Dermatopathology

U of M Dermatopathology

The dermatopathology service has approximately 27,000 accessions per year, including specimens from clinics and operating rooms at the University of Michigan, specimens from our MLabs outreach referral clients, outside consultative cases, direct immunofluorescence specimens, and Dermatopathology Research Molecular Laboratory.

The dermatopathology faculty is comprised of the following 8 board-certified dermatopathologists:

Rajiv M. Patel, MD

Dr. Patel is a Professor of Pathology and Dermatology at the University of Michigan. He received his M.D. degree from Flinders University School of Medicine in Adelaide, Australia. His faculty appointment at the University of Michigan followed residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Cleveland Clinic, fellowships in surgical and soft tissue pathology at Emory University in Atlanta, a dermatopathology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, and nearly two years as a senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia in Crawley, Australia. Dr. Patel is the Director (Section Head) of Dermatopathology and the Director of the Bone & Soft Tissue Pathology Fellowship at the University of Michigan. He has established himself as a nationally and internationally recognized expert in dermatopathology and soft tissue pathology. He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, contributed 15 book chapters, and served as co-editor of a textbook entitled Soft Tissue Tumors of the Skin. He serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Cutaneous Pathology and as an editorial board member for multiple journals including the American Journal of Surgical Pathology and Modern Pathology. He is a highly sought-after speaker with over 130 invited presentations and seminars, including 13 visiting professorships. Dr. Patel has received multiple awards recognizing his contributions, including several for his role as teacher and mentor.

Douglas R. Fullen, MD

Professor of Pathology and Dermatology, former Director of Dermatopathology Section, and former Director of Dermatopathology Fellowship. Dr. Fullen received his M.D. degree from Emory University in 1990. After an active duty stint in The United States Navy as a General Medical Officer serving in the 2nd Marine Division, he completed a residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of Michigan followed by a fellowship in dermatopathology at New York Hospital - Weill Cornell Medicine. He has been on faculty at the University of Michigan since 2000.

Dr. Fullen’s research interests include cutaneous neoplasms, molecular underpinnings of melanocytic tumors, and inflammatory diseases of the skin. He has authored or co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed papers, 90 abstracts, multiple textbook chapters, a "Handbook of Direct Immunofluorescence: A Pattern Approach to Skin and Mucosal Biopsies", and contributed to multiple entities in the recent 4th edition of the WHO Classification of Skin Tumours. He has served on multiple editorial boards and multiple committees of the American Society of Dermatopathology (ASDP), including former Chair of the Mentorship Committee and current Vice-Chair of the Ethics Committee.

Lori Lowe, MD

Dr. Lowe received her undergraduate degree from Occidental College, Los Angeles, California in 1981 and her M.D. degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas in 1985. She did a transitional internship at St. Joseph's Hospital, Houston, Texas from 1985-1986. She then completed her residency training in dermatology at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, followed by a Dermatopathology Fellowship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado. Dr. Lowe is board certified in both Dermatology and Dermatopathology.

From 1991-1996 Dr. Lowe was a Senior Staff Physician and Director of Dermatopathology at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. In 1996 she joined the faculty as Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pathology and Dermatology at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1998 and to Professor in 2004. She served as the Director of Dermatopathology in the Department of Pathology from 1996-2012.

While at the University of Michigan Medical School, Dr. Lowe has been actively involved in the dermatopathology service, teaching and academic pursuits. She has been recognized institutionally and nationally as an educator and clinician.  In 2013, Dr. Lowe received the Walter Nickel Teaching Award given by the American Society of Dermatopathology and also received the Outstanding Clinician of the Year Award bestowed by the University of Michigan Medical School. In 2015, she was inducted into the University of Michigan League of Clinical Excellence.  Dr. Lowe received the William B. Taylor Resident Teaching Award from the Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan in 1999 and 2005 for exemplary teaching. She has been recognized annually since 2003 in America’s Top Doctors for Cancer by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.  She has served on national committees, including the American Board of Dermatology, Dermatopathology Test Committee and the American Board of Pathology, Dermatopathology Test Committee and has served on the editorial boards of both the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and Cancer. In 2020, in recognition of being a leader in the field, Dr. Lowe was inducted into the American Dermatologic Association, a national honorary dermatological society. Dr. Lowe is the author or co-author of more than 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals and has been an invited speaker at more than 120 national or international meetings.

Aleodor A. Andea, MD, MBA

Professor of Pathology and Dermatology, Director of Dermatopathology Molecular Research Laboratory. He is board-certified in anatomic and clinical pathology and in dermatopathology. Dr. Andea is the author of over 40 peer-reviewed publications and over 100 abstracts, mainly in the field of dermatopathology. He is a member of the CAP Dermatopathology Anatomic Site-Specific Committee and of the CAP Surgical Pathology Committee and a member of the ASDP Finance Committee.

Alexandra C. Hristov, MD

Dr. Hristov received her undergraduate degrees from Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC, and her M.D. degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. After residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Hristov pursued a fellowship in hematopathology also at Johns Hopkins, followed by a dermatopathology fellowship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado. She is board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology, hematopathology, and dermatopathology.

Dr. Hristov’s main clinical and research interests focus on cutaneous hematologic malignancies.  She serves on Michigan Medicine’s cutaneous lymphoma tumor board and she has presented several educational talks and on-line activities related to this topic, including for the American Society of Dermatopathology, United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, College of American Pathologists, American Society of Clinical Pathology and American Academy of Dermatology.  She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Cutaneous Pathology and is part of the Appropriate Use Committee, lymphoproliferative subgroup, of the American Society of Dermatopathology. She has authored or coauthored over 40 peer-reviewed publications.

May P. Chan, MD

Dr. May Chan obtained her medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and was a Howard Hughes Research Scholar in 2005-2006. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, followed by a Dermatopathology fellowship at Harvard. She joined the University of Michigan in 2011 and is now a Professor of Pathology and Dermatology. She serves as Medical Director of the Immunohistochemistry Laboratory and Program Director of the Dermatopathology Fellowship.

Dr. Chan is an editorial board member of Modern Pathology and the Journal of Cutaneous Pathology. Her research interests mainly lie in the areas of inflammatory skin diseases and immunohistochemistry. She is the author/co-author of over 80 peer-reviewed publications and the book, "Handbook of Direct Immunofluorescence: A Pattern-based Approach to Skin and Mucosal Biopsies".

 

Paul W. Harms, MD, PhD

Associate Professor in Pathology and Dermatology; Associate Director, Dermatopathology Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory; Co-Director, Rogel Cancer Center Tissue, and Molecular Shared Resource.
After receiving his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Harms came to the University of Michigan Health Systems (UMHS) for residency training in Anatomic Pathology. During his residency and subsequent Dermatopathology fellowship, he became interested in genomic and mechanistic studies of cutaneous malignancies. Upon completion of his fellowship in June 2012, he joined the faculty at Michigan Medicine with joint appointments in the Departments of Dermatology and Pathology. Dr. Harms is a recipient of the Dermatology Foundation 2013 Research Career Development Award.

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Scott Bresler, MD, PhD

Dr. Scott Bresler received his undergraduate degree from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio in 2006 and his PhD and MD degrees from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2011 and 2013, respectively. This was followed by a residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and Dermatopathology fellowship at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Bresler is board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and Dermatopathology. He joined the faculty of the Departments of Pathology and Dermatology at the University of Michigan in 2018. His research interests are mainly in the areas of inflammatory skin conditions, melanocytic lesions, and basal cell carcinoma.

 

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Emily H. Smith, MD

Associate Professor, Dermatopathology