Dr. Julia Dahl, Director of MLabs

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.

Learn more about residency at the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan’s Protein Folding Diseases Initiative Symposium will be holding its 10^th Annual Symposium starting at 8:30 am.

Meet our Resident Class of 2027

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.

SAVE THE DATE

This symposium is intended to address the educational requirements for practicing pathologists, residents, and fellows. Diagnostic problems in Anatomic Pathology will be identified and evaluated using current tools.

True to its theme, this exciting two-day conference is intended to meet the educational needs of Practicing Pathologists, Medical Examiners, Law Enforcement/Police Officers, Coroners, District Attorneys, and Health Care Professionals.

Register Now

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

An Interview with Rodney Barber in honor of Histotechnology Day

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!

Lizbeth Harcourt, MSW and LaTresa Wiley, MSW share their experiences supporting Michigan Medicine families

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.

Standing-Room-Only Crowd Honors Achievements

The Department of Pathology was well represented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) held on October 14-18, 2022. This year’s event was held at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel in Dallas, Texas with hundreds of people in attendance. The meeting provided an international forum for discussion of a broad range of issues pertaining to forensic pathology and death investigation. The event featured hundreds of platform and poster presentations from forensic pathologists, pathology trainees, pathology assistants, forensic anthropologists, toxicologists, and medical students. Several of our faculty and trainees were featured at this year's conference.

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!

The field of Pathology is changing quickly as technology advances, with deep learning and artificial intelligence expanding into diagnostic arenas.

A landmark study into quantitative image analysis in ER, PgR, and HER2 in invasive breast carcinoma was recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology. Dr. Mustafa Yousif, Assistant Professor of Breast Pathology and Informatics, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of 1,367 invasive breast carcinomas of all histopathology subtypes, for which ER, PgR, and HER2 were analyzed by manual scoring [...]

Review the conference and plan to attend next year's event!

What is skin cancer and how can you prevent it?

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Both a match in pathology and in their personal lives, our new faculty duo is welcomed in our department.

Today is Match Day!  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, 2022 [...]

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

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

Learn more about what it takes to be a Medical Examiner Investigator (MEI) within the section of Autopsy and Forensic Pathology.

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 [...]

The Department of Pathology recently selected Karen Barron (MT) ASCP, as its new Education Internship Coordinator. Learn more about Karen as she transitions into this exciting role [...]

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

Throughout the ongoing pandemic, many patients who die from COVID-19 pneumonia are found at autopsy to have a pattern of fibrosis in their lungs that resemble nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP).  However, members of the Anatomic Pathology Division of Pathology at Michigan Medicine were curious about the lungs of those who survive COVID-19 pneumonia [...]

An interview with Kristina Martin and Christine Rigney

John T. Headington, M.D. passed away on March 30, 2021. Terry was a brilliant, creative, and insightful dermatopathologist who made many seminal observations and contributions during his more than 30-year career. Terry was a Michigan man, having completed his undergraduate degree, medical degree, and residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology and dermatology at the University of Michigan [...]

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 [...]

For the 2021-2022 academic year, Dr. Will Perry was selected to serve as the department's Chief Resident. “In the simplest terms, my main role is to ensure we have the best possible environment for residents to learn throughout their training. Another important responsibility is ensuring we have adequate resident coverage on many of our clinical services.”

The Department of Pathology offers its sincere condolences to the family of Dr. Theodore (Ted) Beals, who passed away on August 19, 2021, at the age of 87. Beals was a long-time member of the University of Michigan and the Department of Pathology.  He began his academic career as an undergraduate at U-M and went on to obtain a master’s degree from UM Rackham Graduate School in 1961 and graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1966 [...]

Congratulations to Dr. Carl Schmidt, Professor of Forensic Pathology and Wayne County Medical Examiner for being selected by Gift of Life Michigan to receive the prestigious 2021 Champion Award for promoting organ and tissue donation. Schmidt was one of 13 individuals recognized at the Champions Gala held at Zingerman’s Cornman Farms in Dexter on August 13^th.

