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- 2021 CAP Pathology Advancement Award
The College of American Pathologists established the CAP Pathology Advancement Award in 2013 to recognize a person or team who demonstrates components of foresight, resolve, and untiring commitment to both evolutionary and revolutionary undertakings that advance the positioning of the pathologist in the house of medicine and the delivery of safer patient care. It recognizes efforts that are neither easy nor obvious, and the recipient will often be a change agent.
David F. Keren, MD, FCAP
The College of American Pathologists presents David F. Keren, MD, FCAP, with the 2021 CAP Pathology Advancement Award in recognition of his distinguished service and leadership in advancing the practice of immunology and clinical chemistry.
Dr. Keren is the co-chair of the CAP guideline expert panel charged with developing evidence-based recommendations in the initial diagnosis and quantitation of monoclonal gammopathies. During the several-year guideline development period, Dr. Keren led the multi-disciplinary panel to systematically review thousands of studies to provide evidence-based recommendations on the testing of monoclonal gammopathies. This complex review process can become overwhelming, but Dr. Keren’s leadership helped the panel to push through. His expertise and insight were critical to the development of recommendations that will prove useful to pathologists doing the testing, physicians ordering the tests, and other members of the health care team. Prior to the CAP guideline expert panel, Dr. Keren was on the Diagnostic Immunology and Flow Cytometry Committee and the Hematology/Clinical Microscopy Committee.
Dr. Keren is a professor of chemical pathology at the University of Michigan and serves as the medical director of phlebotomy services.
Mark S. Synovec, MD, FCAP
The College of American Pathologists presents Mark S. Synovec, MD, FCAP, with the 2021 CAP Pathology Advancement Award in recognition of his commitment to advancing the specialty.
Since 2000, Dr. Synovec has served as a CAP delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates, and since 2012 he has been the AMA’s Pathology Section Council chair. In that role, he coordinates the activity of all pathology delegates from various societies and leads the interaction of pathologists with other parts of the house of medicine. He also serves as the current chair of the AMA-CPT Editorial Panel; in this capacity he is responsible for maintaining the nation’s primary medical procedure code set.
His leadership in medicine is not confined to the AMA. Dr. Synovec has served as president of the Kansas Medical Society and as president of the Shawnee County Medical Society. He is the current chairman of the board at the Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Company.
Dr. Synovec’s role in enhancing the profession of pathology is not limited to organized medicine. He is an active member of the community, having served as a trustee of the Grace Cathedral Endowment Fund and as a member of the Topeka Community Foundation’s board of directors. He is also a founding and current member of the management oversight committee of Shawnee County’s indigent care program, HealthAccess.
Dr. Synovec has received numerous awards from the CAP, including the Advocate of the Year Award, the President’s Honors Award, and the Public Service Award. He has served on numerous CAP committees including the Economic Affairs Committee, Practice Management Committee, Education Committee, Nominating Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. He has also served as a member and advisor of the Council on Government and Professional Affairs.
Dr. Synovec is a pathologist in Topeka, Kansas, and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including serving as the laboratory medical director for Stormont-Vail Hospital and as president of Topeka Pathology Group.