bioMerieux Announces Winner of 2013 Sonnenwirth Award for Leadership in Clinical Microbiology

bioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announces that Roberta B. Carey, PhD, is the 2013 recipient of the bioMérieux Sonnenwirth Award for Leadership in Clinical Microbiology. The award was presented May 19 during the 2013 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) awards dinner in Denver. Given in memory of Alexander Sonnenwirth, PhD, the award honors a top microbiologist for her or his innovation in clinical laboratory science, dedication to ASM and leadership in the microbiology field.

The award recognizes the advancement of clinical microbiology as a profession. It is sponsored since 1986, by bioMérieux the world leader in microbiology, and presented by ASM, As an active member of ASM for more than 30 years and a leader in her field, Carey showcases the meaning of the award.

In 2004, Carey joined the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at CDC as chief of the Clinical and Environmental Microbiology Branch, with responsibility for the reference laboratory overseeing identification and characterization of staphylococci and the anaerobic bacteria, detection of antimicrobial resistance, and the investigation of healthcare associated infections. She also served as acting director for the Division of Laboratory Systems, which provides technical and scientific oversight for the CLIA regulations that set the federal quality standards for the nations clinical laboratories.

She currently serves as director of CDCs Laboratory Quality Management Program with responsibilities for oversight of the quality management system for CDC Infectious Disease laboratories, for which she also serves as the Interim CLIA Director.

It is a great honor for us to recognize Dr. Carey with this years bioMérieux Sonnenwirth Award for Leadership in Clinical Microbiology, says Manuel Mendez, Executive Vice President and General Manager, bioMérieux Americas. She is extremely well respected for her leadership and work in clinical microbiology. Her dedication on the front lines of public health at the CDC is to be admired and applauded.

She has been a member of the interdisciplinary workgroups that wrote the CDC guidelines for diagnosis of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli and prevention of early-onset group B streptococcal infections. Currently she is serving as a member of the workgroup creating guidelines for Campylobacter Best Practices for Clinical and Public Health laboratories.

Carey graduated from William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y., with a cum laude degree in biology, received a PhD in microbiology from Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York, N.Y., and completed a post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical and Public Health Microbiology at Temple University, Philadelphia. She has been a diplomat of the American Board of Medical Microbiology in Public Health and Medical Microbiology since 1985.