves now on the CSP Education Committee.
Dr. Lui is chief medical officer and chairman of the board of Pathology Inc., an independent laboratory in Torrance. He is the cofounder of four pathology and independent laboratory companies, of which two are still in operation. In addition to Pathology Inc., Dr. Lui cofounded Affiliated Pathologists Medical Group, which has grown from a two-person group to 37 pathologists providing services to 14 hospitals and three independent laboratory locations in California, Oregon, and Arizona. Pathology Inc. is the largest independent laboratory in California with close to 400 employees and a focus on women’s health testing.

Public Service award, to Barbara A. Crothers, DO, for accomplishments and dedication to political and civic life and to public service in the United States. The College salutes Dr. Crothers’ longstanding leadership and commitment to ensuring that U.S. military personnel have access to cutting-edge pathology services and expertise.

A U.S. Army colonel, Dr. Crothers is the program director of the National Capital Consortium’s anatomic and clinical pathology residency program. She is also medical director of cytopathology at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Earlier, she served as a pathology consultant and chief of anatomic pathology at the 44th MEDCOM 10th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom and held similar posts in service to the 18th MEDCOM in Seoul, Korea.

Dr. Crothers received five U.S. Armed Forces Meritorious Service medals and two Army Commendation medals. Her clinical awards include the Roy M. Pitkin award for outstanding research in the Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the NCC’s Pathology Resident Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Crothers chairs the CAP’s Cytopathology Committee.

Resident Advocate award, to Samara Lingafelter, CMP, CEM, for her dedication and support of pathology residents.

A member of the CAP staff for more than 25 years, Lingafelter developed the strategic plan for CAP resident activities in her role as the coordinator of pathology resident affairs. The plan led to the establishment of pathology’s first organized residents section, the Residents Forum. Her work included creating bylaws, committees, program format, and content.

After the forum’s launch, Lingafelter worked as manager of medical student, resident, and young physician services. She initiated, managed, and supervised pathology resident activities within the CAP, organized and directed activities for residents serving on CAP committees, implemented actions taken at committee meetings, and represented CAP residents at other medical organizations. She is now senior manager of the annual meeting and exhibits.

CAP Foundation Leadership Development award, to Joanna Conant, MD, for her interest in the complex issues surrounding the future of pathology, her aspiration to influence local and national policies that shape the specialty, and her commitment to keeping patient well-being at the core of her clinical service.

Dr. Conant is an anatomic and clinical pathology resident at the University of Vermont College of Medicine where earlier as a medical student she received a research merit award. Dr. Conant demonstrated national initiative when her poster research presentation was named among the top three at the CDC’s Public Health Information Network Conference in 2009.
Dr. Conant serves on multiple quality improvement committees at the university’s allied Fletcher Allen Health Care and Hospital. She is a delegate to the CAP’s Residents Forum, a junior member of the American Society for Clinical Pathology and American Society of Hematology, and a general member of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology.

CAP Foundation Leadership Development award, to Whitney Ann McCarthy, MD, for her interest in pursuing leadership roles to help improve pathologist residency training at the local and national levels.

Dr. McCarthy, a pathology resident at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, has won numerous academic scholarships and in 2012 received the Stuart A. Wallace medical student award for excellence in pathology from Baylor College of Medicine, where she earned her medical degree.
She is an active member of the CAP Residents Forum and of the ASCP, Houston Society of Clinical Pathologists, and Texas Society of Pathologists. She presents her research at conferences of these societies.

CAP Foundation Leadership Development award, to Jordan A. Roberts, MD, for his focus on the future, his appreciation of the need to integrate pathology services into the changing framework of patient care, and his quest to deepen his understanding of the links between health policies, patients, providers, and pathologists.

He is an anatomic and clinical pathology resident at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. He presented two research poster abstracts at CAP ’13.

Dr. Roberts served as the first president of the newly formed pathology student interest group at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, where he earned his medical degree.

CAP Foundation Leadership Development award, to Meggen A. Walsh, DO, for her early involvement in the specialty and enthusiasm for sharing new policy and training ideas with her colleagues and residency program leaders.

Dr. Walsh is a pathology resident at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and serves as resident board member of the CAP’s Strategy and Risk Management Committee.

A winner of multiple scholarships for academic excellence, Dr. Walsh received two teaching appointments, first as a preceptor for physician assistant students at DeSales University and, later, as a small-group medical student instructor in cardiac anatomy. She has presented research nationally at the University of Kentucky First Annual Neuro-Oncology Symposium and at the American Academy of Neuropathology, as well as internationally, at the 2012 Irish American Pediatric Conference in Belfast.

Laboratory Improvement Program Service award, to Anthony A. Killeen, MD, PhD, for his many years of service to the College’s Laboratory Accreditation Program for which he served as a laboratory inspector.

