CLS professor named Academy Fellow of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Paul Johnson, PhD, MBA, DABCC, FAACC, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, has been named an Academy Fellow of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC). It is the academy’s highest honor. The AACC is an international scientific and medical professional organization dedicated to clinical laboratory science and its application to health care. Johnson joined the Upstate Medical University faculty in 2012, where his primary research focus has been on diagnostic utility of concussion injury biomarkers in human subjects with a goal of improving early diagnosis. He developed an online training module for clinical biochemists for which he was honored with co-authors on a featured cover story in the December 2018 issue of Clinical Chemistry journal. Radiation Therapy program gets new treatment planning system Dana Betti and Chelsea Merine, Class of 2021, work on one of the Radiation Therapy program’s treatment planning systems. “We are lucky to have just installed this February a brand new radiation therapy treatment planning system for our students to use,” said Tierney Dygert, RTT, RT ’09, clinical education coordinator for Radiation Therapy. The feature sheet for the Varian Eclipse workstation notes that “the system simplifies radiation therapy planning for the standard treatment modalities and allows clinicians to efficiently create and verify the optimal treatment plan for their patients.” With the new system, Radiation Therapy students are exposed to the actual system they will be utilizing during their clinical rotations. “Our students have the advantage of practicing on the computer at any hour while on campus, so they can feel ready to tackle their clinical requirements,” Dygert continued. “Without these treatment planning systems, and dosimetry in general, we wouldn’t be able to accurately or safely deliver radiation to our patients.” 6 | SUNY Upstate Medical University Health Professions Alumni Connection Winter 2020 ACCOLADES At the Fall Faculty Convocation in September, the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching was awarded to Michelle Dolphin, DPT ’06, PT, MS, OCS, of the Physical Therapy Education department. Dolphin received the award from Upstate Medical University Interim President Mantosh Dewan, MD, left, and Dr. Stephen Glatt, chair of the Upstate Faculty Council. The President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching was awarded to Bruce Searles, MS ’93, LP, CCP, right, chair of Cardiovascular Perfusion. Also honored was Anne Starowicz from the dean’s office in the College of Health Professions, who received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service. Sheri Tooley, BSRT ’09, RRTNPS, CPFT, AE-C, FAARC, has been named president-elect of the American Association of Respiratory Care (AARC), the professional association serving Respiratory Therapists in the US and around the globe, with over 50,000 members. Tooley has been an active member of AARC since 1982. She is a 2009 graduate of Upstate’s advanced program in Cardiorespiratory Sciences and is an adjunct professor for the College of Health Professions. She is a member of the Upstate Medical University Chapter of the Lambda Beta Society and is completing her thesis for an MS in Respiratory Education.
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