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Dr. Sara Varadarajan: Finding Balance at the Cellular Frontier
May 19, 2026 / Faculty SpotlightWhen Dr. Sara Varadarajan stepped into her new faculty role on April 1, it marked a professional milestone in her scientific journey. Her path has been shaped by curiosity, resilience, and a deep commitment to understanding how tissues heal and restore balance after injury. Most recently, Varadarajan received a prestigious NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). This award
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A Career in Focus: Celebrating Yinru Sieracki
May 14, 2026 / RetirementAfter 35 years of dedicated service in the Department of Pathology, Yinru Sieracki, MD, MS is retiring, leaving behind a legacy of quiet excellence, deep curiosity, and unwavering commitment to patient care.
Yinru’s journey began in Shanghai, China, where she was born and raised. After completing her placement exams, she qualified to enroll in medical school, where she earned a medical degree from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese
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Where Chemistry Meets Biology: Dr. Amol Mhetre’s Work in Translational Pathology
May 13, 2026 / Faculty SpotlightFrom a young age in India, Amol Mhetre, PhD, was fascinated by organic chemistry, not just as a subject but as a way to understand how molecules behave in real biological systems and to develop new therapeutics to treat disease. That curiosity has carried him across continents and into a career at the interface of chemistry, biology, and translational drug discovery.
In March 2026, Mhetre was promoted to Research Investigator in the University o
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Celebrating the Retirement of Steve Marshall, IS Administration and Plan Manager
May 6, 2026 / RetirementAfter more than four decades of dedicated service, Steve Marshall is retiring on May 8th, leaving behind a legacy that spans laboratories, hospitals, computer systems, and most importantly, people.
Marshall joined the department in 1983, beginning a career that would grow and evolve alongside dramatic changes in laboratory medicine and information technology. “I’ve been working since I was 13, but that is not when I started in Pathol
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A Career Well-Cultured: Carol Young Reflects on More Than 50 Years of Service
April 27, 2026 / RetirementMuch has changed since 1974, when Carol Young, MT-ASCP, clinical research project manager, joined the Department of Pathology. Looking back, Young thanks Nancy Dock for introducing her to microbiology. Young, whose father and grandfather were teachers, initially thought she would become a chemistry teacher. She had fallen in love with chemistry in high school. Then, a mother of a friend at church, Joanne Teufel, who worked in a lab at a Toledo ho
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Dr. Oyewale "Wale" Shiyanbola, MBBS, PhD, MPH: Integrating Global Medicine, Epidemiology, and Diagnostic Pathology
April 8, 2026 / Faculty SpotlightEvery pathologist has a story about how they found their way to the microscope. But Dr. Oyewale “Wale” Shiyanbola’s story is not just a path; it’s a continent-spanning journey driven by curiosity, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to improving patient care.
Wale began his medical career in Ibadan, Nigeria, where he earned his MBBS from the University of Ibadan, one of the region's most prestigious medical schools.
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It's Family Here: Susan Clark's Life of Connection and Care
April 6, 2026 / HematologySusan Clark, MLT, has spent decades doing the kind of essential work most people never see, but patients benefit from every day.
“I grew up in Philadelphia,” Clark says. “My father worked for Gulf Oil,” and when his job transferred the family, her life shifted as well, first to Rhode Island in high school, then later to Michigan in a way she still laughs about. “When I was in Rhode Island, I met what was going to be
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Let Curiosity Guide the Science: The Journey of Dr. Aishwarya Gurumurthy
April 2, 2026 / Faculty SpotlightDr. Aishwarya Gurumurthy’s scientific journey is a vivid blend of curiosity, resilience, and international adventure. Rather than following a conventional path, she has pursued complex biological questions across India, Japan, and the United States. From trekking to remote villages to collect genetic samples with thumbprint consent signatures to advancing innovative cancer research at Michigan Medicine, she has remained anchored in the curi
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Early Career Insights in Immunology: Dr. Lo’s Approach to Complex Diseases
March 18, 2026 / Gi ResearchDr. Bernard Lo, PhD, Research Investigator, did not set out to study gut immunity, nor did he anticipate that his work would one day intersect with some of the most pressing questions in cancer immunotherapy. Growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Lo’s early academic life was rooted close to home. He completed both his undergraduate and doctoral training at the University of British Columbia, where he discovered his interest in immunolo
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Where Passion Meets Discovery: Yi Bao, PhD’s Path to Research Investigator
March 3, 2026 / Faculty Spotlight“I watched a family member go through chemotherapy for lung cancer. It was incredibly painful for them, and ultimately, the treatment only extended their life for a few months. A few years ago, I watched them pass away from the disease. That experience drove me to pursue a PhD in cancer biology.”
