Dr. Julia Dahl, Director of MLabs

Welcome to our new Director of Molecular and Genomic Pathology, Dr. Annette Kim

Meet our new Director of Finance and Administration: Brooklyn Khoury, MS, MHA, MBA

Pathology Welcomes Four New Division Directors

In the Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology, wellness is taken seriously. In fact, the department has an assistant chair for wellness, Dr. Maria Westerhoff, who also leads an active wellness committee. One of the many initiatives Westerhoff and her committee has launched is the weekly distribution of free farm-fresh produce to members of the department [...]. 

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.

First and Second-year residents Herman and Miller joining AAMC's Organization of Resident Representatives.

Learn more about residency at the University of Michigan.

Welcome to Pathology!

A special talent in visual pattern recognition led Dr. May Chan to her career in Dermatopathology.

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The 2023-2024 Chief Resident Team (Nathan McCammon, Corey Post, and Ashley Brent) stopped by The Path Report to share insight into life as a resident at U-M, what it means to be part of the Chief team and more. Check out their episode now!

Imagine for a moment that it is 1:00 am and you and your toddler just arrived in the Emergency Department at the Mott Children’s Hospital. Your child is running a high fever, is lethargic, and hasn’t been able to eat or drink. You were at the pediatrician’s office a couple days ago, but tthe prescribed antibiotics aren’t working. You are nearly panicked, not knowing what is wrong. The triage nurse rushes your precious little one to a room where a critical care team quickly makes an assessesment and draws blood, which then disappears from the room, as you await answers[...]

A study from clinicians and researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, U-M Department of Pathology and the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology reveals findings from over 800 clinical assays performed for kidney patients with MiTF family gene mutations.

Partly sunny skies and temperatures in the low-to-mid 80’s made for perfect conditions for Michigan Medicine Pathology’s Molecular and Cellular Pathology graduate students and their families, faculty, and staff to enjoy a day out at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, July 25^th.

Meet our Resident Class of 2027

We want to be a FiSHy department.” No, we don’t want to engage in unethical/illegal behaviors. Rather, the goal for the Department of Pathology is to enculturate the FISH! Philosophy^©. The FiSH! Philosophy captures the practices of the world-famous Pike Place Fish Company in Seattle, Washington. It is an approach that embodies four simple practices that can revolutionize how someone lives and works: Choose Your Attitude, Be There, Make Their Day and PLAY. With the FiSH!

C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital at Michigan Medicine has proudly earned the title of the #1 Children’s Hospital in Michigan. Our heartfelt congratulations go out to the dedicated healthcare providers, staff, and trainees at Mott who have played a pivotal role in achieving this distinction. This remarkable level of care at Mott is made possible by the expert support of a world-class Pathology department, which the Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology exemplifies as one of the leading academic pathology departments globally.

ASCP 40 Under Forty recognizes Drs. Madelyn Lew and Lauren J. Miller.

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.

The Department of Pathology is pleased to announce that Molecular and Cellular Pathology (MCP) Graduate Student Derek Dang has been awarded the 2023 Phyllis M. Wise Biomedical Sciences Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Service. This award is granted to graduate students who exhibit a passionate commitment to service in their communities, nationally or internationally.

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In this episode of The Path Report residents and fellows from the Class of 2023 sat down and shared insight into their time at Michigan Medicine, where they are continuing their careers, and advice for the next generation of pathologists.

Each year several cohorts of interns from medical laboratory scientist training programs across Michigan cycle through the Department of Pathology clinical laboratories as they complete their internships prior to graduation. The American Proficiency Institute, a certifying body for medical laboratory professionals, awarded scholarships to five students across the United States this year to support their educations, one of whom is our very own intern, Patrick Hoxie.

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a significant holiday in the United States that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. In the Department of Pathology, Juneteenth is honored with an Equality Walk, in which members of the department from all levels and backgrounds, walk in unity around the North Campus Research Complex and take time to kneel to remember those who have been unjustly killed due to their race. Video and social media posts share this activity with people around the world, as just one aspect of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at Michigan Medicine’s Department of Pathology.

