Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Wilcke served as the ASTPHLD (now APHL) President from 1995 to 1996. This was a critical period of growth for the organization. APHL evolved from a small, limited scope body that only represented state and territorial public health laboratories to an organization that invited and represented all public health labs. It was a redefining, exhilarating, but contentious time for the association. He provided the steady leadership needed for this transition—notably, he hired Scott Becker! 

He served as chair of the Leadership Development Task Force, Membership, Training and Education, and Global Health committees. He was an author of The Core Functions of Public Health Laboratories 2014 and has supported numerous Global Health activities, aiding in the development and delivery of essential technical and laboratory leadership and management activities across the globe. 

From 2000 to 2005 Dr. Wilcke was the Global Health country lead for Zimbabwe for the CDC/APHL program, Fighting AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. He was instrumental in developing the Foundations of Laboratory Leadership and Management (FLLM) course material, which has been used to train laboratory personnel in numerous countries across the globe for almost 20 years and instructed the course in Tanzania and Zimbabwe. He also contributed significantly to the development of the Laboratory Leadership Competency Framework and the learning program based on the framework, the Global Laboratory Leadership Programme (GLLP). He is also a member of the team that developed the course content and implemented the course in Uganda and Ukraine.

As a faculty member for 15 years at the University of Vermont's Department of Medical Laboratory and Radiation Sciences, Dr. Wilcke taught and mentored countless students, contributing to the development of laboratory scientists, healthcare professionals and researchers—a legacy that is foundational to health care and laboratory science progress moving forward. He was also an instructor in the International Institute for Public Health Laboratory Management, a partnership between APHL and George Washington University that utilized in-person didactic learning and active projects to improve the global public health laboratory leadership workforce. 

Dr. Wilcke has contributed to public health laboratory policy through participation in APHL committees and the board of directors. He was instrumental in revising "Core Functions and Capabilities of State Public Health Laboratories" in 2005 with the APHL Laboratory Systems and Standards Committee. This report is the foundation for the development of public health laboratory networks in the US and internationally.

Dr. Wilcke's lifelong dedication to public health laboratory science has left an indelible mark on the field. His leadership, mentorship, and advocacy have shaped laboratory practices, strengthened public health systems, and influenced professionals worldwide. Whether through his tenure as APHL President, his instrumental role in global laboratory activities, or his unwavering commitment to educating the next generation of laboratorians, Dr. Wilcke has exemplified excellence at every stage of his career. His contributions have not only advanced laboratory science but have also fostered a stronger, more resilient public health infrastructure. The APHL Lifetime Achievement Award is a fitting recognition for his profound impact and unwavering service to the field.​

For over three decades, Dr. Mills has contributed to the leadership of APHL, the science and practice of public health laboratories, and domestic and global public health laboratory policy. In 1993, Dr. Mills joined the New Mexico Department of Health Laboratory Science Division as the director of the state public health laboratory. As director, he partnered with many health promotion programs to address healthcare and testing inequities in low income and racial and ethnic minority communities. He participated in advisory committees and initiatives to address diseases that disproportionately impact under-represented populations, and he provided leadership at the state and national levels to address gaps in laboratory testing access and knowledge of environmental health issues. He was also active in developing cross-border disease surveillance efforts, which expanded in magnitude and importance post-9/11.

During this time, Dr. Mills was also a highly active APHL member, serving as APHL's president for the 2002-03 term. He was President Elect during the challenging Amerithrax crisis, a time when APHL's Board of Directors and leadership navigated sane response during a time of chaotic demands on public health laboratories. He was a member of four different committees during his tenure — chairing two — and helped author the first edition of APHL's seminal publication, "Core Functions and Capabilities of State Public Health Laboratories."

