ASLM2014 Awards

ASLM2014_AwardsThe biennial ASLM Awards Ceremony recognises individuals and laboratories committed to strengthening laboratory medicine in Africa, and it takes place during the international ASLM conference. The ASLM2014 Awards Ceremony was held in the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC) main auditorium on Wednesday, 3 December 2014 to publicly honour the winners of four categories, as well as recognise winners from the ASLM2014 scientific poster submissions.

Click here to view images from the ASLM2014 Awards Ceremony.

“ASLM honours the dedication, innovation and perseverance of professionals who have overcome and addressed laboratory medicine challenges to make significant contributions,” says ASLM CEO, Dr. Tsehaynesh Messele.

ASLM2014 Awards Categories and Descriptions:

ASLM Certificate of Recognition for Accredited Government Laboratories

Recognises newly-accredited government laboratories in Africa

  • Ethiopia: ALERT Centre Clinical Laboratory
  • Kenya: National HIV Reference Laboratory
  • South Africa: NHLS King Edward VII Hospital Laboratory
  • Tanzania: Muhimbili National Hospital: Central Pathology Laboratory
  • Tanzania: Mbeya Referral Hospital Laboratory
  • Tanzania: Bugando Medical Centre Laboratory
  • Tanzania: National Health Laboratory Quality Assurance & Training Centre (NHLQATC)
  • Togo: Laboratoire d’hématologie de l’Institut National d’Hygiène
  • Uganda: National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory

Best Laboratory Practice Award

Encourages and recognises a sustainable laboratory improvement or best practice leading to tangible and replicable outcomes for enhanced quality in laboratory systems and patient care

  • Winner: Uganda Virus Research Institute’s Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Laboratory
  • Honourable Mention: 445 Nigerian Air Force Hospital Laboratory, Ikeja, Nigeria
  • Honourable Mention: Uganda Ministry of Health’s Central Public Health Laboratories

Best Laboratory Champion Clinician Award

Promotes and recognises clinicians in the field of laboratory science with profound impact and benefit to public health

  • Winner: Dr. Charles Awasom
  • Honourable Mention: Dr. Francesca Conradie
  • Honourable Mention: Dr. Shaffiq Essajee

ASLM Lifetime Achievement Award

Recognises an individual playing an exceptional leadership role in the laboratory sciences

  • Winner: Prof. Mireille Dosso
  • Honourable Mention: Prof. Alash’le Abimiku
  • Honourable Mention: Kim Lewis

ASLM2014 Conference Winning Scientific Poster Submissions:

Recognises exceptional scientific posters

  • 1. Diagnostics and antimicrobial resistance
  • 1st: Aaron Aboderin, Genetic context for the transmissible Quinolone-resistance gene qnrS1 in Nigeria

    2nd: Kepher Otieno, CD4 point of care testing at household-level in Kenya: Added novelty from a nationally-representative based cross-sectional survey
    3rd: Eleaor Ochodo, Over diagnosis of malaria: the role of non-adherence to test negative results

  • 2. Diagnositcs, Economics and Other Scientific Research
  • 1st: Pedro Catarino, Automatic quantification malaria test of thick smear
    2nd: Lindi Marie Coetzee, Applying the integrated tiered service delivery model in KwaZulu-Natal province to identify optimal placement of CD4 testing facilities
    3rd: George Alemnji, HIV rapid testing policies and practices in the Caribbean Region: Interventions, outcomes, challenges and recommendations

  • 3. Laboratory systems and quality improvement
  • 1st: Cheryl Johnson, Are we delivering the wrong results? Examining misclassification of HIV status and false positive test results
    2nd: Lynee Galley, Quantification of microbiology laboratory mentoring progress in Tanzania
    3rd: Olatilewa Amusu, From zero to five star: the improvement process of 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Laboratory

  • 4. Policy and laboratory management
  • 1st: Nei-yuan Hsiao, A snapshot of the state of adult ART programmes – an analysis of aggregated laboratory HIV viral load testing data
    2nd: Angela Amayo, Innovative improvements in biosafety practices following biosafety skill-based trainings in Kenya
    3rd: Dumisani Mhlongo, The use of an internal quality control programme to monitor quality assurance of HIV rapid testing in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

  • 5. Surveillance, Epidemilogy, Economics, and Other Scientific Research
  • 1st: Mulamuli Moyo, Mentoring laboratory personnel in viral load and CD4 testing in Botswana: Successes and challenges
    2nd: Inocencio Mate, Investigation of dengue in Nampula City, Nampula Province, Mozambique, 2014
    3rd: Humphrey Musuluma, Remarkable reduction in downtime following implementation of laboratory equipment maintanance strategy in FHI-360-supported hospitals in Nigeria

  • 6: Outstanding Francophone Posters
  • 1st: Julien Nzeze, Partenariat publique/prive en RDC pour l’imlementation de l’otpion B plus ches les femmes encientes HIV positives: le cas du programme DREAM
    2nd: Patrick Malumba Kabitantshi, Facteurs de pronostic de l’acces pernicieux plaustre de l’enfant a Kinshasa
    3rd: Edgard Lafia, Determination du taux normal des lymphocytes TCD4+ ches le sujet sain seronegatif au VIH par une methode de cytometrie en Flux a Contonou, Republique du Benin

  • 7: Excellence in Visual Communication
  • 1st: Jean Maritz, Using laboratory information system data to assess successes and challenges of an HIV early infant diagnosis programme
    2nd: Eric Wakaria, Quality improvement inititatives towards provision of safe and sufficient blood in Kenya
    3rd: Nassim Cassim,Assessing the impact of implementing a community CD4 laboratory in a rural health district in South Africa