Helen Fernandes, PhD (fernande@umdnj.edu) Rick Press, MD, PhD (pressr@ohsu.edu) Co-Chairs, Membership and Professional Development Committee

AMP members as usual have responded to the call for the formation of “interest groups.” The groups that are in the process of being formed include geographic interest groups and topic-specific interest groups. The recently approved Pharmacogenetics (PGx) interest group led by Rajeev Sachdeva (Rajeev.Sachdeva@va.gov) will fall under the Genetics Subdivision. Congratulations to the 22 founding members of the PGx interest group. Any AMP member who is interested in becoming a member of an existing group should contact the leader for information. We encourage AMP members to use interest groups to facilitate discussions and exchange ideas on the topic. If you are interested in forming a new interest group please contact Mary Williams (mwilliams@amp.org) or Kathleen Carmody (KCarmody@amp.org) for details. We have AMP members who are in the process of forming geographic interest groups as well. Stay tuned to CHAMP for announcements.

A Respiratory Panel Working Group (RPWG) spearheaded by Donna Wolk and Belinda Yen-Lieberman was formed with seven AMP volunteers. The RPWG along with the Infectious Diseases Subdivision Representatives of AMP’s Clinical Practice Committee will prepare guidelines which would be useful for laboratories, manufacturers, clinicians, and payors to assess which respiratory pathogen targets are best suited for testing in a panel approach. 

Please do not miss the entertainment at the Annual Meeting in Kissimmee, Florida that AMP volunteers have planned for you.   You may apply for ad hoc AMP volunteer positions that are advertised on CHAMP by filling out an application on the website (http://www.amp.org/AboutAmp/getinvolved.htm) or by contacting Membership and Professional Development Committee members Robyn Temple-Smolkin and Shuji Ogino, or us.