Award Recipients
NSH is pleased to announce 2019’s Awards and Scholarships Recipients. Awards and scholarships are given to members to honor dedication to the profession and support new advancement in the field. Applications for 2020 awards and scholarships will open March 2nd.
Luminary Award
Sheron Lear, CPA Lab
Sheron Lear is the 2019 recipient of the NSH Luminary Award, an award given by the NSH President to recognize an individual who has generously provided NSH with leadership, mentorship, education and advocacy. Sheron is a charter member of NSH who has been active in histology for over 50 years. Over that time she has presented 90+ lectures, published 20+ journal articles, and remained a histology advocate and mentor to others in the Kentucky Histology Society and NSH. She is a past recipient of the Histotech of the Year Award, the Lee Luna Foreign Travel Award and the J.B. McCormick Award.
President’s Award
Aubrey Wanner, National Society for Histotechnology
This year, NSH President Diane Sterchi, has decided to award two President’s Awards, one to Aubrey Wanner, Meetings & Education Director of NSH and one to Liz Chlipala, NSH Treasurer. Aubrey has worked with the National Society for Histotechnology for over thirteen years, guiding the Society into the digital age of education. She has been instrumental in the success of the Symposium/Convention, as well as the driving force behind the long list of new online education programs offered for NSH members, including a QIHC Prep Course, Digital Pathology Certificate Program, a Florida Mandatory Education Package. She was also a major contributor to the development of The Block, NSH’s online member community.
Liz Chlipala, Premier Laboratories
The other recipient of this year’s President’s Award is Liz Chlipala. Liz has been an active volunteer for NSH for many years, notably as the previous Awards Committee Chair, and currently as the NSH Treasurer. She is also a frequent presenter for NSH at the Symposium/Convention and on our online education programs. She was instrumental in the development of the Digital Pathology Certificate Program and has been working to promote the certificate nationwide.
Editor’s Award
Dr. Yongfu Wang, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
The Editor’s Award is presented by the Editor of the Journal of Histotechnology to an individual who has been an invaluable asset to the Journal. Dr. Wang has been selected for this award by Editor, Gayle Callis, for his assistance provided to the Journal as Associate Editor. As Associate Editor, Dr. Wang has helped to get the Journal indexed by PubMed, making it searchable for researchers. He also has taken the lead on production of a Molecular Special Issue of the Journal which will be available later this year.
Diamond Cover Award
Nicholas M. Wallingford, Jessica Frey and Winston Evering. Comparison of two decalcification agents using microwave technology: a histochemical assessment of the rat cochlea. J Histotechnology 41(3): 124-131.
This article was published in Volume 41, Issue 3 of the Journal of Histotechnology. This study tested decalcification agents in order to determine the most efficient decalcification procedure for rat outer, middle, and inner ear structures while preserving tissue morphology and eliminating introduction of artifacts to best facilitate histopathological analysis. Presented here are the results of rat ear histological preparations using two decalcifying agents at increasing microwave times with heat controlled at the physiological temperature of 37 °C. In this analysis, an acid-based combination decalcification-fixative solution was found to significantly speed up the decalcification process when compared with the calcium chelator EDTA.
Histotechnologist of the Year Award
Maureen Doran, Saffron Scientific Histology Services
Maureen Doran is the 2019 recipient of the Histotechnologist of the Year Award. Maureen is someone dedicated to sharing her histology knowledge with others. She has been presenting workshops on the local level since 1988 and on the national level with NSH since 1994. She recently served as the Chair of the Health & Safety Committee, helping to produce a number of safety resources, including a series of infographics available to members on The Block, NSH’s member community. Outside of NSH, she worked for over 30 years with the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine where she was an instructor and mentor, and is also co-owner of Saffron Scientific Histology Services.
J.B. McCormick Award
Konnie Zeitner, Retired
Konnie Zeiner is the 2019 recipient of the J.B. McCormick Award. This award is given for dedication to NSH, something Konnie personifies perfectly. Konnie is a founding member of NSH with 50 years of histology experience. She has held numerous leadership positions within NSH, including her current role as Bylaws Committee Chair, where she has helped NSH update our governance practices to make the Society run more efficiently. Over the course of her career she has presented over 100 different workshops, at NSH and her local Nebraska Society.
