Greg Miller is Professor of Pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University and serves the Medical Center as Director of Clinical Chemistry and Director of Pathology Information Systems. He received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Arizona; did post-doctoral training in Clinical Chemistry at the Ohio State University; and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. He received the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in 2007. He currently serves the profession in the following positions: President of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry; Associate Editor of Clinical Chemistry; Treasurer of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute; Chair of the Laboratory Working Group of the National Kidney Disease Education Program; Chair of the IFCC Working Group for Standardization of Albumin Assays in Urine; Member of IFCC Working Groups for Glomerular Filtration Rate Assessment, for Standardization of Thyroid Function Tests, and for Standardization of Insulin Assays in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association; Member of the Executive Committee of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO Technical Committee 212; Member of the Steering Committee of the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program. He was a consultant to the Chemistry Resource Committee of the College of American Pathologists for the past 21 years. His research interests include standardization and harmonization of test results, reference systems and traceability, quality control and proficiency testing, analytical measurement systems, and automated information management. An abbreviated CV is available at www.pathology.vcu.edu/faculty_CV/miller.htm.

Dr Mario Plebani obtained his medical degree summa cum laude from the Medical School of the University of Padova in 1975. He completed residency training and specialization in Laboratory Medicine (1978), and subsequently in Gastroenterology (1983), at the same University. He is full Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Clinical Molecular Biology at the School of Medicine, University of Padova. He is  Chief of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University-Hospital of Padova, Chief of the Center of Biomedical Research (a specialized Center for quality in laboratory medicine for the Veneto Region), and scientific coordinator of the regional anti-doping laboratory at the University Hospital in Padova, Italy. Currently, he is also Director of the Post-graduate School in Clinical Biochemistry at the Medical School of the Padova University and President of the Course for Medical Technologists at the same Medical School of Padova. He served as President of the International Society of Enzymology for four years (2004-2008) and as President of the Italian Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Clinical Biology for five years (in 2003 and from 2007 to 2009). He is the Chairman of the IFCC Working group on “Laboratory errors and patient safety” (WG LEPS) and in 2008 received the AACC Award for Outstanding Clinical Laboratory Contributions to Improving Patient Safety. Dr. Plebani is Editor-in-Chief  of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, and Associate editor of CRC Clinical Laboratory Sciences and International Journal of Biological Markers. His main areas of research are quality in laboratory medicine, diagnostic and laboratory errors, biomarkers in cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and in vitro allergy diagnostics.

DAVID ROTHFIELD MEMORIAL ORATION

Dr Gordon Schiff is associate director of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is a founding member and past president of Physicians for a National Health Program, and he is author of PNHP’s JAMA paper on quality health care reform.

Dr Schiff was previously professor of medicine at Rush University and senior attending physician at Cook County Hospital where he worked for more than 30 years as director of clinical quality research and improvement for the department of medicine. During the 1990’s he was director of Cook County’s large general medical clinic. He is clinical director of the recently awarded TOP-MED (Tools for Optimizing Prescribing, Monitoring and Education) CERT (Center for Education and Research in Therapeutics) based at the UIC College of Pharmacy.

Dr Schiff has published numerous patient safety and medication prescribing improving articles in the Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, the Archives of Internal Medicine, Medical Care, and the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. He is recipient of the 2005 Institute of Medicine Chicago patient safety leader of the year award, the Institute for Safe Medical Practices 2006 Lifetime Achievement award, and in 2006 was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the top “30 people likely to shape health care in the years and decades ahead.” Dr. Schiff was guest editor the October 2008 special issue of Medical Care devoted to the topic of health insurance in the U.S.

DAVID CURNOW PLENARY LECTURE

Dr Carole Spencer received a 1st. Class Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Biochemistry from Bath University of Technology in England, U.K., and later a PhD from the Department of Medicine at Glasgow University, Scotland, U.K. In 1977, she immigrated to the United States and joined the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  

Dr Spencer holds the rank of Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at USC, where she is a licensed Medical Technologist, and directs the USC Endocrine Laboratories. Her research career has focused on the clinical and laboratory aspects of thyroid disease and treatment, and she has authored or co-authored more than 80 original papers, chapters and monographs on the clinical and laboratory aspects of thyroidology.
 
Dr Spencer is a past President of the American Thyroid Association and a member of the ATA Laboratory Services Committee. She is the recipient of numerous outstanding speaker awards from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, and she received the 2004 Distinguished Scientist Award from the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry.  

Dr Thomas graduated from Liverpool University in 1972 with degrees in biochemistry and chemistry. He remained there to complete a PhD in the Faculty of Medicine researching on mineralised tissue and spent some time studying in Copenhagen as a Leverhulme Travelling Scholar.

He trained as a clinical biochemist in Chelmsford and Guildford and then at the Royal London Hospital where he gained his Royal College of Pathologists membership. In 1983 he moved to the Royal Free Hospital, London as Principal Biochemist where he is now Clinical Director for Inflammation and Infection Services, a consultant clinical biochemist and Head of the Department of Clinical Biochemistry.

He has had a long-standing interest in the delivery of services closer to the patient and the POCT services at the Royal Free are managed under the auspices of the Clinical Biochemistry department.

He was a Board Member of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) from to 2006 to 2008. During that period he developed an interest in Quality Systems and Accreditation in developing countries. He is the current Chair of the IFCC’s Working Group on Developing Quality Competence in Clinical Laboratories.

Mike is currently President of the Association for Clinical Biochemistry and since his election has been particularly engaged in discussions on the implementation of the Scientist Training Programme under the DoH Modernising Scientific Careers initiative and the development of the Academy for Healthcare Science.