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

Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Myers, the A. James French Professor of Diagnostic Pathology, Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and Quality, and Director of Michigan Medicine Laboratories for his selection to The Power List – 2021 as an In the Spotlight Award winner [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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

The Department of Pathology bids a fond farewell to administrative assistant Ms. Linda O’Brien, who is set to retire from the Department at the end of February. Linda leaves the department with over 30 years of service, primarily working with the GI pathology faculty [...]

Michael Caplan, MD is no stranger to the University of Michigan Department of Pathology.  This is actually his fourth time joining the Department! After completing a BS in Criminalistics at Michigan State University and an MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Caplan joined the Department for the first time as an AP/CP Resident from 1987-1992.

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.

While in medical school, Dr. Myra Kahn discovered her love for gross pathology during a pathology rotation. This led her to a residency in Anatomic Pathology at the University of Chicago from 2014-2018.  As a resident, Forensic Pathology “[put] together my interest for gross pathology along with autopsy,“ shared Khan. She also discovered her love for breast pathology [...]

In a recently published Nature Reviews-Nephrology review article, “Digital pathology and computational image analysis in nephropathology,” Dr. Ulysses G. J. Balis discussed how the emergence of digital pathology — an image-based environment for the acquisition, management, and interpretation of pathology information supported by computational techniques for data extraction and analysis — is changing the pathology ecosystem [...]

Please welcome Dr. Pantanowitz to the Department.

The Department of Pathology 2019 Annual Report is now available online. Our department continues to show outstanding performance and growth and the past year was another example of why our department is one of the best in the world.

In the report, you will read about [...]

Genitourinary pathology fellow, Dr. Eman Abdulfatah, recently received the International Society of Urologic Pathology (ISUP) Excellence in Urologic Pathology Award for her abstract presentation, [...]

Event showcases clinical and translational research.

Great mentorship, at just the right time, led Milad Webb, MD, PhD, to specialize in forensic Pathology. After completing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Nevada in Reno, Webb earned his MD at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He then enrolled in residency training at [...]

A new podcast out of the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office, in partnership with the Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology, provides education for the lay public and armchair detective. Drs. Leigh Hlavaty, Lokman Sung, Milad Webb, and Omar Rayes are your guides through the field of forensic pathology [...]

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 [...]

We are pleased to announce that Mike McVicker is the new Administrative Manager for Clinical Operations in the Department of Pathology.

Mike has worked at Michigan Medicine for over 13 years, kicking off his career in the Specimen Processing division [...]

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

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 [...]

2019 New Frontiers in Pathology Conference

The Department of Pathology embraces the future while navigating through multiple changes as it settles into its new laboratory home.

A study by Drs. Emily McMullen, Paul Harms, Lori Lowe, Doug Fullen, and May Chan is published in the September issue of the American Journal of Surgical Pathology (AJSP). Calciphylaxis is a dermatologic emergency where an accurate and timely diagnosis is crucial but [...]

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

For Omar Rayes, MD, accepting a faculty position in Michigan feels like coming home. Born in Damascus, Syria, Rayes moved to Cincinnati after medical school. He did a year of research at Cincinnati Children’s hospital before embracing life in Michigan during his [...]

Staff members were recognized for their years of service and for going above and beyond. 

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 University of Michigan hosted nearly 100 forensic pathologists, medical examiners, death investigators, coroners, and others at Weber’s Inn in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The University of Michigan hosted nearly 100 forensic pathologists, medical examiners, death investigators, coroners, and others at Weber’s Inn in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for its 10^th Annual Advances in Forensic Medicine and Pathology, May 9-10, 2019, for two full days of continuing education.  Speakers and attendees from across the globe gathered to learn and contribute to this exceptional conference.  Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen, Professor, and Director of Autopsy and Forensic Services, Department of Pathology, Michigan Medicine kicked off the conference with an intriguing review of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Co-Ed Murders from 1967-1969, during which time 7 females, ages 13-23, were murdered by a serial killer, then dumped in open areas [...]

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

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

Every day at Michigan Medicine’s University Hospital, Lisa Belanger Neal uses a camera to demystify death.

