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Dr. Riccardo Valdez installed as the inaugural John G. Batsakis Professor of Pathology

By Lynn McCain | August 6

Dr. Riccardo Valdez, professor and director of clinical pathology, strode into the dining hall at the North Campus Research Complex with his wife Alyssa by his side as his long-time mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Warren, professor and former director of clinical pathology, warmly welcomed him. Dozens of colleagues were assembled to honor Valdez as he was installed as the inaugural John G. Batsakis Professor of Pathology. Dr. Charles Parkos, chair of pathology, opened the ceremonies welcoming all present.

Parkos introduced Valdez, outlining his numerous qualifications and experience before reflecting more personally on some of his key accomplishments. “Ric was instrumental in the planning, design, and build-out of our renovated laboratory space at the University Hospital. He worked closely with our laboratory personnel to ensure that their new space was designed to meet their needs today and into the future. Today, our clinical labs at the UH are beautiful state-of-the-art facilities supporting our growing health network. He also ably guided us through the COVID pandemic, as his team developed and validated COVID tests on multiple platforms, including rapid testing for emergency department patients to streamline patient care. Ric was instrumental in a time when we faced unprecedented testing volumes, supply shortages, and staffing crises using creative problem-solving skills and fostering collaborative efforts with faculty and staff from across the university.”

Warren also spoke on behalf of Valdez, reflecting on their more than 30-year relationship beginning when Valdez was a resident in the department of pathology. He praised Valdez’s leadership through the COVID pandemic, which began just a year into Valdez’s tenure as director of clinical pathology.

As Warren spoke, he recalled a time in his training when he was encouraged to call Dr. Batsakis, for whom the professorship is named, to consult on a particularly challenging case. After a bit of research, he found a phone number and placed the call. “It wasn’t until his wife answered the phone that I realized this was his home phone number. She graciously handed the phone to her husband. He patiently walked this trainee through the case.” This story exemplifies Batsakis' kindness and professionalism, which Warren likened to that of Valdez.

“Dr. Batsakis was instrumental in forming, organizing, and shaping the field of clinical pathology into what it is today,” added Valdez. It is for this reason, when presented with an opportunity to select the name of his professorship, Valdez selected Dr. John G. Batsakis.

The John G. Batsakis Professorship in Pathology was established by departmental funds and is intended to support the Director of Clinical Pathology in the Department of Pathology. Dr. John G. Batsakis, M.D., who is honored by this professorship, is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School (1954) and a long-time member of the Department of Pathology (1955-1959, 1961-1979). Dr. Batsakis interned at George Washington University Hospital, followed by a four-year pathology residency at the University of Michigan and a two-year military service as assistant chief of the laboratory service at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1961, achieving Professor status in 1968. From 1979-1981, Dr. Batsakis served as Chairman of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. He joined the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1981 as Chairman of the Division of Pathology and retired in 1996 as Professor Emeritus. 

Dr. Batsakis was an acclaimed head and neck pathologist and was honored by otolaryngologic societies for his many contributions. He was a Fellow of the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the College of American Pathologists, the American College of Physicians, and a member of the Royal College of Physicians, United Kingdom. He authored 540 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals and served as the co-editor of Advances in Anatomic Pathology and served on the editorial boards for eleven journals. He also was the author or co-author of 10 books and 24 chapters. He wrote the WHO panel Classification of Salivary Gland Tumors and was the past president of the Commission on Anatomic Pathology. On a more personal note, Dr. Batsakis was a kind and gentle man who always put the patient first. He was a mentor and friend to Gene Napolitan when he first came to the Department as our CDA and poured his life into teaching residents and fellows.

Much like his professorship’s namesake, Valdez, too, pours his life into teaching residents and fellows as he leads the division of clinical pathology. He is an exceptional leader, mentor, and clinician. “Dr. Ric Valdez absolutely exemplifies the values implicit in an endowed professorship: leadership, academic productivity, hard work, positive attitude and personal integrity,” added Dr. Jeffrey Warren.

“Joining the ranks of our current and past named professors is a tremendous honor. As merely a good player on a great team, the investiture ceremony provided a unique opportunity to share my contributions to our tripartite mission with valued teammates and friends," Valdez concluded.

 
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