Richard B. Odom, M.D., Sonoma, Calif, received the AAD's highest award, the Gold Medal Award.

The Gold Medal is presented in recognition of outstanding and exceptional service to dermatology and substantial impact on the future of the science, teaching, and practice of cutaneous medicine. The award honors an outstanding and exceptional contribution to the administrative aspects of the specialty. Gold Medal honorees also are accorded honorary membership in the Academy in recognition of their dedication and life-long commitment to the Academy and its mission.

Dr. Odom is a dermatologist in private practice in Sonoma. After receiving his medical degree from Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., he completed his residency in dermatology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC. Then, Dr. Odom served as chief of dermatology at the former Letterman Army Medical Center, San Francisco, and later became a faculty member of the University of California, San Francisco. He was as a professor of dermatology, an associate dean for continuing medical education, and an interim chairman of the department of dermatology, among other positions.

He is a past-president of the Academy and a past member of its board of directors. He also is a past-president of the San Francisco Dermatological Society and the Pacific Dermatologic Association, and a past member of the board of directors of the Women's Dermatologic Society as well as a recipient of its Rose Hirschler Award. In addition, Dr. Odom is the author of more than 125 abstracts, articles, and book chapters and has served on numerous editorial boards throughout his career, including the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. He also was co-editor of several editions of Andrews' Diseases of the Skin.