Longtime ARUP Medical Director Carl Wittwer, MD, PhD, Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Carl Wittwer, MD, PhD, who retired from ARUP Laboratories in 2020 and is credited with revolutionizing molecular diagnostics, received a Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the Innovation Awards granted by the University of Utah Licensing and Technology Office and announced on October 22. Wittwer's innovations include rapid-cycle polymerase chain reaction (PCR), extreme PCR, high-resolution melting (HRM), and the LightCycler^® system, all of which have shaped modern diagnostics.

"It's nice to be recognized for work performed by my group developing rapid diagnostic methods and instruments. Hopefully a 'lifetime award' does not portend that my end is near," Wittwer joked. His career is far from over: Wittwer said he is staying busy in retirement with lectures on the horizon and a steadfast commitment to advancing molecular diagnostics.

"I continue to work in my laboratory, focused on reducing the time and cost of molecular diagnostics, specifically reducing the time for amplification (PCR) and detection (melting analysis)," Wittwer said.

After retiring from ARUP, Wittwer moved to Maine, where he and his wife, Noriko Kusukawa, PhD, built a home with a fully equipped molecular laboratory. His latest work includes his appointment to the advisory board of Inbiome, and he said he is also fortunate to be involved with Co-Diagnostics, Scope Fluidics, Nusantics, MegaRobo, Magic Lifescience, and Faro Diagnostics.

Wittwer said ARUP and the University of Utah's Department of Pathology encouraged him to innovate, which led to the LightCycler^® and the FilmArray.

"Confidence by Carl Kjeldsberg, MD [former ARUP CEO], and Harry Hill, MD [an ARUP founder], in the future of molecular diagnostics at ARUP was pivotal," Wittwer explained. He established ARUP's first molecular diagnostics lab, which at the time was considered risky due to the significant investment in equipment and labor required, but it led to molecular diagnostics being a mainstay in laboratory medicine. He eventually became the medical director of Immunologic Flow Cytometry at ARUP.

Wittwer also cofounded Idaho Technology/BioFire Diagnostics and played a pivotal role as board chairman during the company's acquisitions by bioMérieux.

Wittwer said he is proud that he remained an academic, and as a Professor Emeritus of Pathology at the U, he holds more than 50 U.S. patents and has published more than 200 scientific articles. He said he finds mentoring others rewarding.

The University of Utah Innovation Awards recognize the efforts that U students, staff, faculty, and startups have made to pursue impactful research and contribute to the university's culture of innovation. The recipients were acknowledged on October 28. Review the list of winners here.

Read more about Wittwer here.

Bonnie Stray, [email protected]