Dr. Killeen is a professor and vice chair for clinical affairs in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota. He chairs the CAP Instrumentation Resource Committee and the Accuracy-Based Surveys Workgroup. He has served as member, vice chair, and chair of the CAP Chemistry Resource Committee.

CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program Service award, to Paul Bachner, MD, for his more than 45 years of service to the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program, for which he began as an inspector in 1968. He has twice been a regional commissioner and has served as a member of the Council on Accreditation. Dr. Bachner is now a member of the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Committee.

Dr. Bachner was a member of the Board of Governors and is a past president of the CAP. He was president of the New York State Society of Pathologists from 1987 to 1991, and he was a member of the CDC Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee from 1992 to 1995.

Dr. Bachner is a professor and immediate past chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Kentucky. He is director of laboratories at the University of Kentucky and medical director of the Division of Laboratory Services of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Excellence in Teaching award, to Deborah A. Perry, MD, as a facilitator for the Laboratory Medical Director Advanced Practical Pathology Program. Dr. Perry is recognized for her leadership as an outstanding educator and advocate for pathology and patients.

She is chair of the CAP Point-of-Care Testing Committee and an active member of the CAP Spokespersons Network. She had served on the Hematology Resource and the Publications committees.

Dr. Perry is medical director of pathology at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Omaha, and a pathologist at Nebraska Methodist Hospital.

Excellence in Teaching award, to Michael L. Talbert, MD, as a facilitator for the Laboratory Medical Director Advanced Practical Pathology Program. Dr. Talbert is recognized for his unique perspective as an educator, pathology advocate, and practicing pathologist.

He is the Lloyd E. Rader professor and chairman of the Department of Pathology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He is director of the pathology house staff training program at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

Dr. Talbert is a member of the CAP Quality Practices Committee and an advisor to the Graduate Medical Education Committee, for which he previously served as chair. He has served on the Council on Education, Nominating Committee, and Practice Management Committee.

Excellence in Teaching award, to Thomas L. Williams, MD, as a facilitator for the Laboratory Medical Director Advanced Practical Pathology Program.

Dr. Williams is a former chair of the Publications and the Quality Control committees. He has served on numerous councils and committees, among them the Council on Education, Council on Membership and Professional Development, Chemistry Resource Committee, Quality Assurance Committee, and Surveys Committee. He is a member now of the STS Venture Committee.

Dr. Williams is chair of the Department of Pathology and medical director of the Pathology Center at Nebraska Methodist Hospital in Omaha, as well as laboratory director at the Methodist Physicians Clinic. He is a clinical assistant professor of pathology at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine.
Dr. Williams served as president of the Nebraska Association of Pathologists.

Excellence in Education award, to Elizabeth H. Hammond, MD, for her expertise and contributions to CAP education across the College. Dr. Hammond was recognized for her leadership in planning the education programs for the CAP annual meetings, envisioning and leading the development of the CAP competency model for pathologists, and developing the Breast Predictive Factors Testing Advanced Practical Pathology Program. She has been instrumental in efforts to provide learning programs focused on helping pathologists become more central to the health care team and engaged in the transformation of the specialty.

Dr. Hammond received a second honor—the Pathology Advancement award—for her efforts in establishing the CAP Pathology and Laboratory Quality Center and thus advancing the CAP’s presence in evidence-based research and content development. Dr. Hammond is the first to receive this award.

Dr. Hammond is a consulting pathologist with Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. She is a trustee of the Intermountain Healthcare Research Foundation and a professor of pathology and adjunct professor of internal medicine (cardiology) at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She is director of cardiac transplant pathology with the Utah Cardiac Transplant Program and a member of the National Quality Forum Scientific Advisory Panel for Cancer Specific Performance Measures. She also serves on the University of Utah School of Medicine alumni advisory board.

Dr. Hammond, a past president of the Utah Society of Pathologists, has served as a member of the CAP Board of Governors and on numerous CAP councils and committees. She chaired the CAP Cancer and Education committees.

Lifetime Achievement award, to Katharine Appleton Downes, MD, for her impact on the pathology profession through contributions to the CAP over an extended period.

Dr. Downes chaired the CAP’s Transfusion Medicine Resource Committee, which serves as a resource for oversight of laboratory accreditation in transfusion medicine, laboratory proficiency testing, educational activities, and regulatory issues for more than 4,000 laboratories. The committee oversees 25 Surveys involving complex immunohematology, virology, molecular assays, bacterial cultures, and assays for fetomaternal hemorrhage. Dr. Downes recruited experts for each Survey to ensure competent and reliable performance. She encouraged participation in the educational activities of CAP annual meetings, resulting in the committee’s participation in several roundtables and short educational programs.

Dr. Downes served as a chair of the Hematology Cluster of the CAP Council on Scientific Affairs. She represented the College in external transfusion medicine initiatives, serving as liaison to the American Society of Anesthesiology blood management committee and now as the CAP representative to the CDC National Healthcare Safety Network Hemovigilance Module Stakeholder Group.

