2020 AAMI Fellows Honored for Achievements, Commitment to AAMI Mission

Contact:  Gavin Stern, gstern@aami.org, 1-703-647-2781

AAMI members who have provided substantial service and contributions to the health technology field and to AAMI have been selected as the 2020 class of AAMI Fellows. AAMI Fellows are health technology leaders who are recognized for extraordinary achievement in their careers.

“Our second class of AAMI Fellows come from a variety of fields. However, they all share a commitment to AAMI’s mission: The development, management, and use of safe and effective health technology,” said Sabrina Reilly, vice president of membership at AAMI. “We congratulate our Fellows for their numerous accomplishments, as well as their drive continue to grow, to achieve, and to improve the world around them.”

AAMI recognizes Fellows for the depth and breadth of their accomplishments in seven core areas: professional experience, education, technical contributions, presentations and publications, professional participation, certification, and awards and honors.

2020 Class of AAMI Fellows:

John E. Abele, co-founder of Boston Scientific, was a key founder of AAMI and a member of the first AAMI Board of Directors. Abele's career is distinguished by bringing together clinicians, the medical device industry, regulators, and health technology managers. He has also been active in scientific outreach, serving as the chairman of FIRST, a program dedicated to inspiring students to be science and technology leaders.

Steven Baker, PhD, principal consultant at Alpha Bravo Connectivity and clinical assistant research professor at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR, is recognized for his work ethic and outstanding ability to motivate others, especially within AAMI’s former Wireless Strategy Task Force, where he served for seven years and was among its most active members. Baker received the Spirit of AAMI award earlier this year and serves on the steering committee for the Healthcare Technology Alliance.

Damien Berg, regional manager for UCHealth in Northern Colorado and direct manager for the Medical Center of the Rockies and Poudre Valley Hospitals in Johnstown, CO, has 27 years of experience as a sterile processing technician and manager. He has written several articles on sterile processing leadership and has spoken globally on the topic. Berg served as immediate past president of the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management, 2019–2020.

James Caporali, senior director of clinical engineering at Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, TN, has over 30 years of experience working in government, third party, and inhouse clinical engineering programs. He has actively volunteered in many roles for AAMI, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), and is currently serving on the American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE) Board of Directors. Caporali holds senior membership status with ASHE and is a Fellow of ACCE.

Mary Ann Drosnock, director of clinical education at Healthmark Industries in Bath, PA, is an expert on medical device processing and leads a team of clinical educators at Healthmark. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in health science and was named a fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Drosnock is certified in drug development, pharmaceutical science, infection control, endoscope reprocessing, and is a nationally certified registered microbiologist.

Larry Fennigkoh, PhD, adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in Milwaukee, WI, teaches courses in design, biomechanics, biostatistics, physiology, and electrical circuits. Prior to MSOE, he spent 22 years working in three different hospital systems and managing in-house clinical engineering and healthcare technology management (HTM) programs. He is a registered professional engineer and certified in clinical engineering.

Greg Gdowski, executive director of the Center for Medical Technology & Innovation and associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, coordinates educational and entrepreneurial activities related to the development of novel technology solutions to clinical problems. Gdowski established and managed a National Institutes of Health funded research laboratory in vestibular sensory processing.

Larry Hertzler has worked in the clinical engineering field for 40 years, holding positions in hospitals, hospital systems, equipment insurance, and the largest independent service organizations in the United States. He has served on the AAMI Board and AAMI Foundation Board of Directors. He previously chaired the U.S. Certification Commission and the AAMI Credentials Institute.

Clark Houghtling, vice president of business development and technical affairs for Cosmed in Hickory, NC, is a very active AAMI volunteer. Houghtling serves on the AAMI Sterilization Standards Committee and serves as an instructor for AAMI’s sterilization courses. Houghtling is an AAMI Certified Industrial Sterilization Specialist (CISS), with certifications in ethylene oxide, radiation, and moist heat.

Jim Keller, business development director for Emergo by UL in Austin, TX, provides consulting services and solutions for medical device, in vitro diagnostic, and pharmaceutical companies with a focus on developing new business opportunities and products. Prior to Emergo, Keller spent 34 years working at the ECRI Institute. He is a fellow and past president of ACCE and a member of the University of Connecticut’s Academy of Distinguished Engineers.

James Linton, coordinator and professor of biomedical engineering at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and was the national director of equipment services for the Canadian Blood Services. Linton is a certified master black belt in Lean Six Sigma and is a well-known champion for incorporating augmented reality/virtual reality technologies into the HTM field.

Alan Lipschultz, president of HealthCare Technology Consulting in Rockville, MD, has done considerable work as an expert witness on a variety of legal cases involving medical devices over the last eight years. Prior to consulting, Lipschultz served as the director of clinical engineering at Christiana Care Health Services in Delaware. He has also been named an ACCE fellow.

David Osborn, senior manager of global regulations and standards for Philips in Salem, NH, represents Philips in his work with international standards organizations on matters affecting the medical device industry. Osborn is the manager for the International Standards Organization (ISO) subcommittee TC 121/SC 3, Anesthesia and Respiratory Equipment, Respiratory devices and related equipment used for patient care.

Arif Subhan, chief biomedical engineer at VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in Los Angeles, CA, serves on the editorial boards of AAMI’s journal, BI&T, as well as 24x7 Magazine and the Journal of Clinical Engineering. In 2017, Subhan was elected president of ACCE and has been on the Board of Directors for over a decade. He received the AAMI Leadership Award in 2012 and has cochaired the AAMI Annual Conference Program Committee.

Priyanka Upendra, quality and compliance program director of technology management/ENTECH at Banner Health in Chandler, AZ, has been a member of the HTM community for over a decade. She works with various groups on medical device cybersecurity and HTM quality and compliance. Upendra is a member of AAMI’s Technology Management Committee, BI&T editorial board, Awards, and Nominating Committee. She has been on the ACCE Board of Directors since 2016 and is currently pursuing a doctorate in health administration.

AAMI (www.aami.org) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967. It is a diverse community of more than 10,000 healthcare technology professionals united by one important mission—supporting the healthcare community in the development, management, and use of safe and effective health technology. AAMI is the primary source of consensus standards, both national and international, for the medical device industry, as well as practical information, support, and guidance for health technology and sterilization professionals.