2023 CAP Distinguished Service Award

This award, established in 1965 (and amended in 2006), recognizes episodic, sustained, or cumulative contributions to the practice of pathology and to the CAP that are sufficiently notable and extraordinary to set the nominee apart from peers. Nominees must be CAP members.

The College of American Pathologists honors Joel T. Moncur, MD, PhD, MS, FCAP, with the 2023 CAP Distinguished Service Award for his ability to identify, design, execute, and report on scientific studies that use CAP Proficiency Testing (PT) data to address important issues involving molecular diagnostics for cancer.

Dr. Moncur currently serves on the Council on Scientific Affairs after serving 14 years on the Molecular Oncology Committee, culminating in four years as chair. In these roles, Dr. Moncur led the creation and implementation of a strategic plan for molecular PT. Under his leadership, the Molecular Oncology Committee published 23 manuscripts, with 15 more currently in process. These manuscripts represent some of the highest quality data available on molecular laboratory performance and have helped inform and educate pathology and medical communities at large about quality in laboratory testing.

With Dr. Moncur’s commitment to data and evidence, the organization has gained a reassuring leader who engages with all team members. He serves as a CAP ambassador, dealing with groups that include the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and clinical colleagues from organizations such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology. His body of work has greatly enhanced molecular oncology testing and has grown the CAP’s industry reputation as a leader.

Dr. Moncur is an active-duty military officer at the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army. He served as the laboratory director for Walter Reed and the Pentagon's laboratories. Dr. Moncur currently leads the Joint Pathology Center (previously known as the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology), which houses the world’s largest repository of slides and tissue blocks. He has advanced pathology by making this material available for research, fostered crucial understanding of the material on “60 Minutes,” and is now in the process of digitizing the archives to provide data in support of machine learning algorithms designed to augment pathologists.

Dr. Moncur is a colonel of the U.S. Army Medical Corps and director of the Joint Pathology Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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