ARUP^® Laboratories &ndash National Reference Laboratory

ARUP LABORATORIES' Charles D. Hawker, PhD, Receives CLSI's John V. Bergen Award

SALT LAKE CITY, April 2010—ARUP Laboratories Scientific Director and Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) volunteer Charles D. Hawker, PhD, MBA, FACB, received the John V. Bergen Award at the annual CLSI Leadership Conference March 23 in Baltimore, Maryland. Over the past 14 years, Dr. Hawker has made several unique and significant contributions that have advanced the organizational directives and objectives of CLSI, which are the criteria for the John V. Bergen Award.

Dr. Hawker has been with ARUP Laboratories for 18 years and is currently working as a scientific director responsible for automation & special projects. He is also Professor (Adjunct) of Pathology in the University of Utah’s Department of Pathology.

Dr. Hawker started with CLSI in 1996 when he became the Chair of the Subcommittee on Automation Communications. Within the first year, the subcommittee realized that the existing automation standards met only a portion of what was really needed for a comprehensive communication standard. With this challenging project Hawker was able to create an environment of harmony, cooperation, and cohesiveness to develop the global consensus standard, Laboratory Automation: Communications With Automated Clinical Laboratory Systems, Instruments, Devices, and Information Systems; Approved Standard that was the highest selling document among the first five CLSI automation standards.

Over the years Dr. Hawker has been a continued advocate and supporter of CLSI and its work. A highlight of his CLSI accomplishments includes his position on the Strategic Planning Committee from 2001-2007. He has also been involved as a member and advisor to the Area Committee for Automation and Informatics, a member of the Subcommittee on Point-of-Care Connectivity, and is currently the chairholder of the Subcommittee on Standards for Specimen Labels. The proposed standard, Specimen Labels: Content and Location, Fonts, and Label Orientation, is now undergoing revisions following the subcommittee vote and the unanimous approval of the Area Committee. Target date for publication as an approved standard is December, 2010.

Glen Fine, MS, MBA, CLSI Executive Vice President, Global Health partnerships says, “CLSI is proud to honor Dr. Hawker as recipient of the 2010 John V. Bergen Award as an expression of its gratitude for his commitment and leadership in CLSI’s continuing quest to develop best practices in clinical and laboratory testing and to promote their use throughout the world.”

About ARUP Laboratories

Founded in 1984, ARUP Laboratories is a leading national reference laboratory and an enterprise of the University of Utah and its Department of Pathology. ARUP offers more than 2,000 tests and test combinations, ranging from routine screening tests to esoteric molecular and genetic assays. ARUP serves clients across the United States, including many of the nation’s top university teaching hospitals and children’s hospitals, as well as multihospital groups, major commercial laboratories, group purchasing organizations, military and other government facilities, and major clinics. In addition, ARUP is a worldwide leader in innovative laboratory research and development, led by the efforts of the ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology^®.

About CLSI

CLSI is a volunteer-driven, membership-supported, nonprofit organization dedicated to developing standards and guidelines for the health care and medical testing community.  These highly respected documents are used every day in laboratories around the world. Laboratory teams using CLSI standards and guidelines perform the right tests, the right way, to get the right results as quickly as possible. For additional information on CLSI, visit the CLSI website at www.clsi.org or call 610.688.0100.