Nearly 19 years have passed since a force of nature swept into the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan and permanently altered the landscape. Dr. Jeffrey Myers’ time in the Department was celebrated on November 25^th as he approaches retirement at the end of 2024. Hundreds of current and former faculty and staff attended his retirement celebration, recalling his impact on their lives personally and professionally.

15th Annual New Frontiers in Pathology Conference

Dr. Brian Harry finds the right combination at Michigan

Michigan Alumna returns as Professor of Pathology

Congratulations to Dr. Rohit Mehra for being named to Hour Detroit’s 2024 Top Docs List for the second time. The physicians on this list represent those whose peers nominated them as the best in their field on a survey of physicians located in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, and Livingston counties. These nominees were then screened and selected by the Professional Research Services for inclusion as this year’s honorees.

Target: Improved Patient Care and Access, Enhanced Efficiency

Personalized medicine utilizes an individual’s genetic and genomic make up to treat and prevent diseases. The promise of personalized medicine continues to grow as new scientific discoveries uncover previously unknown features and drug sensitivities for tumors. In a recent study, Dr. Aaron Udager, associate professor of genitourinary pathology and co-director of our PSTP program, was co-senior author on a publication with Dr. Sofia Merajver, professor of epidemiology and internal medicine and the director of the breast and ovarian cancer risk evaluation program. 

Five from U-M Pathology Honored in 2024

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have uncovered a key reason why a typically normal protein goes awry and fuels cancer.

They found the protein NSD2 alters the function of the androgen receptor, an important regulator of normal prostate development. When androgen receptor binds with NSD2, it causes rapid cell division and growth leading to prostate cancer. The study, published in Nature Genetics, may suggest a new way to therapeutically target prostate cancer. The findings illuminate a phenomenon not previously understood.

Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Myers, A. James French Professor of Diagnostic Pathology and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and Quality, on receiving the Ward Burdick Award for Distinguished Service to Pathology from the American Socity for Clinical Pathology at their 2024 Annual Meeting.

Dr. Rohit Mehra, Professor and member of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology (MCTP), and his international team of collaborators were recently recognized by the Asian Journal of Urology for the best paper published in their journal in 2023. This award-winning study is a literature overview of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC), the third most common RCC subtype.

Following his Namesake in Shaping the Future of Clinical Pathology

It has been a little over a year since the Department of Pathology began its journey toward a renewed culture by implementing the FiSH! Philosophy. One of FiSH! core principles to bring well-being to our department is the concept of bringing joy to the workplace through forms of play. The MLabs Division put FiSH! Philosophy into action on July 25^th as MLabs’ EMC² team hosted the Happy Little Painters event. The goals were simple: be welcoming, make it accessible, and embrace the inner artist (no matter how large or small). Artist Elise Martin came in to teach members of the department how to paint as a wonderful experiment (outside of the lab!).

A study from the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center furthers research that suggests the potential of developing new cancer treatments to target oncogenic transcription factors by indirectly affecting their ability to access enhancer DNA in chromatin. 

The findings appear in Cancer Cell.

Led by Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., S.P. Hicks Professor of Pathology and director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology at Michigan Medicine, the research builds on previous work to find genetic vulnerabilities to treat transcription factor-driven cancers like prostate cancer.

Congratulations to Thomas Annesley, PhD, DABCC, Active Professor Emeritus of Clinical Chemistry on his recognition with an Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine from the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine. This award is considered the premier award of the Association and is granted as a "lifetime achievement" award for contributions to the field of clinical chemistry. Individuals selected for this award have made significant contributions in all aspects of clinical chemistry, particularly service, education, and research; have achieved international stature and reputation by virtue of their efforts; and have demonstrated long standing service to the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM, formerly AACC), either at the grass roots, national and/or international levels.

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Congratulations to Drs. Stephanie Skala, assistant professor of genitourinary, gynecologic, and surgical pathology and director of surgical pathology, and Jensyn Cone Sullivan, assistant professor of transfusion medicine, director of blood bank, and incoming director of the transfusion medicine fellowship program, on being named to the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s 40 Under Forty list!

Voting is now open on the top 40 nominees for selection to the Top Five, awarded in-person at The ASCP 2024 Annual Meeting!  Click here to cast your votes – and vote daily through July 22nd, no login or email address required.

To understand why some cancers successfully circumvent the immune system to grow unchecked, researchers turned to pregnancy.

“In pregnancy, the immune system does not reject the growing fetus, so we know there must be mechanisms active in the placenta. In cancer, it’s the same thing: the growing tumor is not rejected by the immune system. It means the cancer cells have developed strategies to suppress immune rejection, same as in pregnancy,” said Weiping Zou, M.D., Ph.D., professor of experimental pathology.

It’s a good thing in pregnancy – it allows the baby to grow. But in cancer, it means the tumor grows unchecked and treatments meant to stimulate an immune response are not effective.

Department of Pathology faculty member, Analisa DiFeo, PhD, has been named a 2024 Rogel Scholar by Michigan Medicine. The award supports exceptional faculty dedicated to achieving impact on cancer prevention, patient outcomes, and quality of life. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Analisa DiFeo on this prestigious award!

