Dr. Ronald Booth is a Clinical Biochemist in the Division of Biochemistry with the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital and the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association (EORLA) and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He directs the Immunology and Neurobiomarkers Section of the EORLA regional laboratory at the Ottawa Hospital General Campus. He is also the Medical Laboratory Director and/or Clinical Biochemistry consultant for various community hospitals in the Eastern Ontario region.
Dr. Booth is a specialist in Clinical Biochemistry and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemists (FCACB) and Fellow American Academy of Clinical Chemists (FAACC). He is the current chair of the IQMH Endocrinology and Immunology Committees and Chair of the IQMH Professional Advisory Committee. He is a past expert member of Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), Health Technology Expert Review Panel (HTERP). He is active in both the Ontario Society of Clinical Chemists (OSCC) and the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC) as councilor (OSCC), treasurer (CSCC) and president (OSCC). In 2022, he was the recipient of the both the Canadian and Ontario awards for Outstanding Contribution to Clinical Chemistry.
He is an active teacher and researcher; coordinating the 4th year course Pathological Chemistry , and is involved in resident training. Dr. Booth’s Clinical research interests include diagnostic immunology and autoimmunity, neurobiomarkers and evidence-based utilization of clinical laboratory biomarkers.
Dr. Booth recalls that his initial days as a member of the Endocrinology and Immunology committees were challenging, as he had to familiarize himself with the committee's functions and the process of reviewing proficiency testing data. He notes that overall, it has been a great experience. Dr. Booth says the most interesting aspect of being a committee member is, “learning how laboratories from around Ontario, Canada and overseas investigate discordant results. It has definitely made me a better laboratorian.” He continues, “[the committee] has helped me and those I work with to more effectively respond to any discordant findings.”
Dr. Booth’s passions are learning and teaching, and in being on the committee he says, “I learn something new at every meeting, either from other committee members, the IQMH staff or participating laboratories. Every set of proficiency testing samples brings new challenges and questions from laboratories which I enjoy answering (or attempt to answer). Digging into the details of each survey involves a lot of committee discussions and often some external research to explore the reasons for the results.”
IQMH Proficiency Testing is grateful for the commitment and support of the medical diagnostics community, and we appreciate our volunteers who donate their time and valuable expertise to our programs. Thank you, Dr. Booth!