The 10^th annual CHAMP Research Day will be held on Thursday, February 7^th, 2019 from 3:00 pm to 7:30 pm in the Research Auditorium located in building 10 of the North Campus Research Complex. The event will feature presentations by Department of Pathology trainees and faculty [...]

On Thursday, December 20, 2018, at 3:30 pm, the founders of InheRET, Inc., participated in the bell ringing ceremony at the University of Michigan’s Technology Transfer office. The event signaled the formal licensing of technology developed at the University of Michigan to the spin-off corporation.

InheRET, Inc., developed jointly by the Department of Pathology and the Department of Internal Medicine faculty and staff, has produced an online family health history questionnaire.  It interprets patient-entered data [...]

Dynamic faculty bring out the best in med students. 

Second-year resident, Laurie Griesinger, MD, won both second and third place at the 2018 Winter Resident Research Competition on December 1^st at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Michigan. The competition, held annually by the Michigan Society of Pathologists during their Winter Meeting, is open to [...]

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 [...]

A gift from the Finger family targets introducing trainees to the appeal of a career in forensic pathology. 

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 Department's commitment to collaboration and innovation well-represented at Quality Month event.

The Department of Pathology at Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is seeking an MD or MD, PhD academic pathologist with a track record of accomplishments in a leadership role to head our academic Division of Anatomic Pathology [...]

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 University of Michigan SPORE in Prostate Cancer has awarded Aaron Udager, MD, PhD, with a two-year Prostate SPORE Career Enhancement Program (CEP) grant of $60,00 per year. The Department of Pathology will contribute matching funds of another [...]

A collaboration out of the Molecular and Cellular Pathology graduate program could lead to new treatment strategies.

In our first episode of Careers in Pathology (#CareersinPathology), Dr. Scott Owens talks about his different roles in the University of Michigan Department of Pathology as a gastrointestinal pathologist, Director of the Division of Quality and Health Improvement, and medical school educator. 

Watch Video

As a teenager, Lauren Rosen, MD, was an avid reader and watcher of everything about forensics. Her parents were both nurses at a nearby hospital and fostered her interests in science and medicine by arranging for her to view an autopsy. Loving the [...]

The story of how Kathleen R. Cho, MD, created a career in which she excels at diagnostics, research, and administration.

Commitments to patient care and innovative technologies earn us top ratings.

Thomas Giordano, MD, PhD, the Henry Clay Bryant Professor of Pathology, has published an invited review article in a special issue of Endocrine-Related Cancer, celebrating 65 years of the double helix. In Classification of endocrine tumors in the age of integrated genomics, Giordano shares [...]

Congratulations to Asma Nusrat, MD, the Aldred Scott Warthin Professor and director of experimental pathology in the Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology, for her election as president of the American Society for Pathology for [...]

Dr. Gabriel Nuñez, the Paul de Kruif Endowed Professor of Inflammation & Immunology and Co-Director of Immunology and Host Response Program in the Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology, has been [...]

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 [...]

Dr. Sameer Khatri along with the Department of Pathology's Drs. Min Wang, Paul Harms, Douglas Fullen, Aleodor Andea, and May Chan, in collaboration with other U-M [...]

U-M hosts experts and trainees as they sharpen skills and discuss trends in forensic medicine.

Congratulations to Dr. Celina Kleer, the Harold A. Oberman Collegiate Professor of Pathology, who has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the 7^th Annual MICHR Distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Mentor Award!

Dr. Kleer was nominated by her trainees as well as peers at U-M Medical [...]

Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD and Rohit Mehra, MD are contributing authors of a new paper, Comprehensive evaluation of PD-L1 expression in primary and metastatic prostate cancer, published in The American Journal of [...]

The desire to propel her research has brought Maria Westerhoff, MD to the University of Michigan

Highlighting one of the first female University of Michigan Department of Pathology faculty.

Pathology's involvement in tuberculosis research and diagnosis

Faculty Spotlight - Richard Cantley, MD

If you have cancer, the treatment plan probably started with a pathologist’s review of your biopsy