The Division of Anatomic Pathology in the Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology offers grant funding for faculty and trainees to pursue research interests related to anatomic pathology that may not otherwise be funded. One of these internal AP grant-funded projects, led by first-author Eman Abdulfatah, MD and senior-author Rohit Mehra, MD, resulted in a recent cover story in Human Pathology entitled “Extragonadal germ cell tumors: A clinicopathologic study with emphasis on molecular features, clinical outcomes and associated secondary malignancies.”

Dr. Xiaobing Jin Shares His Story

Dr. Asma Nusrat, F. Peyton Rous Professor and Director of Experimental Pathology, was awarded the 2024 Rous-Whipple award at the American Society for Investigative Pathology Annual Meeting on Saturday, April 20, 2024 in Baltimore, MD.

The ASIP Rous-Whipple Award is presented to a senior scientist with a distinguished career in research who has advanced the understanding of disease and has continued productivity at the time of the award, including impactful science [...]

Dr. Rouba Ali-Fehmi Shares Her Global Passion

Congratulations to Celina Kleer, MD, the Harold A. Oberman Collegiate Professor of Pathology and Director of Breast Pathology Research, on her election to the prestigious Association of American Physicians (AAP). The AAP is an honorary society dedicated to the advancement of scientific and practical medicine and admits only 70 new members to its rank each year. Election is highly selective and as described on their website, is “an honor extended to physicians with outstanding credentials in basic or translational biomedical research.” Kleer will be formally inducted into the AAP at their Annual Meeting in Chicago next month.

The Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE) at the University of Michigan announced the winners of their CGHE Grant competition and two of Pathology’s faculty were among the four award recipients. Dr. Rouba Ali-Fehmi and team were awarded one of three CGHE Seed Grant Awards and Dr. Lee Schroeder and team received the year’s only Impact Accelerator Program Award.

  S2, EP1

In this episode, Dr. David Gordon, a cardiovascular pathologist, stops by The Path Report to discuss his specialty, hereditary heart conditions, and more.

It is with sorrow that we report that Associate Professor Emeritus Dr. Eugene M. Silverman and his wife, Alida Silverman, both recently passed away and their funeral was held on Tuesday, February 6, 2024.

Dr. Kamran Mirza, Assistant Chair for Education

In Memoriam
David O. Ferguson, MD, PhD
June 11, 1966 – January 6, 2024

It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of David O. Ferguson, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology. David passed away suddenly at the age of 57 on Saturday, January 6, 2024. He is survived by his wife, Dr. JoAnn Sekiguchi (Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School), their daughter, Brianna, and his brother, Peter Ferguson of Henderson, NV.

Please join us in congratulating him!

From Italy to Ann Arbor

Crohn’s disease (CD), one of the major forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, is a chronic relapsing intestinal disorder that affects millions of people globally. The cause of CD is unknown, but it is thought to result from a dysregulated immune response against environmental factors, including intestinal microbes, in genetically susceptible hosts.

The critical role that the intestinal microorganisms, collectively known as the gut microbiota, plays in the pathogenesis of CD has been investigated over the past two decades. Given the importance of the gut microbiota in triggering CD, the development of therapeutic approaches that target disease-causing intestinal microbes may provide a unique approach to the treatment of this disease [...]

Multiple Department of Pathology faculty members have recently been recognized for their achievements and nominated to leadership roles for their excellence within their respective fields. These members continue to demonstrate the depth of our department's knowledge and research.

Congratulations to Dr. Allecia Wilson for her recognition by the Michigan Medicine Alumni Society with the Early Career Distinguished Alumni Award, presented to her October 12, 2023. Dr. Wilson is an Associate Professor of Forensic and Pediatric Pathology, Director of Forensic Pathology, and Director of the Forensic Pathology Fellowship Program. She also serves as the Medical Examiner for Washtenaw County.

This award honors U-M Medical School alumni who epitomize the Michigan tradition of excellence through exemplary achievement in medical education, research, or patient care in the initial 20 years of their career. Only one award is given each year. 

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Wilson on this well-deserved honor. To read the full press release, please click here.

Dr. Rohit Mehra honored as 2023 Detroit's Top Doctors alongside 5 other pathology colleagues across Metro Detroit.

The Department of Pathology welcomed 7 new graduate students, 7 new residents, 10 new ACGME fellows, 10 new non-ACGME fellows/Clinical Instructors and 11 new faculty at its annual Welcome Reception on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.

Dr. Julianne Szczepanski shares her story of parenting while working in healthcare.

Pathology Welcomes Four New Division Directors

The death of singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett brought sadness to those of us who grew up listening to his music and enjoying the beach vibe. Buffett died from a rare, but aggressive, form of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Following Buffet’s death, Dr. Paul Harms, Professor of Pathology and Dermatology at Michigan Medicine, was interviewed by Wood TV. In this interview, Harms, who is an expert on MCC, discusses the causes, clinical presentation, and treatment for Merkel cell carcinoma.

The Pathology Department Fall Picnic Event for all faculty and staff will be held on Sunday, October 1st at Wiard's Orchards.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce Dr. Annette Kim, Division Director for Molecular and Genomic Pathology and Clinical Professor of Pathology, effective July 1, 2023. Dr. Kim is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in her field, with a remarkable track record of accomplishment in clinical practice, education, and discovery.

