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James B. McCormick, MD was just 20 years old when he launched his first
laboratory products and formed the Histoslide Company to sell prepared
microscope slides for teaching subjects of natural science. His histoslide
plastic slide box was the first of its kind and it was marketed by the
Central Scientific Co. of Chicago. This was the auspicious start for the
young scientist/inventor who would later develop many of the tools used
in modern histotechnology.
The McCormick tissue embedding and processing techniques, as well as his
patented cryostats, microtomes, cassettes and tissue embedding centers,
have changed the way tissue is processed throughout the world. Dr. McCormick
has been granted more than forty patents for health science related products.
His line of products -- Lab-Tek -- was purchased by Miles Laboratory and
subsequently by Sakura Finetek.
Always an innovator, Dr. McCormick contributed to the growth of Chicago's
privately held Swedish Covenant Hospital during his tenure as Chief Executive
during the 1980s. He remains a member of the hospital's pathology department
and maintains an active schedule of lab and hospital board committee work.
Since 1978, Dr. McCormick has provided the J.B. McCormick Award to be
presented by the National Society of Hisotechnology to a member who displays
outstanding leadership and exceptional service to the NSH organozation
and the field of histotechnology.
As avid collectors of antique laboratory instruments, Dr. and Mrs. McCormick
have formed the Science Heritage Collection of rare microscopes and prepared
natural science microscope slides. Along with books on the history of
histotechnology, some of the microscopes have been reproduced for use
in a teaching curriculum for the History of Science. Portions of the collection
and books have been contributed to the National Museum of Health and Medicine
in Washington D.C.
Dr. McCormick is an active partner and Chief Scientific Officer of the
McCormick Scientific Company, an entity dedicated to the continued development
of tissue processing tools and methods for the new "molecular age" of
hisotechnology.
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