Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. has announced the addition of Romney Humphries, PhD, D(ABMM), M(ASCP) to its executive management team as Chief Scientific Officer.
Dr. Romney Humphries comes to Accelerate from UCLA Medical Center where she was the Section Chief for Clinical Microbiology and the Assistant Clinical Professor of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Dr. Humphries is highly regarded within the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases communities for her expertise, research, and contributions to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. She is particularly well known for her interest and publications in the area of antimicrobial susceptibility testing, new diagnostic technologies, and her work to address common issues faced by clinical microbiology laboratories.
She is published in more than 100 scientific peer-reviewed papers in journals such as Clinical Infectious Diseases and Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Additionally, she has been invited to speak at over one hundred academic workshops and scientific conferences around the world.
Dr. Humphries also serves on several committees and working groups for organizations including the American Society for Microbiology, the Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the World Health Organization. Her advocacy for improved patient care is evident across numerous radio interviews, magazine commentary, and news media including the Los Angeles Times.
“We’re excited to welcome such an accomplished microbiologist, scientist, and researcher to the Accelerate team,” said Lawrence Mehren, President and CEO of Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. “Romney will play a vital role by bringing the voice of the microbiology community to the company.”
In addition to providing scientific direction for business and product strategy, Dr. Humphries will lead collaborations with influential academic medical centers and provide evidence based scientific support for clinical adoption of the company’s leading-edge diagnostic solutions.
Steve Metzger, Head of Discovery and New Products at Accelerate said, “Right now, clinical micro labs face a number of challenges: from a shrinking workforce and legislative changes to emerging public health threats, like antimicrobial resistance. Romney shares our passion for innovation to address these challenges for the lab and the hospital, ultimately improving patient outcomes in a very dramatic way. We are honored to have her join the team.”
Dr. Humphries points out that antimicrobial resistance is a tremendous clinical dilemma. “While at UCLA, we encountered patients with highly resistant, at times pan-drug resistant infections, on what seemed like a daily basis. One of the biggest frustrations for us, and other laboratories I’ve worked with, is the fact that the methods available to hospital laboratories to test for resistance were developed decades ago. It’s obviously time for a change,” said Dr. Humphries.
Regarding her decision to join the company, Dr. Humphries said, “I’ve long been a proponent of the value of a phenotypic method, and Accelerate Diagnostics is clearly the leader with this technology. I am excited to join the Accelerate team and bring cutting-edge, rapid and reliable testing to patients suffering from antibiotic-resistant infections.”
Source & Image Credit: Accelerate Diagnostics