Dr. Arul Chinnaiyan, S. P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology and Professor of Urology at Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology and Director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, was recently recognized for his outstanding achievements by the American Association of Cancer Research. He was presented with the AACR James S. Ewing-Thelma B. Dunn Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pathology in Cancer Research award at the 2023 AACR Annual Meeting. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Arul Chinnaiyan for this well-deserved prestigious honor!

The American Board of Pathology announced today that our own Dr. Sandra Camelo-Piragua, Professor of Neuropathology and Director of the Neuropathology Fellowship Program, has been named to the Test Development and Advisory Committee for Neuropathology. The full text of their press release is below.  Please join us in congratulating Dr. Camelo-Piragua on this honor.

Michigan Medicine's Youth Summit at the Big House 2023

Dr. Xinna Li's story.

Please join us in congratulating him on this honor!

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Alexey Nesvizhskii on this outstanding recognition!

After several decades of hard work by many scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School and elsewhere, an antibody (anti-C5a) has just been approved by the US FDA for treatment of humans who are septic and have developed lung infections with COVID-19, resulting in severe pulmonary dysfunction requiring external lung support. The antibody, anti-C5a, was originally developed in the Dr. Peter Ward laboratory in the early 2000s. The mAb was shown to dramatically reduce lung infections in polymicrobial sepsis in mice. 

A recently published research study led by Drs. Sem Phan and Tianju Liu from the Department of Pathology reported new findings that could help scientists predict disease progression and suggest a new immunotherapy target for the treatment of IPF and other fibrotic lung diseases.

These findings uncovered a new role for the immune checkpoint marker (B7-H3) in lung fibrosis that can potentially serve as a novel target for immunotherapy to slow down or abort the progression of lung fibrosis in patients with IPF and other chronic lung fibrotic diseases. In addition, sB7H3 levels in the plasma could serve as a potential marker to predict how quickly the disease progresses in patients and assess responsiveness to therapy, allowing for more informed treatment decisions.

Congratulations to the Department of Pathology faculty who were honored on Thursday, March 16th by the Medical School for being appointed to named professorships in 2022. This included Dr. Ulysses G. J. Balis, Director of Pathology Informatics, who was honored for his appointment as the A. James French Professor in Pathology Informatics, and Dr. Jolanta Grembecka, who was honored for her appointment as the Richard and Susan Rogel Professor in Cancer Therapeutics. Balis and Grembecka were among 51 Medical School faculty members honored [...]

Giving Blueday, March 15, 2023

Researchers from the Department of Pathology recently published a fascinating study into clinician’s perspectives on integrating pathologists into the patient’s care team in the form of pathology explanation clinics (PECs) [1]. Clinicians were asked, “How interested would you be in having your patient meet with a pathologist to discuss their pathology report and see their tissue under the microscope?”

It is with great pleasure that we announce Dr. Lakshmi (Priya) Kunju as our new Director of the Division of Anatomic Pathology (AP) effective Wednesday, March 1, 2023. We are grateful for all that Dr. Kunju brings to the table including her considerable experience with operations across the division and her willingness to jump in on short notice to ensure stability during this transition. She will work with department leaders and others to identify and recruit to her role as Section Head for Surgical Pathology and Medical Director of our gross room and histology laboratory. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Priya Kunju on her appointment as AP Director. Please also join us in thanking Dr. Liron Pantanowitz for his nearly 3 years as AP Director. He has been remarkably productive in his role and can be proud of a division that is among the VERY BEST team of AP faculty, staff, and learners in the world!

The laboratory of Dr. Chang Kim, recently published a high-impact study that elucidates the bone marrow niche and mechanisms by which innate lymphoid cells differentiate between those which remain in the bone marrow and those which emigrate to the rest of the body.  Read more[...]

The American Board of Pathology (ABPath) is pleased to announce the appointment of May Chan, MD to the ABPath’s Test Development and Advisory Committee (TDAC) for Dermatopathology beginning in 2023. The TDACs are responsible for developing and reviewing the ABPath certification exam questions that assess and certify a physician’s education, knowledge, experience, and skills in order to provide high-quality care in the pathology profession. "As an established subject matter expert in dermatopathology, the contributions of Dr. Chan will be highly valued," commented Bonnie Woodworth, ABP Communications Director.

One of the most fascinating aspects of a career in cancer research is that one never knows when or where the next great discovery will occur. This was true of a recent breakthrough discovery made by the Dr. Russell Ryan laboratory at the University of Michigan Medical School. They were shocked to find that active regulatory elements in B-ALL contained not only typical protein binding sequences but also simple repeats of the sequence “GGAA”, usually considered a form of “junk DNA” with no regulatory function [...]

We are pleased to share that the Board of Regents today (Oct. 20) approved the appointment of Zaneta Nikolovska-Coleska, M.S., Ph.D., as associate dean for graduate and postdoctoral studies in the Medical School, effective Oct. 1, 2022. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Nikolovska-Coleska on her associate dean role.

A successful New Frontiers in Pathology Conference was held in person and via Zoom on September 29-October 1, 2022 at The Graduate Hotel in Ann Arbor. Complex case studies, breakout sessions and plenary lectures were complimented by times of collegial interactions, food, laughter and fun.  Mark your calendars now for next year's New Frontiers in Pathology on October 26-28, 2023!

