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Reaching for the Stars: Her-stories from Pathology - Dr. Maria Westerhoff

By Lynn McCain | March 26 2021

The Department of Pathology is home to a number of strong women who are leaders in clinical care, education and research.  We interviewed several of these women to learn their stories.  This is Dr. Maria Westerhoff's story.

 

While she moved around frequently as a child due to her father’s job, Dr. Westerhoff primarily grew up in Chicago, about one block away from the famous Devon Street, and attended Chicago Public Schools. “I am what they call a 1.5 generation person,” explained Westerhoff, “someone who immigrated with their parents, but grew up mainly here. I am thankful that I lived in a diverse neighborhood with other immigrant families and their kids.” Westerhoff’s mother was a leader in their community and her aunt was a CEO of her own company, so she grew up surrounded by powerful women. This influenced the direction of her life.

Prior to emigrating to the United States, Westerhoff’s parents graduated from Seoul National University, were married and began their family. Westerhoff was born in South Korea and came to the United States as a young child. With English as a second language, she experienced a number of personal and cultural obstacles as she pursued her career path. “I was pretty slow to understand things as a student, so I always had to take the extra time to struggle and break things down in a way I can learn it. It turns out that my trainees like when I teach them the summaries I come up with!” As Westerhoff was contemplating her career path, her mentor, Sarah Barry, told her to think about what the world needed. “I figured the world needed more doctors.” Her first year at medical school, however, proved to be overwhelming for Westerhoff. “I took 6 months off to live in Mongolia, teach English, see how much need there was for a doctor, and rediscover the purpose of why I was in medicine. After that, I was highly successful in medical school,” relates Westerhoff.

Upon graduating from medical school, Westerhoff matched to the University of Chicago for her residency program. “I couldn’t believe I got into the University of Chicago residency without a research publication under my belt,” she recalled. “I had been educated in the public system for my whole life and I was surrounded by Ivy League grads and incredibly accomplished people who had written textbooks already on Toll-like receptors and had PhD’s from Harvard.” The culture at the University of Chicago placed a heavy emphasis on scholarship and Westerhoff did a lot of learning on the job. “We all had to do these molecular talks and I had a hard time understanding the papers I was reading. I was in awe of Dr. Vinay Kumar, and I could barely open my mouth when I was around him. I remember I was so uncomfortable with giving talks on basic science papers that I practiced what I was going to say until I could master the material. I felt like the most inexperienced resident there, but was really honored to be given the opportunity to train with all these people and ground-breaking thinkers.”

Westerhoff was not deterred by her lack of research experience and determined to gain strength in this area. She approached Dr. Maria Tretiakova, the Director of the Core Laboratory at the time, and stated, “I don’t know anything about research, but I am willing to try, and I will learn. Can you tell me where I should start and what I should do?” “She always reminds me of this story when I see her,” recalls Westerhoff. “She was struck by the fact that I was someone who had no idea what she was doing, but was determined to learn.” Westerhoff received the opportunity to work with Dr. John Hart and became his fellow, a turning point in her career as his fellowships are highly competitive because of his incredible mentorship. Dr. Hart challenged her to develop her own research ideas, and she feels that his generosity and patience with her inspired her to be more compassionate to others. “Now that I am an academic pathologist, I sometimes work with residents that other people, on cursory glance, would think would not accomplish much. They remind me of myself. But together, we have had oral platforms or prize-winning projects at USCAP every year for the 10 years that I’ve been in practice. I wasn’t by any means someone who would be considered successful in academics, but Dr. Hart gave me a chance too. And what happened? By the time I was five years into practice, I had been promoted, had 3 kids, won faculty teacher of the year twice, and was on the ASCP’s 40 under 40 list.”

In addition to these key mentors in her training program, Westerhoff sees Melissa Upton and Karen Frank as key role models. “Melissa taught me to not be afraid to ask for things I need in my job, instead of suffering and enduring something unnecessarily. ‘The worst they can say is “no”’ is her oft repeated refrain. I remind myself of this all the time!” Dr. Frank was Westerhoff’s microbiology attending physician. She coached her on how to succeed as a woman in leadership and is someone she can go to for a fresh perspective. Moving forward, Westerhoff aspires to be a combination of Drs. Laura Lamps and Kathleen Cho. Dr. Lamps is the Director of Gastrointestinal Pathology and the Godfrey D. Stobbe Professor of Gastrointestinal Pathology. Dr. Cho is a Korean-American Vice Chair of Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan Department of Pathology. “These are two incredible, charismatic, effective women leaders,” effused Westerhoff. “I want to be USCAP’s first (or second, that’s fine, too) Korean American President.”

Mentorship has been key in Westerhoff’s success and she has focused on becoming an effective mentor to others. “One of my strengths is making my trainees shine and making an environment for them to succeed academically. I think I can do that for faculty as well. I am very good at mentoring others through research projects and, surprisingly, in presentation coaching,” said Westerhoff. “I remember my failures and how I felt not knowing what to do, so I know exactly how to fix rookie mistakes. Sometimes a trainee just needs their strong points to be nurtured. I love to discover what that is and unleash it!”

We are proud to have Dr. Maria Westerhoff as a member of our faculty. Her quiet dedication and encouraging attitude has spurred many to reach for new heights as they learn and grow. Now that you have had a chance to get to know a little more about her, we hope that you, too, are encouraged to reach for the stars!

 If you want to read the stories of any of the others listed, just click on the "here" link by their name. Clicking on their names will connect you with their faculty profiles.

  • Carol Farver, MD, Professor, Thoracic Pathology, Godfrey D. Stobbe Professor of Pathology Education and Director, Division of Education Programs.  Click here for Dr. Farver's her-story.
  • Laura Lamps, MD, Godfrey Dorr Stobbe Professor of Gastrointestinal Pathology, and Director, Gastrointestinal Pathology. Click here for Dr. Lamps' her-story.
  • Lakshmi Priya Kunju, MD, Professor, Genitourinary Pathology, Director, Surgical Pathology; Director, Genitourinary Pathology; and Director, Histology Laboratory. Click here for Dr. Kunju's her-story.
  • Anuska Andjelkovic-Zochowski, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology. Click here for Dr. Andjelkovic-Zochowski's her-story.
  • Lauren Smith, MD,  Professor, Hematopathology, Director, Hematopathology, Interim Program Director, Hematopathology Fellowship. Click here for Dr. Smith's her-story.

 

 
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