We are delighted to share that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services recently announced the appointment of Dr. James “Stacey” Klutts as the Deputy National Director of VHA Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Program.
 
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Klutts was the Associate National Director of VHA Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and a staff pathologist and medical director of the clinical microbiology and clinical chemistry laboratories at the Iowa City VA Healthcare System since 2021. He served as the Chief of Pathology at VA Central Iowa Healthcare System in Des Moines from 2015-2022 and Director of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Iowa from 2011-2014. He previously served as president of the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists (ACLPS) from 2019-2020 and has held many roles on national VA committees throughout his career. Dr. Klutts’ academic publications are broad in scope, but primarily focus on clinical microbiology and the importance of equity and diversity in laboratory medicine.
 
Dr. Klutts earned doctorates in medicine (MD) and biochemistry and molecular biology (PhD) from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and trained in laboratory medicine and clinical pathology at Washington University School of Medicine’s Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. 
 
In his new capacity as the Deputy National Director of VHA PLM Program, Dr. Klutts will assist the director in leading multiple programs and national projects aimed at improving quality, efficiency and innovation in pathology and laboratory medicine, as well as in collaboration with other VHA program offices and government agencies.
 
Dr. Klutts’ appointment was effective as of July 31, 2023.