Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories

Dr. Carl Morrison
Dr. Carl Morrison

Higgins congratulates Roswell Park physician on naming to federal panel on diagnostic testing

by jmaloni

Submitted

Wed, Aug 12th 2015 05:50 pm

Pathologist Dr. Carl Morrison, leader in precision-medicine field, named to advisory panel on clinical diagnostic laboratory tests

Congressman Brian Higgins has commended Dr. Carl Morrison of Roswell Park Cancer Institute on his appointment to the federal advisory panel on clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. The new, 15-member panel has been established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to help guide and inform CMS leadership on decisions and policies regarding new diagnostic laboratory tests.

Higgins enthusiastically endorsed Morrison's appointment to this new advisory body, submitting a letter of recommendation to CMS on his behalf.

Among other responsibilities, the advisory panel on clinical diagnostic laboratory tests will help guide interpretation and implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, legislation expected to be as impactful for clinical diagnostics as were the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments updates of the late 1980s.

"The field of diagnostic testing is changing rapidly as new technologies take advantage of progress in our understanding of human genetics," Higgins said. "Today, it's possible to tailor medical treatment to patients on an individual, personalized basis, but it is only through development of highly sensitive, next-generation diagnostic testing that the promise of precision medicine can be realized. So it's vitally important that our health policy leaders have access to up-to-date developments and trends within the field, and Dr. Morrison is well equipped to deliver just that kind of informed, forward-thinking guidance."

Morrison, a board-certified anatomic pathologist with 12 years of experience directing clinical molecular pathology laboratories, is clinical chief of the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at Roswell Park and executive director of the institute's center for personalized medicine.

"Carl is incredibly smart and stunningly fluent in all aspects of diagnostic testing," said Roswell Park President and CEO Candace S. Johnson, Ph.D., who also submitted a letter to CMS strongly recommending his appointment to the panel on clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. "He's proven himself as a leader in the precision-medicine field internationally, and patients around the country will be better served because he's in a position to share his insights and expertise with federal policymakers."

A licensed physician with a New York state certificate of qualification in molecular and cellular tumor markers, Morrison joined the Roswell Park staff in January 2007 and today also serves as director of both its division of molecular pathology and its pathology resource network, as well as a professor of oncology at the comprehensive cancer center. He completed a fellowship in cytopathology at The Ohio State University following his residency at the same institution, and holds both a medical degree, from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, and a DVM (doctorate in veterinary medicine) from OSU.

Morrison lives in Fredonia, with his wife and two children.

Hometown News

View All News