Yi Bao, PhD, completed his undergraduate education at South China Agricultural University and then earned a Master of Science degree at the
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Beyond the Microscope: The Life and Passions of Dr. Paul Killen
February 23, 2026 / RetirementForty years ago, a bright young physician-scientist delivered an address to the American Society of Nephrology. To his surprise, the presentation sparked a “gold-rush fever” among department chairs trying to recruit him. Among them was Dr. Peter Ward, then Chair of Pathology, and the one who ultimately succeeded. In 1987, Paul Killen, MD, PhD, joined the Department of Pathology as an Assistant Professor.
At the time, Killen was
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Finding Meaning in Medicine: Dr. Sara Stone’s Journey from Lab to Life
February 16, 2026 / NeuropathologyLike many college students, Dr. Sara Stone’s major changed after she started her program at Auburn University in Alabama. She originally planned to go into industrial design, a field somewhere between engineering and design. Then she decided to take a pre-med course and changed her major to nutrition. As she prepared for medical school applications, she focused on strengthening her resume and took a research position in a lab at the Univers
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Science with Purpose: Dr. Jie Luo’s Work to Improve Prostate Cancer Treatment
February 13, 2026 / Faculty SpotlightThe reason people pursue careers in medical research varies, but for one young scientist, the motivation was deeply personal. Jie Luo, PhD, was an undergraduate biology major at Xiamen University in China when he learned that a close relative had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. “At that moment, I decided that I had to figure out, or at least contribute to understanding, how prostate cancer works so clinicians could better treat it,&rdq
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The Human Connection Behind Every Draw
February 9, 2026 / PhlebotomyHonoring U‑M Phlebotomists During Phlebotomy Recognition Week 2026
Serving Veterans, Advancing Medicine: Meet New U-M and VA Faculty Member Dr. Kelsey Hummel
January 26, 2026 / Faculty SpotlightWhen Kelsey Hummel, DO, FCAP, graduated from high school, her first job was at a local blood bank processing whole blood into red blood cells, platelets, and plasma. For the first time, she learned how vital the laboratory was to patient care. “That sparked my interest in laboratory medicine. When my sister told me about the medical laboratory sciences program and that you could work in a hospital lab, I knew what my college major would be.
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Tanks, Transfusions, and Tarantulas: Meet Kai Rogers, MD, PhD
January 20, 2026 / Faculty SpotlightWhen Kai Rogers, MD, PhD, finished high school, instead of heading to college, he joined the United States Marine Corps, where he became a tank mechanic and deployed to Iraq. After serving in the Marines, he returned home to Seattle, Washington, where he attended the University of Washington and earned a degree in microbiology. “At the end of my junior year, our oldest son was born. He had a traumatic birth and was in the NICU for a long ti
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From Tumor Slides to Terrariums: Dr. Akriti Gupta Puts Down Roots in Michigan
December 15, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightOne year ago, the Department of Pathology was fortunate enough to recruit a talented young cytopathologist/genitourinary pathologist, Dr. Akriti Gupta. Gupta’s path to medicine began in India, where she earned her medical degree at K.S. Hegde Medical Academy and completed her pathology residency at KMC Manipal University. From an early age, she maintained an unwavering focus on medicine. Her interest in pathology was sparked during her surg
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Inside a Transition: Building Purpose and Partnership in Clinical Pathology
December 8, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightThe Department of Pathology is pleased to introduce our new Director of Clinical Pathology and the Michigan Medicine Laboratories CLIA Director, Lee Schroeder, MD, PhD. Schroeder joined the department in 2014 as an assistant professor, directing Point-of-Care Testing and Satellite Phlebotomy, signing out immunology cases, serving as the CLIA director for several ambulatory care laboratories, and working towards a sub-specialization in clinical in
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Building the Future of Genomics: Dr. Jaeseung Kim Joins U-M Pathology
December 4, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightOver the past two years, Dr. Annette Kim, Director of the Division of Genetics and Genomics (DGG), has been assembling a stellar team of scientists to advance Pathology’s expertise and testing, thereby better serving our patients. In 2024, she recruited Jaeseung Kim, PhD, as a clinical assistant professor in DGG (not related to Dr. Annette Kim).
