Octavia Peck Palmer

Octavia M. Peck Palmer is the President of the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM, formerly the American Association of Clinical Chemistry). She is academically unique as she conducts translational research, teaches, mentors, and directs clinical laboratories within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). She earned her Ph.D. in Physiology from The Medical University of South in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Chemistry at Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. On July 1, 2023, Octavia was appointed the inaugural Vice Chair of Health Equity, Diversity, and inclusion for the Department of Pathology. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, with secondary faculty appointments within the Critical Care Medicine and Clinical and Translational Science departments. She is a board-certified clinical chemist and serves as the Division Director of Clinical Chemistry and medical director of two large CAP-accredited clinical laboratories for which she provides both consultative and patient test result interpretation for healthcare providers within the healthcare organization. She has over 100 publications. Her recent journal publications focus on laboratory medicine leading the efforts to ensure health equity and include Recognizing Laboratory Medicine's Collaborative Role in Identifying and Eliminating Health Disparities in the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine; AACC/National Kidney Foundation Guidance Document on Improving Equity in Chronic Kidney Disease Care in the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine; Reconsidering the use of race adjustments in maternal serum screening in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Feasibility of Embedding a Scalable, Virtually Enabled Biorepository in the Electronic Health Record for Precision Medicine in JAMA Network Open. She received the 2020 Outstanding Teaching in Clinical Pathology Award from the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh and the 2022 American Association of Clinical Chemistry, Society for Young Clinical Laboratorians Mentoring Award. She was named to The Pathologists Power List and spotlighted as the next generation of laboratory medicine – the "rising stars" of pathology.

Katharine Hayden

Kath Hayden is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester.

Following training in South Manchester, Kath has held posts in hospitals in Manchester and Liverpool over a 35 year period, overseeing significant advances in analytical technologies, point of care testing (POCT) and harmonisation of laboratories. With specialist interests in endocrinology, POCT, leadership and service improvement, her latest roles have been as Clinical Head of Division for Laboratory Medicine at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Trust Lead Healthcare Scientist, Clinical Director for Laboratory Medicine and Head of Service for Clinical Biochemistry at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.