Dr. David H. Persing wins 2024 California Life Sciences Pantheon Award

Annual Pantheon Awards honor California's most impactful life sciences innovators

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cepheid congratulates Executive Vice President, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, David H. Persing, MD, Ph.D., for receiving the 2024 California Life Sciences (CLS) Pantheon Leadership award. The award recognizes Dr. Persing's legacy of innovative research and leadership in the field of molecular diagnostics. His visionary leadership has accelerated advancements in diagnostics, improving global healthcare by making rapid, accurate testing accessible for a wide range of diseases.

Dr. Persing conducted his scientific and medical training with Don Ganem and Nobel laureate Harold Varmus at the University of California, San Francisco. After residency training in Clinical Pathology at Yale University, he held leadership roles in academia and industry starting in the early 1990s with the design and operation of the first PCR reference laboratory at the Mayo Clinic. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and reviews and co-authored the first textbook on molecular testing. Dave also serves as Consulting Professor of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

"Dave's commitment to the democratization of molecular diagnostic methods has spanned his entire career," said Vitor Rocha, president of Cepheid. "Since he joined Cepheid in 2004, Dr. Persing has made a substantial impact shaping the technology and direction of Cepheid - leading development on diagnostics tests for infectious diseases including mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), MRSA, HIV, influenza, COVID-19, Ebola, and hepatitis C. As we near his retirement at the end of 2024, I am honored to highlight Dr. Persing's commitment to patients and his contributions toward ensuring people worldwide have access to diagnostic testing."

Dr. Persing was selected from a group of respected peers, who each have an established track record of devoting their career to meaningfully improving people's lives through science.

"Congratulations to Dave on his well-deserved Pantheon Award," said CLS President & CEO, Mike Guerra. "His achievements showcase the trailblazing spirit of California's life sciences sector. As Pantheon celebrates its 21st anniversary, it's especially inspiring to honor innovators like Dave, whose trailblazing work in diagnostics embodies the role of effective leadership in driving technological innovation and improving health outcomes worldwide."

Pantheon unites over 500 industry leaders each year to celebrate the transformative contributions of California's top life sciences professionals. This year's winners were announced at the awards ceremony on November 7 in San Francisco. Visit www.califesciences.org/pantheon to learn more.

About Cepheid

Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Cepheid is a leading molecular diagnostics company. Cepheid is dedicated to improving healthcare by developing, manufacturing, and marketing accurate yet easy-to-use molecular systems and tests. By automating highly complex and time-consuming manual procedures, the company's solutions deliver a better way for institutions of any size to perform sophisticated molecular diagnostic testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases. Through its strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those applications where accurate, rapid, and actionable test results are needed most, such as managing infectious diseases and cancer. For more information, visit http://www.cepheid.com.

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SOURCE Cepheid