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Dr. Ulysses Balis is a leader in Pathology Informatics. As the inaugural A. James French Professor of Pathology Informatics, Dr. Balis looks to continue making advances in the field that help not only the University of Michigan Department of Pathology, but the field of pathology as a whole.

The Department of Pathology is pleased to announce Brooklyn Khoury, MBA, MHSA, MS as the new Chief Department Administrator (CDA), effective Monday, June 19, 2023. Ms. Khoury was identified as a top candidate after a comprehensive national search.  Khoury will partner with our Department Chair, Dr. Charles Parkos, to manage operations and accomplish strategic initiatives across all our missions.

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.

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Dr. Alexey Nesvizhskii plays a large role in the future of medicine through his research and mentorship. The inaugural Godfrey Dorr Stobbe Professor of Bioinformatics joined The Path Report to discuss his journey to the University of Michigan, his research, and his recent recognition.

Congratulations to our Clinical Graduates!

A week-long, all-expenses-paid trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan in late Spring may sound too good to be true, but for 30 fortunate undergraduate students from around the United States and its territories, this becomes a reality when they are accepted into the annual Developing Future Biologists (DFB) short course.

Michigan Medicine's Youth Summit at the Big House 2023

Dr. Xinna Li's story.

The ever-popular annual Clinical Pathology Symposium returned to an in-person format this year in honor of Medical Laboratory Professionals Week and was a hit! The theme for this year’s Symposium was Resilience. Rebound. Readiness. Held in the football-shaped Dining Hall at the NCRC [...]

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In the inaugural episode of The Path Report, UMich Pathology Directors of Operations, Kristina Martin and Chris Rigney, sat down to discuss medical laboratory professionals and Lab Week 2023.

Dr. Lee Schroeder shares his story.

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

Please join us in congratulating him on this honor!

Some exciting news is breaking in the Department of Pathology specifically for our laboratory professionals. Medical Laboratory Professionals week is coming soon – the week of April 23, 2023, and with it, a new opportunity is being presented to our phlebotomists, laboratory technicians, and medical laboratory scientists working on the frontlines of our clinical laboratories.

This year, thanks to the generosity of Ms. Suzanne Butch, laboratory professionals through the Senior Technologist level will be eligible to have their certification or recertification fee reimbursed. Laboratory professionals will need to sign-up HERE no later than Monday, May 8th at 8:00 am to be selected at random to have their fees reimbursed. Anyone who’s certification or recertification fees have or will come due in 2023 is eligible to enter. Up to $5,000 in fees will be covered across those whose names will be drawn on May 9th*.

If you wish to help ensure more of our frontline staff have their certification fees covered, and can obtain ongoing professional education, you can contribute to this fund. Certification fees range from $170-$240 and recertification from $95-$110. Larger gifts can help multiple individuals or be used to grow the fund for future use. Even a small contribution can make a big difference to our frontline staff, so make a gift today!

*This story was updated on 4/12/23 to extend the deadline for submission and the drawing date, which were originally April 27 and April 28.

Saturday, March 11^th dawned as a typical early Spring day in Michigan, but the day was anything but routine! The North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) at the University of Michigan was teeming with high school students and their parents or guardians, eager to learn more about careers in cancer research. Students learned from career panels as well as through mock tumor boards, DNA extraction activities, and tours of research laboratories [...]

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.

A perspective from four lab managers.

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 [...]

Match day is when medical students find out where they will be going for their residency training programs and the training programs find out who is coming.  In this year’s match, the Department of Pathology discovered that the following medical students will be coming to Michigan on July 1, 2023 [...]

The Pathology Trainee Wellness Committee offers wellness support in all forms: personal, professional, mental, and physical. 

Dr. Steven Hrycaj discusses his role as the Technical Director of Immunohistochemistry Laboratory

An Interview with Rodney Barber in honor of Histotechnology Day

The Department of Pathology offers the Molecular and Cellular Pathology Graduate Program (MCP) for students who are interested in translational research – the step between basic science research and clinical care, the “bench-to-bedside” transition. Sahiti Marella is a graduate student in the MCP who was recently awarded her first F31 grant. This is an NIH-funded predoctoral grant that provides awardees with a monthly stipend to support tuition and fees, and funds for training-related costs while they conduct their PhD research project, for up to five-years of funding.