Title: Vice Chairman
Company: The University of California San Diego School of Medicine
Location: Orland Park, Illinois, United States
Ronald William McLawhon, MD, PhD, Vice Chairman of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in biochemistry and pathology.
Committed to studying science and medicine at the University of Chicago, Dr. McLawhon earned a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences in 1979, a Master of Science in biochemistry in 1980 and a Doctor of Philosophy in biochemistry in 1982. Determined to explore and understand human disease, he made it a career goal to make an impact from a scientific standpoint as a physician. Thereafter, he obtained a Doctor of Medicine from Rush University Medical College. Following his graduation, he completed his residency in pathology at Rush University Medical Center before working for several years at the aforementioned college as an instructor and an assistant professor. He subsequently completed an additional residency in pathology at the University of Chicago Medical Center in 1990.
Dr. McLawhon continued his career at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine as an assistant professor from 1990 to 1996 and an associate professor from 1996 to 2007. Over the course of his career, he has found notable success as the director of clinical chemistry at the University of Chicago Medical Center as well as the director of outreach and clinical support services, the director of regional laboratory services and the medical director of hospital laboratories for the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health Systems. Since 2007, he has established himself as a professor and the head of the laboratory and genomic medicine division of the department of pathology at the University of California San Diego. That same year, he was designated as the director of clinical laboratories for UC San Diego Health Systems. Moreover, since 2014, he has served as the vice-chairman at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Over the course of his career, Dr. McLawhon has maintained professional affiliations with organizations such as the American Society of Cell Biology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of Clinical Chemistry, for which he served as chairman of the Chicago section between 2005 and 2006. For his contributions to the field, he has been honored with a multitude of accolades, notably the Albert A. Dietz Service Award from the American Association of Clinical Chemistry in 2008 and the Public Service Award in Honor of Frank C. Coleman from the College of American Pathologists in 2020. A revered Marquis listee, he is proud to have been a recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. A leading figure in pathology and biochemistry, he has contributed articles to numerous scientific journals, such as the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Neurochemistry and the Journal of Membrane Biology. Above all, he is most proud of his research pertaining to the biochemistry of cell membrane receptors and signals transduction in the nervous system, the molecular pharmacology of opiates and opioid peptides, the regulation of complex carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and the integration of clinical laboratory automation and robotics.
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