A Perspective by Dr. Noah Brown

The American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) recently announced that our very own Dr. Jeffrey Myers, Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs and Quality and Director of Michigan Medicine Laboratories was selected for the prestigious 2022 ASCP Mastership Award. This award recognizes distinguished members of the ASCP who have made significant contributions to the field of pathology and laboratory medicine and to the ASCP [...]

The Department of Pathology is pleased to announce a series of virtual open house events for our Residency Training Program.

The Celina Kleer lab at the University of Michigan Department of Pathology and Rogel Cancer Center has found a new mechanism that fuels metastasis in triple negative breast cancers. In their new study they show that EZH2, a master regulator of cell type identity, known to function through methylation of histones, has a new, unexpected function in aggressive breast cancers [...]

This summer, Michigan Medicine officially welcomed 23 new Fellows and Clinical Instructors into the Department of Pathology.

Drs. Laura Lamps, Maria Westerhoff, and Angela Wu become the three newest Assistant Chairs in the Department of Pathology with a focus on Wellness, Staff Development and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion [...]

The Research Scientist Track

Effective July 1, 2022, Dr. Sriram Venneti, Professor of Pathology, was appointed as Scientific Research Director and Dr. Carl Koschmann, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, was appointed as Clinical Research Director for the Chad Carr Pediatric Brain Tumor Center (CC-PBTC).

With over 80 participants from the Department, the event was a big success.

On Saturday, May 21, 2022, Michigan Medicine hosted its first-ever Youth Summit at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The event, which included local middle schools from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and surrounding communities, invited young students out to the Big House in order to come and experience a day in medicine. The Department of Pathology had a station set up on the concourse, where these students could come try out microscopy, learn about urinalysis and practice phlebotomy on a fake arm [...]

The International Society of Gynecological Pathologists has posted a podcast featuring discussion with Dr. Stephanie Skala about the use of p53/CK17 immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of differentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia. The podcast highlights the recent publication by former trainees Drs. Emily McMullen-Tabry, Shula Schechter, and Grace Wang, former UM faculty Dr. Andrew P Sciallis, and current UM faculty Drs. Steven Hrycaj, May Chan, and Stephanie Skala [...]

On May 11, the Department of Pathology recognized the Class of 2022 Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) interns, who successfully completed the program. A graduation ceremony was held at the Superior Conference room, hosted by Allied Education Health Program Manager Karen Barron, MT (ASCP). The event featured remarks from Drs. Jeffrey Myers, Kathleen Cho, and Chair Dr. Charles Parkos. Graduates received their certificates of completion as they prepared to move into the next phase of their careers [...]

The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare continues to expand. In a recent issue of BMC Cancer, Dr. Vipulkumar Dadhania (first author) and colleagues published a result of their study Leveraging artificial intelligence to predict ERG gene fusion status in prostate cancer. The expert team from the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology developed a deep-learning-based model to predict ERG genomic rearrangements in prostatic adenocarcinomas using only H&E-stained digital slides [...]

This year's Medical Laboratory Professionals Week celebration at the Department of Pathology, which ran from April 24-30, 2022, was a big success! Let's take a moment to recap some of the top moments...

Congratulations to Dr. Kristina Davis, who was just elected Co-Chair of the Transplant Diagnostics Community of Practice (TxDxCOP) for the American Society of Transplantation (AST). Davis will assume her position as Co-Chair at the Amertican Transplant Congress meeting in Boston this June. She is replacing Dr. Evan Farkash, who will serve as Chair of this committee [...]

Drs. Liron Pantanowitz, Jeffrey Myers, Priya Kunju, as well as David and Elle Chapel were featured in the April 2022 edition of CAP Today Magazine, a medical science publication by the College of American Pathologists. The article focuses on the development of the AP hospitalist role at Michigan Medicine [...]

Dr. Matt Cusick describes the role of the HLA Laboratory in Organ and Bone Marrow Transplantation.

This month marked the usual United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP)'s Annual Meeting. This year's hybrid-style event, the 11th annual, was held both in-person and virtually in Los Angeles, California from March 18-24, 2022. The symposium featured several short and long courses, as well evening specialty conferences and ticketed seminars. The conference also included numerous poster sessions, live Q&A segments, and a multitude of social events [...]

Dr. Karen Choi discusses her career path as a GI Pathologist

Each year, thousands of pathologists assemble in person or remotely to participate in the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathologists Annual Meeting. Likewise, each year, the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan is very well represented!  This year, our faculty and trainees will be giving presentations, teaching courses, moderating panel discussions, participating as panelists, and presenting their research in poster sessions, for a total of 69 activities [...]

Hear from Dr. Emile Pinarbasi, an Anatomic and Neuropathology Fellow within the Department of Pathology.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Abhijit Parolia on being selected for the 2022 Harold Weintraub Graduate Student Award. The award, established by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is given yearly and recognizes outstanding achievement during graduate studies in the biological sciences [...]

Leadership at all levels engaged in the fight against COVID; a behind-the-scenes look.

Recently, the ASCP published the Department of Pathology's Patient Advocate Michele Mitchell’s story in The Pathologist and as a series of videos. Mitchell described the impact of these projects [...]