Leica Leadership in Teaching Award
Clifford Chapman, StrataDx
Clifford Chapman is the 2019 recipient of the Leica Leadership in Teaching Award. He has been an active member of the NSH Health & Safety Committee since the 1980’s, helping to produce resources to educate the NSH membership. He is also a member of the Journal of Histotechnology Editorial Board, and a frequent author for JOH articles. In addition to educating the NSH membership, Clifford works as a Clinical Mentor for the Harford Community College Program, and hosts formal an informal training sessions for HT certification prep and quality management.
Jules Elias Excellence in Immunohistochemistry Award
Damien Laudier, Laudier Histology
Damien Laudier is the 2019 recipient of the Jules Elias Excellence in IHC Award. Damien was selected for this award because of his well-rounded knowledge of histotechnology, from bone histology and histomorphometry to immunohistochemistry methodology and arthropod immunohistochemistry to image analysis. His contributions, including articles in the Journal of Histotechnology and the development of new techniques and methods have set him apart in the field. In addition to the science, Damien has also mastered the art of Histotechnology producing beautiful histology portraits.
Biocare Medical Excellence in Patient Care Award
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is the 2019 recipient of the Biocare Medical Excellence in Patient Care Award. Cleveland Clinic has invested in developing a e-pathology department that has effectively reduced turnaround time and improved diagnostic outreach. They plan to use the funds from this award to educate more members of their team in digital pathology, using NSH’s Digital Pathology Certificate Program.
Polysciences Ann Preece Award
Cecily Broomfield, Colorado State University
Cecily Broomfield is the 2019 recipient of the Polysciences Ann Preece Award. This award is given to someone, like Cecily, who is dedicated to the field of hard tissue histology. Cecily is currently employed as a Research Associate at Colorado State University in the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Research Laboratory. She has created a histology training program within the OBRL which trains all level researchers in the techniques of hard tissue plastics. She has instructed numerous graduate and undergraduate students on how to process, section, stain and analyze undecalcified tissue. She also serves as a resource for the Director of OBRL, providing insight on how best to design the histopathological and histomorphological aspects of studies involving bone and fracture healing.
Rosemary and Donald Ostermeier Award
Davina Lewis, Covance Central Laboratory
Davina Lewis is the 2019 recipient of the Rosemary & Donald Ostermeier Award, an award given to honor dedication to one’s place of work. Davina is the Senior Manager for the Histology Lab at Covance in Indianapolis. Her coworkers shared in their letters of recommendation their admiration for her problem solving skills and her ability and willingness to connect personally with everyone she works with. Recently, she set up a partnership between Covance and a local university to train the laboratory techs to become HT certified and has welcomed students from the school into the laboratory as interns.
Newcomer Helping Hand Award
Debbie Wood, Indiana University
Debbie Wood is the 2019 recipient of the Newcomer Helping Hand Award. This award is given to an individual involved in a philanthropic histology project. In 2018, Debbie was awarded the Lee Luna Foreign Travel Scholarship to fund her trip to Nepal where she set up a lab to address the growing leprosy problem. This year’s scholarship will be used to provide additional equipment and personnel training for this project.
Cancer Diagnostics, Inc., Frank J. Monek Memorial Scholarship
Jeannette Wallen, MNGI Digestive Health
Jeannette Wallen is the 2019 recipient of the Cancer Diagnostics, Frank J. Monek Memorial Scholarship, a $10,000 scholarship provided to someone pursuing higher education. Jeannette recently earned her Bachelor’s Degree and plans to sit for the HTL and IHC Qualification exams. She plans to use the funds from this scholarship to earn an MBA in Healthcare Management. Over the course of her 20+ years in histology, Jeannette has been active in NSH as well as several state societies. The volume of letters (10+) of support provided by her peers from NSH, for this scholarship, speak to the amazing impact she has had on others in the field who have come in contact with her as a friend and mentor.
