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Tracy George photographed by MANICPROJECT for Utah Business.
ARUP President and Chief Scientific Officer Tracy George, MD, has been honored by Utah Business magazine as a 2022 Healthcare Hero.
The award, which will be presented at an October 19, 2022, luncheon, pays tribute to the healthcare leaders whose mission is to improve the quality of health for all Utah residents. The honor recognizes George for her contributions in expanding ARUP’s testing capabilities into the pharmaceutical industry, where ARUP is accelerating the testing and clinical trials of new and innovative medicines, and for her involvement across Utah’s healthcare community, including her leadership in guiding key COVID-19 testing protocols across the state.
“When I first heard about the award, I was deeply honored that I was nominated by my colleagues at ARUP.” said George. “It means so much to me that my colleagues think highly of me and the work that I am doing for healthcare.”
George helped spearhead the creation and launch of ARUP’s PharmaDx program, which provides important custom test development and clinical trial testing services to the pharmaceutical industry. In turn, support from ARUP has allowed the pharmaceutical industry to more quickly develop, test, and release innovative treatments that are important to Americans’ health nationwide.
Additionally, George shined when the spotlight was brightest. She was named ARUP chief medical officer during the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite growing challenges, successfully oversaw ARUP’s 90-plus medical directors while helping to ensure fast and accurate COVID-19 testing. In turn, George helped lead the COVID-19 testing programs for the University of Utah and the state of Utah before guiding the implementation and management of the COVID-19 testing protocols for attendees of the highly publicized 2020 vice presidential debate between then-Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
“When I was first appointed as CMO, my first priority was making sure that everyone at ARUP was on the same page.” said George. “Establishing effective communication was key, with daily COVID calls where all stakeholders were included and participated, and all understood our deliverables for COVID testing.”
Outside of her work at ARUP, George is heavily involved in Utah’s healthcare community. She is an active participant in the University of Utah’s Women in Health, Medicine and Science organization and the Utah Super Women in Medicine (U-SWIM) group, two organizations working to advance the mentorship of and opportunities for women in healthcare and scientific fields.
“I'm very impressed by Utah healthcare. [We are] well organized and we take care of all patients with excellent care,” said George. “I'm looking forward to working with other healthcare organizations and companies on innovation in diagnostics, specifically to advance healthcare in Utah and the nation.”
To read more about Tracy George, MD, and other 2022 Healthcare Heroes, visit Utah Business magazine.
Camryn Fife, camryn.fife@aruplab.com
