Association for Molecular Pathology announces 2024 award recipients

(Press-News.org) ROCKVILLE, Md. – July 29, 2024 – The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global molecular diagnostic professional society, today announced the recipients of this year’s Excellence in Molecular Diagnostics, Jeffrey A. Kant Leadership, and Meritorious Service Awards. These prestigious accolades will be presented to the winners this November during AMP’s 2024 Annual Meeting & Expo in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Award for Excellence in Molecular Diagnostics

Atul Butte, MD, PhD

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Inaugural Director of the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute at UCSF

Chief Data Scientist for the University of California Health System

Dr. Butte will receive AMP’s highest honor for his groundbreaking work and noteworthy achievements in advancing molecular diagnostics and computational health sciences. He is a leading biomedical informatics researcher and biotechnology entrepreneur who has been continually funded by the NIH for over 25 years.  He has also authored more than 400 publications and is an inventor on 26 patents. Dr. Butte has been elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI), American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), and National Academy of Medicine, and in 2013, he was recognized by the Obama Administration as a White House Champion of Change in Open Science for promoting science through publicly available data. He is also a co-founder of Personalis, Carmenta, and NuMedii. Dr. Butte trained in Computer Science at Brown University and worked as a software engineer at Apple and Microsoft. He received his MD at Brown University, trained in Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology at Children's Hospital Boston, and then earned his PhD from Harvard Medical School and MIT.

Following his award presentation at the AMP Annual Meeting & Expo, Dr. Butte will deliver a special keynote lecture, “Precisely Practicing Medicine from 700 Trillion Points of Data.”

Jeffrey A. Kant Leadership Award

Ronald M. Przygodzki, MD

Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research & Development

Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics

 

Dr. Przygodzki is being recognized for his exceptional leadership in advancing the mission and goals of AMP and The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics (JMD), AMP’s official Journal. He has served as JMD’s Editor-in-Chief for the past two years and as a member of the Editorial Board for over 14 years, during which time the Journal increased production to twelve issues per year. In addition to his service to JMD, Dr. Przygodzki has served as Membership Affairs Committee Chair and on the Board of Directors (2016-18), as well as a member of the Membership Affairs Committee (2014-2016), the Program Committee (2012-2014) the Publications Committee (2019 – current), and the (now retired) Web Editorial Committee. Dr. Przygodzki received AMP’s Meritorious Service Award in 2020.

AMP Meritorious Service Award

Eric Q. Konnick, MD, MS

Associate Professor, Associate Directory of Genetics and Solid Tumor Laboratory, and Director of Genetics Preanalytical Services at UW Medicine

Chair of the AMP Professional Relations Committee

Dr. Konnick is being honored for his years of service advocating for patients and helping position AMP as the premier molecular diagnostic professional association around the world. He has served as Chair of the AMP Professional Relations Committee (PRC) since 2022. He has been an active member of the PRC since 2016 and AMP’s Economic Affairs Committee since 2022. Dr. Konnick also served on the AMP COVID Response Steering Committee during the peak years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the years, Dr. Konnick has been a strong proponent of appropriate regulation and reimbursement for molecular testing. He has helped lead AMP’s ongoing efforts to establish a more efficient and effective regulatory framework for laboratory-developed testing procedures that would preserve innovation and protect patient access to essential medical services.

“Drs. Butte, Przygodzki, and Konnick have dedicated their careers to driving advancements in molecular diagnostics,” said Maria Arcila, MD, President of AMP. “It is my privilege to present them with AMP’s highest honors and publicly recognize them for their many contributions and ongoing commitment to improving clinical practice and patient care.”

For more information on the AMP 2024 Annual Meeting, please visit https://amp24.amp.org.

ABOUT AMP

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) was founded in 1995 to provide structure and leadership to the emerging field of molecular diagnostics. AMP’s 2,900+ members practice various disciplines of molecular diagnostics, including bioinformatics, infectious diseases, inherited conditions, and oncology. Our members are pathologists, clinical laboratory directors, basic and translational scientists, technologists, and trainees who practice in a variety of settings, including academic and community medical centers, government, and industry. Through the efforts of its Board of Directors, Committees, Working Groups, and Members, AMP is the primary resource for expertise, education, and collaboration in one of the fastest-growing fields in healthcare. AMP members influence policy and regulation on the national and international levels, ultimately serving to advance innovation in the field and protect patient access to high-quality, appropriate testing. For more information, visit www.amp.org and follow AMP on X: @AMPath.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Andrew Noble

anoble@amp.org

415-722-2129

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