Veterinary Drug Leader is Honored for his Years of Dedication to Analytical Science.
Rockville, Maryland, February 7, 2025 — Danièle Sohier, President of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, announced today that French chemist Dr. Eric Verdon is the recipient of the 2025 Harvey W. Wiley Award, the Association’s highest honor for lifetime scientific achievement.
Dr. Eric Verdon is the head of the European Union Reference Laboratory (EU-RL) for Antibiotic Veterinary and Dye Residues in Food from Animal Origin. He also heads up the French national reference laboratory at ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health Safety.
Verdon’s engagement in analytical chemistry has notably influenced the field of Veterinary Drug Residue Control in Foods. He has been instrumental in the development of different analytical methods using High Performance Liquid Chromatography detecting both ultraviolet light and fluorescence (HPLC/UV and HPLC/FLD), and Liquid Chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/ MS) in accordance with European Union regulatory standards.
Salvatore Parisi from the Lourdes Matha Institute in Palermo, Italy, nominated Verdon and stated that “Verdon’s research has focused on taking into account the need of assuring adequate consumers’ protection and compliance with proper agricultural practice rules by means of a holistic and synergic approach.”
Verdon has also designed, developed, and implemented proficiency testing studies and teaches physico-chemistry for analytical experts and students in French and English languages. He has authored more than 100 scientific publications, 300 scientific communications, and 200 expert reports.
A member of AOAC since 2002, Verdon has been the recipient of the AOAC Fellow Award in 2018, the AOAC Method of the Year in 2016 for AOAC 2012.25 for use in the veterinary drug residue / marine and freshwater foods community, and the 2013 Expert Review Panel of the Year for Veterinary Drugs.
Sohier said that Verdon has “made extraordinary contributions to the field of analytical chemistry, particularly in ensuring the safety of our food supply regarding drug residues. His dedication and scientific leadership have had a lasting impact on global food safety standards.”
AOAC leadership will present Verdon with the 2025 Wiley Award at the 2025 AOAC Annual Meeting & Exposition, from August 23 to 28, 2025, in San Diego, California, USA. A profile of him by Richard A. Lovett, JD, PhD, will appear in the January/February issue of AOAC’s Inside Laboratory Management.
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About AOAC INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1884 with our beginnings in the USDA and US FDA, AOAC INTERNATIONAL is an independent, non-profit membership association of analytical science professionals in government, industry, and academia worldwide. Our mission is to advance food safety and product integrity through standards, validated test methods, and laboratory quality programs. We publish outcomes, including Official Methods of AnalysisSM, in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL and provide laboratory proficiency testing programs. AOAC also facilitates collaboration and training of scientists and other stakeholders to address challenges with sustainable analytical solutions. For more information, please visit AOAC.org.
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