Last year was an eventful time within the Department of Pathology at Michigan Medicine. As we reminisce about 2021, let's revisit some of the greatest memories [...]

A unique look into Dr. Carmen Gherasim's career and staying afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research from INHERET was just published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (JNCCN). Learn more about this study, which analyzes the implementation of InheRET's online tool that provides information about family history as it relates to cancer risks [...]

 A multi-institutional study led by Drs. Alex Taylor, Noah Brown and Rohit Mehra from the Department of Pathology was just published in European Urology's Open Science. Learn more about the resarch, which focuses on how TERT promoter mutations were characterized in urinary tract lesions, which may be considered as precursors to neoplasia at this site [...]

Dr. Anuska Andjelkovic-Zochowski's story

As COVID closed down research labs, researchers shifted focus.

It is with regret that we announce the passing of W. John Judd, former Professor of Immunohematology for the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan.  Judd passed on December 1, 2021, at the age of 76, in his hometown of Supply (near Wilmington), North Carolina.  He served in the Department of Pathology for 34 years.

With great anticipation, the UH Core Lab team hosted Department Chairman Dr. Charles Parkos and other senior leaders in our department on November 9th to demonstrate the department’s newest automation lines. These automation lines are the result of years of planning, and literally, hundreds of hours spent envisioning, forecasting, designing, and training involving laboratory scientists [...]

The SARS-CoV-2 virus brought lab testing to the headlines. Learn how Michigan Medicine Pathology responded to this unprecedented challenge.

Dr. Chisa Yamada's Perspective

The Department of Pathology was well represented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) held on October 15-19, 2021. This year’s event was held in person at the Hilton West Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, FL. There was also an on-demand virtual option for those who couldn’t attend the conference in person [...]

The Department of Pathology is proud to unveil its newest initiative - the Pathology Anti-Racism Taskforce, also called PART. Composed of faculty and staff members from the Department, PART aims to eliminate racism within the health system, on the Michigan campus, and within the greater community [...]

A study related to the maternal gut microbiome and how it regulates immunity to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in offspring was recently published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Clinical experts from the Department of Pathology including Drs. Wendy Fonseca, Nicholas Lukacs, and Catherine Ptaschinski were responsible for carrying out this study [...]

On Sunday, October 10, the Department of Pathology hosted its annual Fall Picnic at Wiard's Orchard in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Members of the department ranging from faculty, to staff, to trainees, came out for a day of fun in the fall weather [...]

Dr. L. Priya Kunju's 20-year Perspective

Research pertaining to Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinomas was just published in the latest edition of Modern Pathology. Led by the team of Drs. Paul Harms, May Chan, Aaron Udager, Rajiv Patel, and more [...]

Research from experts in the Department of Pathology was published in Europe PMC's Histopathology. The team comprised of Drs. Jiaqi Shi, Laura Lamps and Erika Hissong examined the impact of adenomatoid tumors within the gastrointestinal tract [...]

Improving systems for better outcomes is the name of the game for Dr. Scott Owens.

Dr. Peter Ward, Active Emeritus Professor and former Chair of Pathology, was named “World Expert in Sepsis” by Expertscape on World Sepsis Day, September 13, 2021. To be named a World Expert, one must be in the top 0.1% of scholars writing about Sepsis over the past ten years. Ward came in among the top .006% of scholars in the world and the number 1 scholar on sepsis at the University of Michigan [...]

An interview with Drs. Ul Balis, David McClintock, and Jerome Cheng of the Pathology Informatics team.

Dr. Chisa Yamada was highlighted by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) in their August newsletter. Read more about Dr. Yamada's career within transfusion medicine, her interest in pediatrics, as well as her greatest personal triumphs [...]

Some familiar and some new, see the group of Fellows representing the department.

Dr. Xiao-Ming (Mindy) Wang and colleagues from the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology and Department of Pathology published a groundbreaking finding from an inter-institutional study regarding TRIM63 in Modern Pathology  [...]

The Department of Pathology's 2020 Annual Report is now available online. In the report, you will read about the department’s tripartite mission of research, education, and patient care, and learn about the goals of the department’s Strategic Council [...]

Spanish is the second most frequently spoken language in the United States and at the University of Michigan Medical School, medical students are learning how to speak medical Spanish as they prepare to interact with their patients of the future.  Whether the student is a beginner or fluent, they can participate in this program with the goal of being comfortable interacting with Spanish-speaking patients.

On Friday June 18, the Department of Pathology hosted its second-annual Equality Walk in observance of the Juneteenth holiday.

The Department of Pathology is pleased to announce that Dr. Carmen Gherasim has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the 2020-2021 Faculty Teaching Award [...]

Congratulations to our Graduates!

Research from the Department of Pathology was just published in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Learn more about this publication, which highlights GI samples from COVID-19 patients, led by Dr. Maria Westerhoff [...]

A research effort by Drs. Jolanta Grembecka and Tomasz Cierpicki was just published in Nature Communications. Learn more about the protein made by the ASH1L gene, which plays a key role in the development of acute leukemia, along with other diseases [...]

