Abstract
The E. P. Pope Memorial Award is presented in memory of Dr. Edward P. Pope who was one of the founders of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD), and who served with distinction as its Secretary-Treasurer from 1950 to 1972. The award was established in his honor in 1974. The Pope Award is the highest award given by the Association and is presented to an individual who has made noteworthy and significant contributions to the Association in regard to implementing and advancing the recognition of the specialty of veterinary diagnostic laboratory medicine.
The 2009 E. P. Pope Memorial Award was presented to Dr. Sharon K. Hietala during the 52nd Annual Meeting of the AAVLD in San Diego, California. Dr. Hietala has been an active member of the AAVLD since 1989. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Bacteriology in 1976 and worked as a research associate for several years before returning to the University of California, School of Veterinary Medicine to earn her PhD in Comparative Pathology in 1987. She joined the faculty at UC Davis in 1988 and has continued since that time in a joint appointment at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System (CAHFS) and the School of Veterinary Medicine Department of Medicine and Epidemiology.
Dr. Hietala is a Professor of Clinical Diagnostic Immunology at the CAHFS, where she serves as the section head of the laboratory system's immunology and biotechnology services. Her interests have focused on development and validation of approaches to improve laboratory diagnosis and response capabilities, which include development or implementation of new tests and approaches such as high-throughput real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or use of armored RNA as a PCR training sample, improving interpretation of serologic test information through use of statistical approaches, and evaluating alternate approaches to routine sampling and testing including environmental air-sampling for pathogens, multiplex PCR for look-alike disease surveillance, and molecular epidemiology for outbreak investigation. Dr. Hietala has published over 100 refereed journal articles, has 97 published abstracts, and has co-authored 7 book chapters, primarily on the topic of diagnostic medicine. Her first presentation to the AAVLD was in 1993; since then she has made 2 plenary session presentations as well as scientific session presentations for all but 2 years through 2009.
Dr. Hietala is quick to note that AAVLD has been an ongoing motivation and critical component of her career. She has served on several AAVLD committees; including the Interpretive Serology Committee (Chair 1997–2000), Diagnostic Virology, Epidemiology, Foundation, Program, House of Delegates, and Accreditation committees. Dr. Hietala has passionately supported training and implementation of quality practices; examples, in addition to serving as an AAVLD site-visit auditor, include organization of the 1999 AAVLD symposia on Serology Quality Assurance, participation in the AAVLD workshop on assay validation in 2000, and serving as a technical coordinator for 1994 and 2005 avian serology training videos sponsored by the National Poultry Improvement Plan and internationally distributed. Dr. Hietala has spoken extensively on the laboratory lessons learned from the 2002–2003 exotic Newcastle disease (END) outbreak and was formally acknowledged in 2003 for her role in the END eradication effort. Dr. Hietala served on the AAVLD Executive Committee as the AAVLD Secretary-Treasurer from 2007–2009. She has additionally represented the AAVLD and laboratory diagnostics on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Safeguarding Review Panel in 2001, on the USDA National Surveillance Unit Advisory Committee since 2004, and on the National Academy of Sciences 2003–2005 Panel on Assessing the Nation's Framework for Animal Diseases. Dr. Hietala has actively participated in National Animal Health Laboratory Network activities since its inception, is involved in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Laboratory Response Network, and is engaged in international diagnostic medicine and laboratory development efforts. For the past 5 years, Dr. Hietala has worked with the international Joint IAEA-FAO Project on Early Warning Tools and Avian Influenza Preparedness.
When asked how she spends her time when not in the laboratory, Sharon happily reports on a husband of 27 years, 4 white-water kayaks, her own weight in rock-climbing gear, and a blissfully well-traveled and worn passport.