Upon retirement from the New Mexico laboratory, Dr. Mills became an APHL Global Health consultant. His work has promoted the reputation of the Global Health Program as consummate professionals who deliver quality products and services. His willingness to respond to urgent needs by jumping on 12-hour flights and participate in phone calls at 2:00 am is legendary. He has worked successfully and productively with partners from diverse cultures, languages and time zones to achieve common goals in public health laboratory quality and sustainability. Dr. Mills has worked tirelessly with low- and middle-income countries to bring equity in access to public health laboratory services, through developing and providing technical and laboratory leadership and management training in Asia, Central America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Mills has decades of contributions to education and the public health laboratory workforce, and he helped mold domestic and international public health laboratory policy through active and sage participation in a wide range of activities.

It is impossible to convey Ralph’s lifetime contributions to public health laboratories with a single descriptor. He is a technical expert, manager, educator, and leader in global and domestic laboratory network development. His career spans decades of technical and social changes in which he has been at the forefront of developing policies and practices for the public laboratory community in infectious diseases, public health informatics, emergency response. Throughout his career he has been a tireless promotor of excellence in global public health laboratories.

Ralph received his Master in Public Health from Boston University and educational certificates from the Harvard Kennedy School and MIT. After returning from military service in the United States Army Infantry as a Commissioned Officer, in which he was awarded a Bronze Star, he joined the Massachusetts State Laboratory Institute in smallpox vaccine production. Ralph was promoted to a technical lead position in Virology and then a series of managerial positions with increasing responsibilities until he was finally appointed Assistant Commissioner.

Ralph not only witnessed phenomenal changes in public health laboratory practice, but he was an instrumental leader in the development of these programs. He was an advisor to CDC during the creation and launch of the Laboratory Response Network and the Health Alert Network. He represented APHL to the World Health Organization in an advisory group that developed the web-based GLaDNET to assist in global outbreak detection and response. Ralph served on the initial PulseNet Steering committee, developing a network that envisioned and launched this award-winning system of foodborne disease outbreak detection and response. Under his leadership, the Massachusetts State Laboratory Institute was one of the founding members of PulseNet.

Ralph was also in leadership roles in the health information revolution. He served on the Health Information Board of Counselors. He liaised with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists workgroup and participated in a CDC workgroup to develop standards for electronic laboratory reporting to surveillance systems. He also advised the National Center for Health Statistics on Public Health Data Standards.

In their organizing stage, the African Society for Laboratory Medicine tapped into Ralph’s visionary expertise. He served on the ASLM Board of Directors from 2010 until 2022. He also advised CDC in 2000 in international health strategic planning. Ralph advised CDC on the early design of the Global AIDS Program, now known as PEPFAR. Under Ralph’s advice, laboratory capacities and capabilities to support HIV treatment were implemented and are a major contributor to the success of this program.

Ralph has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to improvements in global public health practice through directly advising public health leaders in Africa and Asia, training and educating laboratorians, and leading strategic and network planning efforts. He served as chair of APHL Infectious Diseases, Informatics and Global Health Committees during his time as a laboratory director.

While directing a laboratory and volunteering on many APHL and federal committees, Ralph contributed to the education of many students of public health through his teaching courses on epidemiology, global HIV/AIDS and biostatistics and advising at Harvard School of Public Health, Boston University and Tufts University. Scores of public health professionals understand the role and contributions of public health laboratories because Ralph shared his experiences and provided a model for interprofessional collaboration. He also worked with the team that developed the George Washington University Laboratory Leadership program. Many alumni of this program served in leadership roles in ministries of health around the world. Finally, he was a generous mentor to employees at the Massachusetts State Laboratory and at APHL, providing career advice and encouragement to young laboratorians and global health program staffers.

Dr. Steece is the former Director of the Tennessee Department of Health Division of Laboratory Services. Dr. Steece has more than 40 years of public health laboratory experience and has advanced the field in a variety of ways. He began his career working at the bench and worked his way up through progressive leadership roles including assistant director or Director at the Minnesota, South Dakota and Tennessee State Public Health Laboratories.

Dr. Steece was elected and served as a Public Health Institutional – State Member Representative on the APHL Board of Directors and has served on multiple APHL committees thoughout his career. He has also facilitated the hosting of many APHL fellows in multiple laboratories around the nation.