Scholarship for Excellence in Standardization of Immunohistochemistry
Kassandra Welch, North Oaks Medical Center
Kassandra Welch is the 2019 recipient of the Scholarship for Excellence in Standardization of IHC. Kassandra is currently the Anatomical Pathology Supervisor at North Oaks Medical Center. Here she set up the IHC lab from scratch, troubleshooting everything from the pre-post analytic stages. The hospital now has 33 IHC stains it is able to perform in-house. Since bringing the IHC lab in-house, they have decreased the turnaround time for diagnosis from three days to same day results. In the future, Kassandra plans to expand the menu of IHC stains performed by the hospital, and potentially introduce molecular testing as well.
Lee G. Luna Foreign Travel Scholarship
Jerry Santiago and Janet Tunnicliffe
Jerry Santiago and Janet Tunnicliffe are the 2019 recipients of the Lee G. Luna Foreign Travel Scholarship. Jerry and Janet are both dedicated, long-time members of NSH, and coincidently both served as previous chairs of the NSH membership committee. They applied for this scholarship together, to present a histology workshop in Argentina in 2020. The pair had presented together previously nationally and branched out to international presentations with a combined effort in Brazil in 2018. They stayed in contact with the people they met in South America and were able to coordinate this upcoming presentation as a result of the connections made. Stay tuned for an article in NSH In Action following their trip in 2020.
Leica Leadership in Management Scholarship
Guy Orchard, St. Thomas’ Hospital
Guy Orchard is the 2019 recipient of the Leica Leadership in Management Scholarship. Guy is currently the Operational Manager for St. John’s Institute of Dermatology at St Thomas’ Hospital and also conjointly the Operational Manager for Head and Neck Pathology at Guy’s Hospital, London for Viapath Analytics. He also runs the biggest Mohs service within the UK in the newly built Guys
Hospital Cancer Centre. Mr. Orchard consistently encourages his staff to further their careers by pursuing higher education degrees and certifications. He has presented numerous lectures nationally within the UK and for NSH in the United States. He has 80 publications to his name and has co-authored two books.
Peggy Wenk Histology Program Scholarship
Keiser University
Keiser University is the 2019 recipient of the Peggy Wenk Histology Program Scholarship. Keiser University offers a histology program in Orlando, FL, with both lectures, as well as an externship with a laboratory in the community. One such laboratory manager who has been host to Keiser students described the students as well prepared and went on to hire several of the students. The school plans to use the funds from this award to purchase updated equipment, fund student travel to histology meetings, and host local networking events for their students to meet employers in the area.
Constituent Society Scholarship
Florida Society for Histotechnology
The Florida Society for Histotechnology is the 2019 recipient of the Constituent Society Scholarship. This scholarship will be used to host lunchtime mini workshops to educate groups of techs in a quick informal setting, that will be easier to attend than a longer meeting requiring travel. Florida is home to many histology schools, including Keiser University, the Peggy Wenk Histology Program Scholarship recipient. FSH is interested in providing networking and educational opportunities to get this new generation of histologists interested in their professional community.
Avantik Educational Scholarship
Linda Culpepper, New Hanover Regional Medical Center
Linda Culpepper is the 2019 recipient of the Avantik Educational Scholarship. Linda is currently employed as Resource/Lead Technologist in the Anatomic and Molecular Pathology Department at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Linda plans to use the funds from this scholarship to attend the Symposium/Convention in New Orleans, LA. As a longtime attendee of NSH workshops, and as a former educator, Linda understands the value of continuing education, and has used the knowledge she has gained over the years to keep her lab CAP compliant and a leader in IHC.
Epredia Educational Scholarship
Kara Vargo, Northwest Pathology
Karo Vargo is the 2019 recipient of the Epredia Educational Scholarship. Kara is currently employed at Northwest Pathology where despite only being there for a year and a half, has become a vital member of their team. She is described by her supervisor as a natural leader, who has taken charge of special stains, taking it upon herself to revalidate some of the special stains with excessive times. Kara is a recent graduate of Clover Park Technical School, following her career in the army.
Robert A. Clark Educational Scholarship
Shereen Perreira, The Queen’s Medical Center
Shereen Perreira is the 2019 recipient of the Robert A. Clark Educational Scholarship, sponsored by Sakura Finetek. Shereen is currently employed as a histotechnician at the Queen’s Medical Center in Hawaii. Here she has been instrumental in training the new recruits to the hospital and implementing new processes, including a barcoding system.