Research from the Department's Lombard Lab was just published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The study, which focuses on how the deacylase SIRT5 compound supports melanoma viability by influencing chromatin dynamics, was led by Dr. Lombard [...]

Congratulations to Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, who was announced as the Science of Oncology Award and Lecture recipient by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). As part of this award, Chinnaiyan will present a 30-minute lecture entitled “Exploring Precision Oncology: from Gene Fusions to Related Genetic Drivers“ at the ASCO Annual Meeting, to be held virtually on June 4-8, 2021 [...]

Learn more about pathologists' attitudes toward patient interactions in this new publication, led by Dr. Cathryn Lapedis.

The department has navigated an unprecedented workload over the past year and continues to increase. Hear from experts Christine Kizer, Dr. Michael Bachman, Jennifer Bergendahl, and more, as they discuss how efforts have helped Michigan Medicine stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic [...]

A new publication from the Department of Pathology, led by Dr. Kathleen Cho, was just published in the American Association for Cancer Research's flagship journal. highlights how altering the microbiome within a mouse model of oviductal high-grade serious carcinoma can inhibit tumorigeneis [...]

Dr. Henry Appelman, the M.R. Abell Professor of Surgical Pathology, Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Pathology, was recently featured in an interview by Dr. Ivan Damjanov for The Pathologist [...]  

Dr. Laura W. Lamps, the Godfrey Dorr Stobbe Professor and Director of Gastrointestinal Pathology and the director of the GI Pathology Fellowship Program, can now add President of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) to her list of titles. Dr. Lamps assumed this leadership role on April 1, 2021 [...]

A new study, led by U-M graduate in molecular and cellular pathology Dr. Andi Cani, was just published in European Urology Oncology. The publication focuses on the development of a whole-urine, multiplexed, next-generation RNA-sequencing assay that is used for the early detection of aggressive forms of prostate cancer [...]

This year's Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (MLPW) kicks off from April 18 until April 24, 2021. The department plans to celebrate with virtual events and activities for all those within the department! When did it start, and how can you be a part of it?  Continue to the article for more information [...]

Research by Drs. Ann Laszczyk and the Department of Pathology's Dr. Gregory Dressler was just published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The study focuses on PAX2 proteins and their effects on kidney function and development.

Dr. Mehra discusses his career path and how he arrived at Michigan Medicine in our latest Careers in Pathology video.

A series of sophisticated processes are required in the development of innate lymphoid cells (ILC) for them to reach maturity. The Kim laboratory discovered that basic leucine zipper ATF-like transcription factor (Batf) regulates the production of ILC progenitors in the bone marrow as well as the maintenance of ILCs in the periphery. These cells are strategically distributed in peripheral tissues to provide important innate immunity to fight pathogens such as pathogenic viruses and bacteria.

A collaboration between the Department of Pathology and the Department of Dermatology examined biomarkers of outcomes in 346 cases of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), an aggressive type of skin cancer. The study was published in the recent edition of Clinical Cancer Research [...]

A new publication, generated by Department of Pathology faculty members Drs. Aaron Udager and Scott Tomlins was successfully published in European Urology. The research highlights a longitudinal cohort study centered around the serial molecular profiling of low-grade prostate cancer in order to better assess tumor upgrading [...]

Technological advances have made telepathology a reality for many pathologists, allowing challenging case consultations regardless of where the expert may be located.  Recently, Dr. Liron Pantanowitz, Director of Anatomic Pathology, presented a keynote address entitled, "Telepathology: Still the #1 application of digital pathology" at the 7^th Digital Pathology & AI Congress: Europe, December 1, 2020.

A new study by the University of Michigan's Rogel Cancer Center analyzed patients with cancer and the factors that cause the cancer to spread to the liver, leading to worse outcomes. 

Clinical trials underway are testing whether drugs that target the androgen receptor – successful in controlling prostate cancer – could also work against the coronavirus. wo proteins, ACE2 and TMPRSS2, help the coronavirus gain entry and replicate within cells. TMPRSS2 is well-known to Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD. His lab discovered that TMPRSS2 fuses with the ETS gene to drive more than half of all prostate cancers [...]

Recently, Department of Pathology faculty member Dr. Laura Lamps appeared on the December 3 episode of the PathPod Pocast's Beyond the Scope. In the episode, Dr. Lamps discusses a varierty of topics including her role as the Director of Gastrointestinal Pathology at Michigan Medicine, her involvement in United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP), personal hobbies and her experience working in medicine overall [...]

A new study led by Drs. Jolanta Grembecka and Tomasz Cierpicki of the Department of Pathology was just published in Blood's American Society of Hematology. The research focuses on combinatorial treatment with menin and FLT3 and how inhibitors induce complete remission in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with activating FLT3 mutations [...]

New research by the Department of Pathology was recently published in Modern Pathology. The study, led by Drs. Aaron Udager, Noah Brown, Bryan Betz, Jonathan McHugh and Scott Tomlins, focuses on how TP53 mutations and CDKN2A mutations and deletions are highly recurrent molecular alterations within malignant progression of sinonasal papilomas [...]

Congratulations to Dr. Celina Kleer who was awarded the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP)'s 2020 Outstanding Investigator Award. Dr. Kleer receives the award for her demonstrated excellence in research in experimental pathology [...]