Dr. Steece was the national chlamydia lab coordinator for CDC for seven years, which included the coordination of all lab aspects of the National Infertility Prevention Project. He has also worked internationally to provide support for APHL, CDC, CLSI and a number of other partner organizations.

Shult has made significant contributions to public health surveillance. A prime example of this was his vision of and active participation in the development of the Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network, one of the first laboratory-based surveillance networks in the United States that serves as a model for public health labs across the country. Beginning as early as 1995 with the Wisconsin laboratory-based influenza surveillance network, Shult saw the value of developing collaborative networks with clinical laboratory partners.

Shult was also a lead contributor to the Influenza “Right Size” Surveillance guidance document, which was developed by a collaboration between the CDC Influenza Division and the APHL IRP Subcommittee workgroup which he chaired. This groundbreaking guidance document has fundamentally changed how seasonal influenza surveillance is conducted within the US and improved our confidence in laboratory surveillance data.

Shult’s passion, dedication and commitment to the field of public health have made a lasting impact on the lives of those who know him or work with him, but also countless others he has never met. This truly defines the achievement of one who has given his all for others, not for himself, but for humanity; for the public’s health.

​He started his professional career with Maryland Laboratories Administration in 1969 prior to serving in the U.S. Army from 1970-72 in a public health capacity as a Food Inspection Specialist. He then served as a Research Technician and Research Assistant at Johns Hopkins Medical School. From 1980-83, DeBoy served as Director of Laboratory Operations for the State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell University and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medical and Public Health Microbiology at Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, MO. In 1984, DeBoy returned to the Maryland Laboratories Administration, serving in numerous capacities ranging from Chief, Division of Laboratory Licensure, Certification and Training to Assistant Director, Deputy Director and ultimately Director, Laboratories Administration.

DeBoy provided considerable leadership support to APHL, including serving on the Board of Directors, chairing the Workforce Development Committee, and serving on the Food Safety, Finance and Policy, Planning & Legislation Committees. He also participated on the APHL/CDC Core Competencies Workgroup, assisted during Congressional Hill Days and helped develop the APHL-USF DrPH program. Outside of APHL, DeBoy provided service to numerous other national and state associations throughout his career, including serving on the Board of Education and Training for the American Society for Microbiology, serving as Board Chairman, Clinical & Public Health Examination Chairman and Nominating Committee Chairman for the Certification Board of the National Registry of Microbiologists, and serving as Director at Large and Chairman of the Legislative Committee for the Maryland Public Health Association.

​In 2012, she initiated the collaboration between the ISDH Laboratory and the ASM/CDC Global Fellowship Program and has since hosted 24 fellows representing 11 countries. Lovchik is also a faculty member in Indiana University School of Medicine's Committee for Postdoctoral Education Programs (CPEP) Fellowship Program, which has successfully trained five fellows since 2012.

Lovchik has been heavily involved in APHL activities, including serving as both Secretary-Treasurer and President of the Board of Directors, along with participating on the Infectious Disease, Finance and Global Health Committees. Additionally, she was a member of the ASM/APHL/CDC Workgroup tasked with developing and updating "Sentinel Laboratory Guidelines for Suspected Agents of Bioterrorism and Emergency Infectious Diseases" following 9/11.

Outside of APHL, Lovchik has been a very active ASM member, serving 10 years on the Journal of Clinical Microbiology Editorial Board, and she still serves as ad hoc reviewer for Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, Infection and Immunity, and the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. She also served on ASM's Council Policy Committee, Standards and Examination Committee for American Board of Medical Microbiology and as a Division C Councilor, among other positions. Lovchik has been acknowledged as a "power user" of ASM's ClinMicroNet, where she has shared valuable insight of clinical and public health laboratory practices.

Lovchik is a fearless and tireless leader whose outreach initiative has broken the invisible walls between partners and institutions. She has made significant contributions to preparing the next generation of leaders in both the public health and clinical laboratory communities. Her experience and scientific excellence in clinical and public health laboratory science have had a profound impact on the public health best practices both nationally and globally.