It was terrific to connect with so many of our readers and vendors at the AACC meeting and Clinical Lab Expo in Chicago this year. As usual, the CLP team could not begin to cover the floor completely at the trade show, but we did our best to make the rounds. Our efforts were well-rewarded as we learned about exciting new developments in molecular diagnostics, chemistry and immunochemistry, informatics, and the staples of labs everywhere—pipetting, safety, and sample handling.

You can look for news emerging from AACC to influence much of what you read in CLP in the coming months. For example, integration continues to be a strong trend, particularly the integration of chemistry and immunoassay analyzers into combined platforms with truly impressive capabilities. These new instruments, made possible by advances in both basic science and technology, will be covered in a feature in early 2010. Interest continues to build in the sensitivity and specificity offered by mass spectrometry, and we will bring you the latest on new offerings from companies in this space as well.

In between our meetings, additional highlights for the CLP team included a bit of Chicago’s best attraction, such as Millennium Park and local favorite restaurant Carnivale. You can read more about our experiences at this year’s show at the CLP Web site blog.

This issue brings you the second of CLP’s annual respiratory virus testing supplement, and the timing could not be better. Influenza, and particularly the novel H1N1 strain—also known as swine flu—are uppermost on everyone’s minds this time of year. Swine flu jumped onto our radar in the United States this past spring and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) by June, as the virus spread to more than 120 countries worldwide. I hope you find the Tech Guide to current diagnostic technologies, as well as the in-depth feature material in the supplement, useful.

For more AACC news, see CLP‘s blog.

If you haven’t tuned in to our September podcast series yet, please download it here. Our guest this month is Edward Abrahams, executive director of the Personalized Medicine Coalition, which represents more than 160 members in the academic, industrial, patient, provider, and payor communities. Ed shares some insightful comments on developments in pharmacogenetics, including warfarin dosage testing, and is very enthusiastic about the appointment of Francis Collins, MD, PhD, as director of the National Institutes of Health. As former director of the National Human Genome Project, Dr Collins has a demonstrated commitment to application of genetic research to human health, and it will be very exciting to watch goings-on at NIH under his direction.

As always, feel free to contact me at any time at or (858) 793-9533, and continue to send your news releases to .

Suzanne Clancy, PhD
editor, CLP

(858) 793-9533