Interview of Pediatric Fellow Nathan Shaller, MD by Elizabeth Walker | 8 August
The pediatric pathology fellowship at Michigan Medicine allows trainees a comprehensive educational experience. Based in C.S. Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospitals, fellows have access to over 5,000 pediatric surgical pathology specimens over the course of their year-long program. Additionally, the 212 perinatal and pediatric autopsies and fetal examinations performed yearly prepare trainees to practice general pediatric pathology in an academic or community setting.
Nathan Shaller, our 2016 – 2017 pediatric pathology fellow, graduated with high honors from Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica, in 2012. After graduating, he performed drug-abuse research at Harvard before beginning his residency in pathology at Michigan Medical School.
A: I never wanted to specialize to begin with! I pursued a career in pathology because it casts the widest possible net of patients and disease. Pediatric pathology appealed to me because it’s the logical continuation of that philosophy. I could do an autopsy in the morning, and in the afternoon get a stack of surgical cases with skin, liver, bone, head and neck, with maybe a bone marrow thrown in.
This is a marvelously complex field that can also be very emotionally uplifting, as every day I work as part of a team of absolute warriors who fight tooth-nail against any process that dares harm a child.
A: Pediatric pathology requires dedication to life-long learning. This field is extremely challenging due to its exhaustive breadth of developmental, neoplastic, infectious, and genetic illnesses. It is ludicrous to expect total competency after one year of pediatric pathology subspecialty training. For myself, the biggest challenge has been to keep faith that I eventually will get to a point where I can be persistently confident in my abilities and trust myself.
A: I love the wide variety of interdepartmental educational and clinical conferences. Our clinical colleagues in pediatric cardiology, surgery, radiology, oncology, and neonatology are passionate educators and it’s a pleasure to be a part of the Mott team.
A: I live at home with my mini-pig, Kilo. He’s my best friend, and we share the same passions: Sleep, bananas, and belly-rubs.
A: I would like to pursue a career in medical education in addition to pediatric and perinatal pathology, start a family, and raise a whole hockey team.
ON THE COVER
Breast team reviewing a patient's slide. (From left to right) Ghassan Allo, Fellow; Laura Walters, Clinical Lecturer; Celina Kleer, Professor. See Article |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Autopsy Technician draws blood while working in the Wayne County morgue. See Article |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Dr. Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow, Chan Chung, PhD investigate pediatric brain cancer. See Article |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Director of the Neuropathology Fellowship, Dr. Sandra Camelo-Piragua serves on the Patient and Family Advisory Council. |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Residents Ashley Bradt (left) and William Perry work at a multi-headed scope in our new facility. |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Dr. Kristine Konopka (right) instructing residents while using a multi-headed microscope. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Patient specimens poised for COVID-19 PCR testing. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Dr. Pantanowitz demonstrates using machine learning in analyzing slides. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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ON THE COVER
(Left to Right) Drs. Angela Wu, Laura Lamps, and Maria Westerhoff. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Illustration representing the various machines and processing used within our labs. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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MLabs, established in 1985, functions as a portal to provide pathologists, hospitals. and other reference laboratories access to the faculty, staff and laboratories of the University of Michigan Health System’s Department of Pathology. MLabs is a recognized leader for advanced molecular diagnostic testing, helpful consultants and exceptional customer service.