key: cord-0834943-lu9ji6b6 authors: Munson, Erik title: 2021 American Society for Microbiology Awards Program: Clinical Microbiology Honorees date: 2021-04-20 journal: J Clin Microbiol DOI: 10.1128/jcm.00001-21 sha: cd4ef3d5afb9e34081fd3eb1bdfcf4ac39c8c30d doc_id: 834943 cord_uid: lu9ji6b6 While cognizant of the routine, necessary, and often challenging [1] laboratory activities related to the SARS-CoV-2 infection pandemic, we at the Journal of Clinical Microbiology are pleased to recognize three clinical microbiologists who have been bestowed with honors that validate high level of achievement in and/or significant contributions to the field. The American Academy of Microbiology is responsible for stewardship of the sixteen American Society for Microbiology (ASM) awards. A complete listing of past recipients of ASM awards can be found with the following link: Past-ASM-Awardees-for-Current-ASM-Awards-6-1-20_1.pdf.…. Dr. Amanda Harrington from Loyola University Medical Center, wrote, "what inspired me to write this letter of nomination is . . . commitment to service. After meeting Dr. Robinson-Dunn early in my career, it was readily apparent how active and involved she is in our microbiology communities and organizations. It requires support and engagement from members like her for our societies to grow and flourish." Evidence of Dr. Robinson-Dunn's service is plentiful and impossible to completely itemize in this article. Some examples at the national level include several roles for the American Board of Medical Microbiology within the American Academy of Microbiology from 1987 to 1995, a 2003-2007 appointment to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee sponsored by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, membership in the ASM Laboratory Practice Committee from 2007 to 2016, several roles (including councilor, incoming chair, and chair) within ASM Division C (clinical microbiology) and Divisional Group 1 between 2004 and 2016, and programming, steering, planning, and Clinical and Public Health Microbiology Track Leader activities from 2011 to 2017 relative to ASM General Meetings and the transition to ASM Microbe. Dr. Harrington commented that the Divisional Group 1 representative role is one "requiring leadership and skill to shape member experience with ASM and to provide feedback from membership back to the organization." Dr. Robinson-Dunn previously served as a laboratory director for the State of Michigan Department of Community Health from 1984 to 2001. In this capacity, her service commitment included activities such as serving on the Michigan Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis, holding a number of elected offices within the Michigan Infectious Disease Society, and serving as executive councilor for the Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction Coalition. Dr. Robinson-Dunn's record of service is complemented by quality scholarship. Her publication and presentation record has focused on tuberculosis, fungal diseases, public health microbiology, emerging infectious diseases, and detection of antimicrobial resistance. She has participated in publication of intersociety guidance documents (2, 3), coauthored several chapters of the Clinical Microbiology Procedures Handbook (4-6), and contributed to initial characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates in the United States with decreased susceptibility to vancomycin (8) . Dr. Robinson-Dunn has been awarded fellowships by both the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Academy of Microbiology and was bestowed with the Research, Epidemiology and Laboratory Public Health Practice Program Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003. Dr. Harrington summarized Dr. Robinson-Dunn's contribution to the field of clinical microbiology by stating, "Our clinical microbiology field, organizations, and communities have gained so much from the engagement, enthusiasm, scientific expertise and hard work of Dr. Robinson-Dunn. She has balanced a highly productive career with her generosity and kind spirit. I think she is one of the 'unsung heroes' of clinical microbiology, a true leader in our field." The Eligibility criteria for the ASM Scherago-Rubin Award for Clinical Microbiology stipulate a non-doctoral-level clinical microbiologist involved primarily in routine diagnostic work, rather than in research, who has distinguished himself or herself with excellent performance in the clinical laboratory. Mr. Ellis's nominator for the award, Dr. Karen C. Carroll (also affiliated with the Medical Microbiology Division of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine), characterizes him as being a strong multitasker and independent worker who is capable of decisive problem-solving and has been from the outset of his tenure in the laboratory. "Brandon approached his work with the attitude of 'how can we improve testing for optimum patient care?' He learned procedures quickly and volunteered frequently to participate in assay validation and clinical research projects to implement novel diagnostic platforms to accomplish his goal of improving patient care. Brandon particularly distinguished himself in the massive transition from biochemical testing to MALDI-TOF MS. He not only mastered the hands-on component of testing but also organized employee training and competency." Dr. Carroll also cited Mr. Ellis's active participation in the overall reorganization and expansion of anaerobic bacteriology services in the laboratory, with such efforts recognized at the clinical practitioner level in terms of targeted antimicrobial therapy. Furthermore, he played an integral role in the creation of a federally designated biocontainment unit in response to the prospect of Ebola virus disease or other highly communicable infectious agents. Mr. Ellis's dedication to the field of clinical microbiology extends beyond the diagnostic laboratory. His supplied curriculum vitae lists 22 abstracts and 10 peer-reviewed publications, three of which have been published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology (9) (10) (11) . In addition, he participated in an evaluation of multiple molecular assays for laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection (12) . Mr. Ellis was the recipient of