Jaeseung grew up in South Korea. When he was entering high school, his family moved to Toronto,
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Seeing the Enemy
November 12, 2025 / Breast CancerMichele Mitchell's Journey from Diagnosis to Discovery and Beyond
Turning Pages, Changing Lives: Dr. Simon Warren’s Path from Literature to Dermatopathology
November 3, 2025 / DermatopathologyThe written word is powerful. It can shape our minds and change our dreams. Dr. Simon Warren loves the written word, studying Ancient Greek, Latin, and Linguistics while playing competitive squash at Cambridge University. One day, he picked up a book that changed the direction of his life: The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. “I decided I wanted to know more about evolution, then more about DNA. I started chatting with people in science and
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Rooted in Science, Growing in Michigan: The Story of Dr. Xiaoming (Mindy) Wang
October 29, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightWhen Michigan played USC for the first time as Big Ten rivals in 2024, Dr. Xiaoming (Mindy) Wang was not sure which team to root for. After all, USC was her alma mater, but she worked for the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan. In the end, she and her family wore Maize and Blue and rooted for Michigan - and they were delighted to celebrate a Michigan victory.
Wang, who is originally from Beijing, China, was fascinated by scien
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Welcome Back: Dr. Nicholas Nuechterlein Joins U-M Faculty
October 22, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightMany people attend college and pursue a major, only to end up working in a field they never anticipated. Nicholas Nuechterlein, PhD, can relate to that situation. He pursued a double major in Mathematics and English Literature at the University of Michigan. However, toward the end of college, he had a personal experience with brain tumors, which redirected his path. “I wanted to get into this space, but I did not have a background in biolog
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From Patient Mysteries to Breakthroughs: Dr. Kejian Zhang’s Lifelong Mission
October 15, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightThe Department of Pathology is home to world-class faculty from around the world. One of these is Dr. Kejian Zhang, clinical professor and director of the molecular genetics laboratory in the Division of Genetics and Genomics. Zhang originally came to the United States to learn how to perform clinical research. “I started at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital performing research in the Hematology Oncology department. I was there for s
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Passing the Torch: Dr. Cooling’s Farewell and the Future of Blood Banking at Michigan
September 30, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightDr. Laura Cooling's family were not “academics” or professional class and, in fact, neither of her parents attended college. "But I have always loved science, and my dad was very supportive of me attending college and pursuing a career in medicine." Her mother was less enthusiastic until medical school graduation – thanks to a random stranger on a plane. "This stranger, whose own daughter was either recently divorced or widowed,
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Staying for the Science and the Scenery: Dr. Rob Humble's Michigan Story
September 24, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightWhen Dr. Robert Humble came to the University of Michigan to complete his Genitourinary Pathology fellowship, he thought this would be a one-year stay. "I think we’d been here about six weeks when I had an important discussion while on a walk with my husband, Anthony, who is a pharmacist, and our dog, Rooster. I asked Anthony if he was open to staying in Ann Arbor, and he promptly replied, ‘I was hoping you would say that!’" The
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Welcome Our New Fellow: Bayan Alquran, MD
September 17, 2025 / Transfusion Medicine
“Prioritize what matters and give each its time, ask for help when needed, and be kind to yourself. Perfection isn’t the goal, progress is. Finding balance is a lifelong journey.”
Tell us about your background so we can get to know you.
I grew up in Jordan, where I attended Hashemite University Medical School, before moving to the United States with my husband, Alharith. I completed my clinical pathology residency at the U
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Meet Our First Year Residents: Nico Gomez, MD, PhD
September 8, 2025 / Residents
“…the neuropathologists at Michigan are deeply curious people who are eager to teach and start new projects. Their training backgrounds and scientific interests are impressively complimentary such that no topic, niche, or clinical entity felt unfamiliar to the team.“
Tell us about your background so we can get to know you.I grew up in Minnesota and spent my high school years in Chicago’s Hyde Park. After graduation,
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Meet Our First Year Resident: Sara Tweedy, MD, PhD
September 2, 2025 / Residents
“The pathology program here is excellent in all subspecialties. You cannot go wrong, regardless of your career path. Additionally, fostering collaborative exchanges between different fields in research is extremely important to me. The Pathology Department has strong collaborative relationships across multiple departments and schools.”
Tell us about your background so we can get to know you.
