Excellence Awards 2023
1/30/2023
Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA—The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute announces the recipients of its 2023 Excellence Awards. These awards celebrate the achievements of CLSI volunteers and organizational members who are committed to CLSI’s mission and have helped improve the quality of medical care worldwide. Recipients are recognized for dedicating significant time and effort to the development, implementation, and promotion of CLSI standards.
Russell J. Eilers Memorial Award
This year CLSI’s highest honor, the Russell J. Eilers Memorial Award, has been awarded to Carl D. Mottram. The Russel J. Eilers Memorial Award recipient is selected by the CLSI President as a volunteer who has made exceptional contributions to CLSI’s success over extended periods of time. Professor Mottram has served in many roles with CLSI throughout the years, including as a member of various committees; Vice-Chairholder, and then Chairholder of the Consensus Committee on Quality Systems and Laboratory Practices; Chairholder of the Consensus Council; Secretary, Treasurer, and President-Elect of the Board of Directors; President; and now Immediate Past-President.
“I nominated Carl Mottram for this award due to his outstanding service to CLSI over the years,” said CLSI President, Victor Waddell, PhD. “Carl has served on multiple committees and task force groups and, more recently on the CLSI Board of Directors and as CLSI President. Carl is 100 percent committed to the mission of CLSI and he continues to play a major role in driving CLSI forward and making it one of the most successful organizations around the world.”
John V. Bergen Excellence Award
The John V. Bergen Excellence Award is presented annually to an outstanding volunteer or group of volunteers in recognition of advances in CLSI organizational directives and objectives, through unique and significant contributions.
The 2023 John V. Bergen Excellence Award is presented to Tania Motschman, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB. Ms. Motschman has been an integral part of CLSI standards development for nearly two decades and has held a variety of positions within the organization. She has served in various roles on numerous CLSI committees and has previously been honored with the CLSI awards for excellence in mentoring and for standards development. She is currently the Chairholder of the Consensus Council. Most recently, her involvement as a Kaizen Team member for CLSI’s process improvement project has been invaluable.
Excellence in Standards Development Award
This year CLSI has presented the Excellence in Standards Development Award to two volunteers who have made significant contributions to the development and/or management of CLSI standards and guidelines.
Sherry Dunbar, PhD has been a CLSI volunteer since 2011. Dr. Dunbar has served on many CLSI document development committees throughout the years in the roles of Vice-Chairholder and member and has also participated on a task force with CLSI leadership that resulted in an improved and more streamlined document development process. Dr. Dunbar has been a member of the Expert Panel on Molecular Methods since 2014 and has served as its Vice-Chairholder since 2020. She has also participated in webinars supporting the education of laboratorians based on several of these guidelines.
German Esparza, MSc has been a CLSI volunteer since 2008 and currently is a member of the Expert Panel on Microbiology and an advisor on the CLSI Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Subcommittee. Mr. Esparza is a professor of infectious diseases at Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, Colombia. He is a consultant on antimicrobial resistance at the Panamerican Health Organization in Bogotá and he leads the PROASECAL proficiency testing program in clinical microbiology. He is dedicated to educating health care professionals such as physicians, medical technologists, and pharmacologists about the importance of microbiology standards.
Excellence in Member Organization Leadership Award
This year, the Awards Committee is proud to give this honor to Beckman Coulter and Public Health Ontario.
Beckman Coulter has been an active industry member of CLSI for over 25 years, supporting CLSI with an Industry Level I membership since 2013. Beckman Coulter has continually supported CLSI document development, providing volunteers for 67 committees in the past several years. Beckman Coulter has been an important contributor to CLSI’s growth, reputation, and success.
For over 35 years, Public Health Ontario has been an active government member of CLSI and has supported CLSI with Health Care Professions and Government Level I memberships since 2013. Public Health Ontario has provided volunteers for 19 CLSI committees in the past several years and has been an active partner in supporting CLSI document development, contributing to CLSI’s development and achievements.
For a list of past award winners, visit the CLSI website here. For more on the awards or the nomination and selection process, visit the CLSI website here.
CLSI is the leading global non-profit laboratory medicine standards development organization, with over 24,000 individuals with membership access, 2,000 volunteers, and 250 products. CLSI standards are recognized by laboratories, accreditors, and government agencies worldwide as the best way to improve medical laboratory testing. Organizations use CLSI standards to improve their testing outcomes, maintain accreditation, bring products to market faster, and navigate regulatory hurdles.