CLSI Announces Recipients of the 2026 Excellence Awards, Recognizing Expert Volunteers and Member Achievements

Russell J. Eilers Memorial Award 

This year’s recipient of CLSI’s highest honor, the Russell J. Eilers Award is Victor Waddell, PhD, MS. The CLSI president selects this award to recognize an individual volunteer who has made exceptional contributions to CLSI’s success over extended periods of time. 

Dr. Waddell currently serves as Bureau Chief and Laboratory Director of the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory, where he oversees statewide laboratory operations including Analytical Chemistry, Microbiology, Newborn Screening, BioEmergency Response, and Chemical Emergency Response. He has been with the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory since 2001 and was appointed Bureau Chief in 2022. 

Dr. Waddell also serves as Executive Director of the Arizona Biomedical Research Centre and has held numerous national leadership roles throughout his career, including serving as APHL President from 2011 to 2012 and as a Member‑at‑Large on the APHL Board of Directors. He is the current Co‑Chair of the Laboratory Response Network Joint Leadership Committee and played a key role in the design and development of the new Arizona State Public Health Laboratory. Within CLSI, Dr. Waddell most recently served as Immediate Past President of the CLSI Board of Directors, continuing a long history of dedicated volunteer leadership. 

John V. Bergen Excellence Award 

The John V. Bergen Excellence Award is presented annually to an outstanding volunteer or group of volunteers in recognition of unique and significant contributions to advance CLSI’s organizational directives and objectives. 

The 2026 John V. Bergen Excellence Award recipient is Victoria L. Petrides, MS, a recognized leader in quality, regulatory strategy, and statistical sciences. Ms. Petrides is the Program Manager for Technical Design Quality at Abbott Laboratories. She also serves as CLSI’s Consensus Council Chair and currently sits on the CLSI Board of Directors. Ms. Petrides has also contributed her expertise to numerous CLSI document development committees. Beyond CLSI, she serves as Vice Chair of the U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 212 and chair of AdvaMed’s Statistical Working Group.  

Excellence in Standards Development Award 

CLSI has presented the Excellence in Standards Development Award to Robert Bowden, BS, who has made significant contributions to the development of management of CLSI standards and guidelines. 
 
Mr. Bowden is a medical laboratory scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, MA. His experience spans the human and veterinary fields, where he has collaborated and consulted on projects involving antibiogram development and automation, antimicrobial stewardship, infection control, and diagnostics development. He has been a CLSI volunteer since 2016 and is actively involved with many working groups, currently serving as a voting member of the CLSI Subcommittee on Veterinary Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing as well as liaison between the CLSI AST and VAST subcommittees. 

Excellence in Member Organization Leadership Award 

The Awards Committee is proud to present this honor to Werfen, a global leader in specialized diagnostics with core strengths in hemostasis, acute care diagnostics, transfusion, autoimmunity, and transplant testing. With direct operations in 30 countries and distribution in more than 100 territories, Werfen’s more than 7,000 employees support innovative systems, reagents, and software that help laboratories improve efficiency, accuracy, and patient care worldwide. 

For a list of past award winners and to learn more about the nomination and selection process, visit the CLSI website.