I grew up in Ann Arbor. My parents me
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Meet Our First Year Resident: Alexander Silver, MD, PhD
August 26, 2025 / Residents
"I thought if I wanted to have a career in biomedical science, pathology would be a great fit. It would allow me to think about the clinical problems I was interested in and have a good way to conduct research that ties back to medicine."
Tell us about your background so we can get to know you.I grew up in a small town called Northborough, Massachusetts. It is located halfway between Boston and Worcester. After high school, I went to a liber
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Meet Our New Residents: Caleb Vogt, MD, PhD
August 20, 2025 / Residents
"I began considering the skills that will be important in the future and realized that pathologists are the ones who will need to be at the forefront of understanding how tissue-engineered organs are constructed and how to evaluate them."
I am originally from Indiana, but my family moved around quite a bit in the Midwest and the South. After high school, I went to Michigan Tech to study biomedical engineering. One of the big draws was that
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Meet Our First-Year Resident: Chelsea Yu, MD
August 19, 2025 / Education"What brings me the most joy is when I feel like I am helping the team to do something productive. I love having a purpose and serving that purpose well, and trying to make other people’s lives easier because of that."
I am originally from Canton, Michigan, where I attended public school before going to the University of Michigan for my undergraduate degree in cell and molecular biology. I really enjoyed my time at Michigan! After
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Meet our First Year Residents: Gabe Kramer, MD
August 15, 2025 / Residents
"Pathologists are truly the doctor’s doctor, and I love being a source of this critically important information for clinical colleagues."
I was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where my dad managed a nearby farming co-op and my mom stayed at home. I have two sisters, one of whom is intellectually disabled; she’ll come live with me and my wife after residency. My other sister graduated from pharmacy school two days after I
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Meet our First Year Residents: Dowon Kim, MD
August 13, 2025 / Residents
"When I started medical school, I was planning on going into ophthalmology or neurology. Pathology wasn’t on my radar at all, I didn’t even know what it was. Then, during my second year, my school offered a pathology elective, and I thought, “Why not?”
Tell us about your background so we can get to know you a little bit.I’m originally from Ann Arbor. I went to Saline High School, then came to the University of M
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Meet our First-Year Resident: Adam Berry, DO
August 7, 2025 / Residents
"I loved teaching, and I knew many people in my medical school were pathologists. I had never considered it before, but I completed a pathology elective at my local community hospital, and I loved it."
Adam Berry, DO, was born and raised in Utah, just north of Salt Lake City. He completed his undergraduate studies at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, and then attended medical school at Rocky Vista University’s Southern Utah campus.
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Meet our First-Year Resident: Logan Ballard, MD
August 4, 2025 / Residents
"I heard about U-M's program and did an away rotation at Michigan my last year of medical school. I absolutely fell in love with the program and knew that Michigan is definitely where I wanted to be."
James "Logan" Ballard grew up in Georgia, where he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Georgia, majoring in microbiology and biochemistry. He enjoyed the interface of basic sciences and its application to diagnosis an
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Do Not Aim for Anything Less than the Best - You Might Get It!
July 2, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightDr. Amir Dehghani Joins the Department of Pathology
Resilience, Discipline, Focus, and Relentless Hard Work
June 25, 2025 / Experimental PathologyThe Keys to Dr. Analisa DiFeo's Success
The Mediterranean, Motherhood, and Microbiology
June 18, 2025 / Experimental PathologyDr. Roberta Caruso's Sources of Joy
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From a Simple Start to a Simple Ending
June 11, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightDr. Greg Dressler retires from the Department of Pathology
The Path to Discovery
June 4, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightDr. Jennifer Brazil's Contributions to Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research
Translational Research Training Program Retreat
June 2, 2025 / Phd ProgramA fascinating glimpse into cutting-edge research
It's OK to Change Your Mind
May 27, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightDr. Catherine Ptaschinski Tells Her Story
He Went to the Shed
April 28, 2025 / StaffLogistics Coordinator Chris Smith Shares His Story
The Unseen Heroes of Healthcare
April 21, 2025 / Lab WeekCelebrating Laboratory Professionals Week.
The Many Facets of Life
April 2, 2025 / Faculty SpotlightIntroducing Navin Mahadevan, MD, PhD
Using Technology to Advance Patient Care and Safety
March 5, 2025 / Blood BankMichigan Medicine First in State to Join the Alloantibody Exchange
Re-envisioning a Modern Informatics Ecosystem
February 12, 2025 / DggDr. Daniel Hovelson Directs DGG Informatics Efforts
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