the Joan Valentine Award for Research in 2009, has presented symposium topics ranging from anaerobic bacteriology to "Microbiology Supervillains" to "Typhoid Mary" for The Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Pathology, has discussed matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) interfacing and workflow at the national level, and has presented at the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference. In her nomination letter, Dr. Carroll further speaks of Mr. Ellis's leadership capacity. "Brandon's engagement extends beyond our laboratory. Always the champion of his colleagues, he cochairs the Pathology Staff Diversity Committee, and he started the Microbiology Staff Morale Committee soliciting feedback for lab week activities, new employee welcome luncheons, et cetera. His leadership qualities at the bench in service to patients facilitated his promotion to administrative positions, which has only made him more effective as a clinical microbiologist." Despite his newly assumed management position, "he maintains his competency and his connections with the staff. His strength as a leader has shone like a beacon during this SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Brandon worked to ensure the supply chain with our existing vendors and worked with hospital administrators to acquire new instruments. Others outside the Department frequently sought his advice and assistance with issues not under the laboratory's purview." The (17) . She has served as a bacteriology section editor for the 11th and 12th editions of the Manual of Clinical Microbiology, has coedited two books (18, 19) , and has contributed authorship to guidance/recommendation documents relative to laboratory-developed molecular diagnostic assays and to laboratory diagnosis of Mycobacterium spp. and respiratory viruses (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) . She additionally serves as an editor for the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Further contributing to this award is a strong cache of leadership activities. Dr. Miller currently holds membership on the Clinical Virology Symposium Planning Committee, the ASM Committee on Microbial Sciences, the ASM Public and Scientific Affairs Committee, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America Diagnostics Committee and is a voting member on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Microbiology Devices Panel, to name a few. In the past, she has assumed salient roles within the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, the Association for Molecular Pathology, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, and the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Dr. Babady additionally wrote, "Dr. Miller is a fierce advocate for clinical microbiologists. Her advocacy has always been evident but was front and center more recently with the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. From organizing over 100 clinical microbiologists to sign and support a letter to Congress requesting that high-complexity laboratories be able to develop and offer laboratory-developed tests for SARS-CoV-2 to giving interviews on national television and public radio to highlight the important role played by the clinical microbiologist and the clinical virologist in managing the pandemic, Dr. Miller has always been a leader in our profession." In recent written correspondence, Stefano Bertuzzi, Ph.D., chief executive officer of ASM, commented on Dr. Miller's pivotal role in the response of ASM to the pandemic. "I was absolutely determined to make sure that ASM was out there making a difference, harnessing the power of our members and stakeholders to help save lives-literally. The chair of our Clinical Microbiology and Public Health Committee, Dr. Melissa Miller, became a spokesperson for the organization, and we focused our experts on interactions with the press. We thought it was important to have credible, trustworthy experts as the face of ASM with the public, in a very complex moment for the society at large. Dr. Miller delivered splendidly." Please join in congratulating these three microbiologists for their respective achievements. International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Taskforce on COVID-19. 2020. Operational considerations and challenges of biochemistry laboratories during the COVID-19 outbreak: an IFCC global survey American Society for Microbiology provides 2020 guidelines for detection and identification of group B Streptococcus Botulinum toxin-Clostridium botulinum Brucellosis-Brucella spp Special pathogens and employee safety, p 15.5.1.1-15.5.6 Emergence of vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Glycopeptide-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus Working Group Prospective evaluation of a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry system in a hospital clinical microbiology laboratory for identification of bacteria and yeasts: a bench-by-bench study for assessing the impact on time to identification and cost-effectiveness Recognition of Streptococcus pseudoporcinus colonization in women as a consequence of using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry for group B Streptococcus identification Validation of autoclave protocols for successful decontamination of category A medical waste generated from care of patients with serious communicable diseases Comparing the analytical performance of three SARS-CoV-2 molecular diagnostic assays Molecular microbiology Principles and practice of pediatric infectious diseases Quorum sensing Diagnostic molecular pathology: a guide to applied molecular testing Molecular microbiology: diagnostic principles and practice Cases in medical microbiology and infectious diseases Understanding, verifying, and implementing emergency use authorization molecular diagnostics for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA ASM Clinical and Public Health Microbiology Committee and the ASM Corporate Council Practical guidance for clinical microbiology laboratories: viruses causing acute respiratory tract infections Practice guidelines for clinical microbiology laboratories: mycobacteria Maintaining life-saving testing for patients with infectious diseases: Infectious Diseases Society of America