This award, established in 1965 (and amended in 2006), recognizes episodic, sustained, or cumulative contributions to the practice of pathology and to the College of American Pathologists that are sufficiently notable and extraordinary to set the nominee apart from his or her peers. Nominees must be CAP members.
Karen E. Weck, MD, FCAP
The College of American Pathologists presents Karen E. Weck, MD, FCAP, with the CAP Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions and service to the CAP’s Laboratory Improvement Programs while serving as chair of the CAP/ACMG Biochemical and Molecular Genetics Resource Committee, the Cross-Council Molecular Advisory Group, and the Pharmacogenetics Project Team. During her tenure as chair, Dr. Weck assisted with introducing numerous proficiency testing (PT) programs, as well as coauthoring several manuscripts that focused on molecular PT performance and sample validation protocols for Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing. She is considered a leader for the CAP’s accreditation programs in her role as a laboratory inspector.
Dr. Weck serves as the director of a large academic clinical laboratory that conducts genomic testing for diagnosis of genetic diseases and for prognosis and treatment response in cancer. She is a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Molecular and Clinical Genetics Devices Panel and the president-elect of the Association for Molecular Pathology. Dr. Weck is co-investigator of several National Institutes of Health-funded grants to implement whole exome sequencing for diagnosis of genetic diseases in adults and children with genetic disorders, in newborn screening, and in fetal disorders. She has been a co-investigator of multiple initiatives to develop genetic diagnostic testing for multigenic inherited diseases and to study the clinical utility of pharmacogenomic information for personalized medicine.
Dr. Weck is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, professor of genetics, and director of molecular genetics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.