She served as chair of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute committee on validation of automated systems for pretransfusion testing.

Dr. Downes is medical director of transfusion medicine/blood bank and of the Coagulation Laboratories, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and assistant professor of pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Lifetime Achievement award, to James D. Faix, MD, for his contributions to the CAP and pathology.

Dr. Faix is a member of the Council on Scientific Affairs, Standards Committee, and Chemistry Resource Committee. He also volunteers for the American Association for Clinical Chemistry and is a member of its program coordinating committee and chair of its division management group. He is a member of the committee for standardization of thyroid function tests of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine.

Dr. Faix is a clinical professor of pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Lifetime Achievement award, to Ann T. Moriarty, MD, for her impact on pathology through contributions to one or more areas of the CAP.

Dr. Moriarty serves in the CAP House of Delegates and as an inspector for the CAP’s Laboratory Accreditation Program. She has been chair and vice chair of the Cytopathology Committee, and she was a member of the Nominating Committee, Ad Hoc Committee on Gynecologic Cytopathology, and Gyn Quality Practices Collaborative Project. She served as American Society of Cytopathology president in 2008 and 2009.

Dr. Moriarty is on the editorial review board of Cancer Cytopathology and the professional advisory board of the Wellness Community of Central Indiana. She teaches in the Indiana University School of Cytotechnology and is a volunteer associate clinical professor in the Department of Pathology at Indiana University Medical Center.

Dr. Moriarty works for AmeriPath Indiana, and she is a pathologist consultant for Mid America Clinical Laboratories and has appointments at six Indiana hospitals.

Lifetime Achievement award, to Raouf E. Nakhleh, MD, for his contributions to the CAP and pathology.

Dr. Nakhleh is a leader in pathology and laboratory medicine quality improvement and chair of the CAP Quality Practices Committee. He has contributed significantly to the CAP-wide efforts to improve pathology practices through his work on the Standards Committee, the Center Committee for Guideline Development, Ad Hoc Committee for Center Plan Development, Surgical Pathology Committee, Pathology Performance Measures Development Working Group, and Cancer Protocol Panel for Gastrointestinal Tumors.

Dr. Nakhleh chaired the first guideline expert panel on Consensus Statement for Effective Communication of Urgent Diagnoses and Significant Unexpected Diagnoses in Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology. He is leading an effort now to develop a guideline that will help reduce interpretive diagnostic errors.
Dr. Nakhleh is professor of pathology and consultant pathologist at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.

Lifetime Achievement award, to Paul A. Raslavicus, MD, for his impact on pathology through contributions to one or more areas of the CAP over an extended period.

Dr. Raslavicus was CAP president from 2001 to 2003. He served as chair of the Council on Government and Professional Affairs and of the Finance, Reimbursement, Strategic Planning, and Information Services committees. He participated in analyses of the future of pathology informatics and digitized pathology imaging and in developing a pathology digital imaging standard.

Dr. Raslavicus has had an abiding interest in health economics and in influencing public policy as it applies to the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine, including molecular pathology and genetics. He served as a technical consultant to the Harvard School of Public Health in the establishment of the Medicare physician payment system. Thereafter, for nearly a decade he was a member of the Current Procedural Terminology editorial panel. He was an early adoptor of information technology within the clinical laboratory that expanded into his current interests in medical procedural terminology, international health care terminology, and issues of health care worldwide. He was an active participant in the establishment of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation.

This year Dr. Raslavicus is completing his term as a director of the World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, as an advisor to the CPT editorial panel, and as a member of the AMA Pathology Coding Caucus, as well as his membership in the Economic Affairs Committee of the Association for Molecular Pathology. He will continue to serve as chair of a WASPaLM Committee of Liaison to governmental and professional organizations.

Dr. Raslavicus practiced community hospital pathology in the private laboratory setting and in several acute care institutions in the greater Boston area, and he was chief of laboratory medicine at University Hospital of Boston University. He continues his direct involvement in pathology as a consultant to the National Pathology Center of Lithuania and as a principal in a scholarship fund he established that sponsors resident and graduate education of Lithuanian pathologists.

Lifetime Achievement award, to Iris Schrijver, MD, for her contributions to the CAP and pathology.

Dr. Schrijver was a chair and member of the Biochemical and Molecular Genetics Resource Committee. She also served as a member of the Council on Scientific Affairs Leadership Committee, chaired the Molecular Pathology and Genetics Cluster, and acted as the cluster representative to the CSA. She is a member now of the Next-Generation Sequencing Work Group and the Genomics Strategy Advisory Group, and advisor to the Biochemical and Molecular Genetics Resource Committee. She is past president of the Association for Molecular Pathology.

Dr. Schrijver is a professor of pathology and pediatrics at Stanford University. She directs the diagnostic molecular pathology laboratory at Stanford University Medical Center and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, as well as the molecular genetic pathology fellowship program. She is also associate program director for residency training in clinical pathology.