Introducing the 2020 Global Virtual Cancer Conference. Join us for the segment entitled "Prevention, Diagnosis and Me" to hear from the Department of Pathology's own Dr. Jeffrey Myers, who will discuss his experiences working in the cancer community [...]

Research by the Department of Pathology's Drs. Richard Miller and Joseph Endicott was just published in the Journal of Cell Biology. The study focuses on the inhibition of class I PI3K and how it enhances chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) [...]

Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Myers, who was recently selected by Michigan Medicine for the 2020 Jack Billi Award for Inspiring Quality Improvement. Dr. Myers was selected for his exemplifying behaviors of an effective improvement leader and for using LEAN design principles and tools in his daily work [...]

Congratulations to Don Giacherio, PhD, who retired July 31, 2020, following 38 years of service in the University of Michigan Department of Pathology. Giacherio completed his PhD at the University of Illinois in 1980, followed by a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at Mayo Clinic. In 1982, Giacherio joined the University of Michigan Department of Pathology as an Instructor in Pathology [...]

10:00 am EST

Join us for a virtual event featuring the Department of Pathology's Dr. Celina Kleer, who will host a discussion related to her experiences in understanding breast cancer and her journey as a physician-scientist.

Register Now

New research from the Department of Pathology and Dr. Alexandra Hristov was just published in the Journal of Cutaneous Pathology. The study focuses on the kappa and lambda immunohistochemistry in situ hybridization of atypical cutaneous lymphoid infiltrates. 

11:30 am EST

Join us for a virtual event featuring the Department of Pathology's Dr. Arul Chinnaiyan, who will give the 2020 American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP)'s Rous-Whipple Award Lecture. 

Register Here

The University of Michigan will begin a Sampling and Testing Program of asymptomatic students, faculty and staff for the virus that causes COVID-19 on September 7.

Dr. Aaron Udager recently appeared on Michigan Medicine's 3P's of Cancer: Prevention, Preparedness, Progress podcast

Please welcome Dr. Pantanowitz to the Department.

Research from Dr. Analisa Difeo was just published in Nature Communications. The study focuses on miR-181a and how it initiates and perpetuates oncogenic transformation through the regulation of innate immune signaling [...]

Graduating Class of Fellows and Clinical Lecturers.

The protein Argonaute 2 was found to be critical to the progression from benign lesions into pancreatic cancer, suggesting a therapeutic opportunity.

The research was just published in Histopathology and features prominent contributions from our faculty.

Congratulations to Arul M. Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, on his election to the National Academy of Science!  Chinnaiyan is an investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology, American Cancer Society Research Professor, and director, Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor [...]

Congratulations to Alex Taylor, MD, 3^rd year resident, for winning the first place Rodger Haggitt GI Pathology Award for his platform presentation at USCAP! 

Sara Abbott, MD, took a winding road to becoming an assistant professor here at U-M. She actually has a master’s degree in education and spent two years guiding students grudgingly through high school biology. That’s when she realized that maybe this wasn’t the kind of teaching she was meant to do after all. [...]

Nicholas Lukacs, PhD, The Godfrey Dorr Stobbe Professor of Pathology, received an Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA or an R35) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) entitled, “Viral and allergen-driven immunity in chronic lung disease.” This award will provide 7 years of funding. [...]

When she's at work, Dr. Laura Lamps is 100% tuned in. Find out how she got here and what she recommends for those considering pathology.

Event showcases clinical and translational research.

PTM Therapeutics, Inc. celebrated on February 6th the signing of an exclusive license for an antibody (PTM-001) jointly from the University of Michigan and Emory University during a bell-ringing ceremony at University of Michigan Tech Transfer. The startup is [...]

A recent report based on a phase I clinical trial by Dr. Aslam, et al, in the Varani Laboratory shows that a multi-mineral supplement, Aquamin^®, modulates the colonic microbial community in human subjects.  This study is part of an ongoing effort to determine if multi-mineral intervention [...]

Vipulkumar Dadhania, MBBS, is fascinated with learning. It’s this passion that will keep him evolving in his career. He joined U-M in August of 2019 as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pathology. His primary interests are genitourinary pathology and breast pathology. [...]

After a nationwide search, Allecia (Lisa) Wilson, MD, has been named the new Director of Autopsy and Forensic Services. Wilson follows the leadership of Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen. In addition to this new role, Wilson serves as Residency Program Director [...]

It is with great pleasure that we announce Dr. Rajiv “Raj” Patel as our new Section Head (Director) for Dermatopathology effective February 1, 2020. [...]

In 2015, Felipe da Veiga Leprevost, PhD, came to the University of Michigan as a research fellow to study computational proteomics. In June of 2019, he accepted a faculty position as a Research Investigator in Bioinformatics. He now has a Michigan-born little one and his roots are growing deeper in Ann Arbor [...]

Not yet entirely settled in at home, Matt Cusick, PhD, is diving into his new role as an Assistant Professor in Clinical Pathology.

Duane Newton, PhD, gives a faculty perspective on what led to the best possible outcome for patients and the department through PRR. 

The National Association of Medical Examiners met recently in Kansas City, MO, for their annual conference. University of Michigan forensic pathologist, Milad Webb, MD, PhD, presented on the critical national shortage of forensic pathologists, as well as pathologists in general [...]

Michigan lost one of it’s most celebrated and beloved pathologists this week as Dr. Bertram Schnitzer passed away at the age of 90. [...]

Department faculty outreach to high school students to educate about careers in medicine and research.

Dr. Gabriel Nuñez, the Paul de Kruif Endowed Professor of Pathology, is one of the newest members of the National Academy of Medicine. The Nuñez laboratory has made ground-breaking discoveries in the field of [...]

Bryan Betz, PhD, was inspired by his late wife, Sharon, to pursue a career in clinical diagnostics.

Members of the Department of Pathology and their families gathered for a picnic at Wiard's Orchard in Ypsilanti on Sunday, September 15th [...]

Congratulations to Steven L. Kunkel, PhD, on his appointment as the executive vice dean for research and chief scientific officer of the University of Michigan Medical School, effective September 1, 2019, following a nationwide search for the best candidate.  Kunkel previously served [...]

Laurie McCauley, DDS, MS, PhD, received the 2019 Stephen M. Krane Award on September 20th, 2019. The American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) gives the award in recognition of outstanding achievements in basic, translational, or clinical research in inflammation and/or skeletal matric biology [...]

Drs. Wilson and Hlavaty take on new roles beginning January 1, 2020.

Dr. Choi is an assistant professor and the Hematopathology Fellowship Director.

Collaborative work by Dr. Grace Wang, Dr. Bryan Betz, Dr. Paul Harms, Dr. Rajiv Patel, Dr. Dafydd Thomas, Dr. Jonathan McHugh, and Dr. David Lucas has resulted in a paper published [...]

The new Director of the Division of Education Programs joins us from the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Ulysses Balis has created a new web-based educational tool that allows users to upload cases and get real-time feedback on potential diagnoses. The web-based app, HistoQuery, allows users to [...]

Three publications by Carl Schmidt, MD, Professor of Forensic Pathology, Wayne County Medical Examiner, were released [...]

A U-M study is the first to define how a little-known type of cell death impacts tumor cells and immune cells.

University of Michigan researcher Lee Schroeder takes a deep dive on much-needed help for tackling the burden of cardiovascular diseases in India.

The Department of Pathology was well-represented at the American Society for Investigative Pathology’s 2019 Annual Meeting.

Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen has been recognized with one of eighteen 2019 Donation Champion Awards from Gift of Life Michigan for his work promoting [...]

The Fifth Edition of Histology for Pathologists has just been published by Wolters Kluwer and Maria Westerhoff, MD, and Joel Greenson, MD, co-wrote the chapter on colon histology. The newest edition of this award-winning book is a comprehensive collection of normal histology written by anatomic pathologists for anatomic pathologists. The book is designed to [...]

Dr. Charles Parkos, Carl V. Weller Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology, has been inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP). Founded in 1885, the AAP is an organization of leading senior physician-scientists [...]

Dr. Rajiv Patel, along with Dr. Steven D. Billings and Dr. Darya Buehler, has edited the textbook, Soft Tissue Tumors of the Skin. A useful tool for daily sign-out, the beautifully-illustrated book outlines

The Department will have a strong presence at USCAP’s Annual Meeting in March.

Dr. Kathleen Cho received a five-year R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue her work in ovarian cancer research. High-grade serous carcinoma, or HGSC, is both the most common and most deadly form of “ovarian” cancer, although it is now believed that most HGSCs arise [...]

On December 12, Dr. Thomas Glover was recognized as the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award in Biomedical Research. Glover, who is the pioneer and defining scientist in the field of common fragile sites (CFS) in human chromosomes, gave [...]

Tomasz Cierpicki, PhD, has been awarded an RO1 with five years of funding from the National Cancer Institute for his grant application, Targeting NSD1 In Leukemia, to develop inhibitors of NSD1 histone [...]

Jiaqi Shi, MD, PhD, has been awarded a KO8 (Career Development Award) from the National Cancer Institute for her grant application, Linking epigenetic regulation and TGF-β signaling in [...]

Rohit Mehra, MD—faculty perspective on the need to understand why a patient’s cancer would not respond to treatment.

Precision Health at the University of Michigan has chosen Dr. Jeffrey Hodgin as one of ten recipients of its Investigators Awards. The grants, totaling nearly $3 million, are of up to $300,000 each [...]

The Fourth Edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Skin Tumours has been released. Edited by David E. Elder, Daniela Massi, Richard A. Scolyer, and Rein Willemze, the book contains content contributed by the Department of Pathology’s [...]

The board of regents has appointed Steven Kunkel, PhD, as the interim executive vice dean for research and chief scientific officer [...]

Funding to Chinnaiyan supports evaluating new cancer markers that could become treatment targets.

Sethuramasundaram Pitchiaya, PhD, a research investigator in the lab of Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, has received the 2018 Keith Frankel, Michael DeAddio, and Thomas H. Lee – PCF Valor Young Investigator Award for his proposal entitled Unraveling Molecular Heterogeneities [...]

The textbook, Atlas of Non-Gynecologic Cytology, has been released as part of the Atlas of Anatomic Pathology series. The book was edited by U-M’s Associate Professor of Pathology, Xin Jing, MD, as well as [...]