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.

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.

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 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.

Congratulations to our Clinical Graduates!

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

Giving Blueday, March 15, 2023

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!

Congratulations are due to Dr. Asma Nusrat, F. Peyton Rous Professor of Experimental Pathology and Director of Experimental Pathology, and Dr. Charles Parkos, Carl V. Weller Professor and Chair of Pathology, on being named 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows. The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. The 2022 class was comprised of 505 scientists, engineers and innovators from around the world and across all disciplines.  Being selected as an AAAS Fellow is one of the most distinguished honors within the scientific community. The newly elected Fellows are being recognized for their scientific and socially notable achievements spanning their careers.

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.

Dr. Robertson Davenport was recently interviewed regarding the new Blood Bank at Michigan Medicine. You can view his interview here. Please consider donating blood today!  You can find a blood donation site near you and sign up to give blood at www.redcrossblood.org/.

Inpatient and outpatient phlebotomists from Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology are highlighted in career snapshots  videos produced by The Pathologist Magazine. Click through to watch these videos or to get a link to open positions in phlebotomy at Michigan Medicine.

We are pleased to share that the Board of Regents today (Oct. 20) approved the appointment of Zaneta Nikolovska-Coleska, M.S., Ph.D., as associate dean for graduate and postdoctoral studies in the Medical School, effective Oct. 1, 2022. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Nikolovska-Coleska on her associate dean role.

The Department of Pathology is pleased to announce a series of virtual open house events for our Residency Training Program.

This summer, Michigan Medicine officially welcomed 23 new Fellows and Clinical Instructors into the Department of Pathology.

Drs. Laura Lamps, Maria Westerhoff, and Angela Wu become the three newest Assistant Chairs in the Department of Pathology with a focus on Wellness, Staff Development and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion [...]

Where are they from and why did they choose the University of Michigan?

Learn more about Scott Marquette's recent visit to the Clinical Microbiology laboratory and about the Visual Inventory Management pilot, a new initiative that is intended to help lab staff better organize their tools, resources and assets within the lab setting [...]

Congratulations to Kristina Martin, Clinical Pathology Operations Director, who recently took home the award for the Scientific-Assembly Laboratory Administration award from the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) [...]

Effective July 1, 2022, Dr. Sriram Venneti, Professor of Pathology, was appointed as Scientific Research Director and Dr. Carl Koschmann, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, was appointed as Clinical Research Director for the Chad Carr Pediatric Brain Tumor Center (CC-PBTC).

We congratulate this year's house officers, fellows, and clinical instructor graduates!

We recognize Dr. Jolanta Grembecka on being named the inaugural Richard and Susan Rogel Professor of Cancer Therapeutics. An induction ceremony will be held later this year. Please join us in congratulating her on this honor!

With over 80 participants from the Department, the event was a big success.

This year's Equality Walk is set to begin at 1pm and those interested in attending should plan to gather outside of Building 32 at NCRC.

On Saturday, May 21, 2022, Michigan Medicine hosted its first-ever Youth Summit at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The event, which included local middle schools from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and surrounding communities, invited young students out to the Big House in order to come and experience a day in medicine. The Department of Pathology had a station set up on the concourse, where these students could come try out microscopy, learn about urinalysis and practice phlebotomy on a fake arm [...]

As part of the ongoing series of renovations of the clinical laboratories at University Hospital, the Blood Bank Laboratory — and its landmark front window — will relocate about 135 feet to the east on Sunday, June 5.   A wayfinding graphic can be found here.

The Department of Pathology is pleased to welcome Andrew Szczembara as our new Point of Care (POC) Manager. A 2010 UM graduate, Szczembara joined the department in March 2012 as an inpatient phlebotomist on the midnight shift. He later transitioned to Brighton Health Center as a Phlebotomist Specialist lead [...]

On May 11, the Department of Pathology recognized the Class of 2022 Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) interns, who successfully completed the program. A graduation ceremony was held at the Superior Conference room, hosted by Allied Education Health Program Manager Karen Barron, MT (ASCP). The event featured remarks from Drs. Jeffrey Myers, Kathleen Cho, and Chair Dr. Charles Parkos. Graduates received their certificates of completion as they prepared to move into the next phase of their careers [...]

This year's Medical Laboratory Professionals Week celebration at the Department of Pathology, which ran from April 24-30, 2022, was a big success! Let's take a moment to recap some of the top moments...

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 [...]

Christine Baker provides an update on Phase 2.3 of the Pathology Renovation and Relocation Program (PRR), which focuses on the progress of the Blood Bank at the University Hospital [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Abhijit Parolia on being selected for the 2022 Harold Weintraub Graduate Student Award. The award, established by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is given yearly and recognizes outstanding achievement during graduate studies in the biological sciences [...]

On Monday, February 14, members from the Department of Pathology, including Tamara Kutter, Caryn Crane, Avery Polk and Jenny Fossum, teamed up to host a Random Act of Kindness event at the University Hospital. The afternoon entailed a giveaway of carnation flowers for Valentine's Day  [...]

"I am very appreciative of the opportunity to work as the Residency Program Administrator in Pathology at the University of Michigan,” stated Laura Jacobus. “I graduated from the University of Michigan Dearborn and always wanted to work for U-M. I am happy and excited to be here.” Jacobus previously worked as a Residency Program Coordinator at [...]

Recently, the ASCP published the Department of Pathology's Patient Advocate Michele Mitchell’s story in The Pathologist and as a series of videos. Mitchell described the impact of these projects [...]

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 [...]

Congratulations to Chelsea Phillips, a graduate student in the Neurosciences graduate program, mentored by Dr. Anuska Andjelkovic-Zochowski, for two honors received on her work [...]  

Research from INHERET was just published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (JNCCN). Learn more about this study, which analyzes the implementation of InheRET's online tool that provides information about family history as it relates to cancer risks [...]

On January 21, 2022, the Department of Pathology will bid a fond farewell to long-time staff member, Alan Machcinski. Alan joined the Department of Pathology in September 1974, working in our microbiology lab, where he performed microbial susceptibility testing. With a degree in philosophy, Alan never intended to spend his career in the department. But like many others, once he joined our team, he never left [...]

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 [...]

 A multi-institutional study led by Drs. Alex Taylor, Noah Brown and Rohit Mehra from the Department of Pathology was just published in European Urology's Open Science. Learn more about the resarch, which focuses on how TERT promoter mutations were characterized in urinary tract lesions, which may be considered as precursors to neoplasia at this site [...]

The Department of Pathology is proud to unveil its newest initiative - the Pathology Anti-Racism Taskforce, also called PART. Composed of faculty and staff members from the Department, PART aims to eliminate racism within the health system, on the Michigan campus, and within the greater community [...]

A study related to the maternal gut microbiome and how it regulates immunity to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in offspring was recently published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Clinical experts from the Department of Pathology including Drs. Wendy Fonseca, Nicholas Lukacs, and Catherine Ptaschinski were responsible for carrying out this study [...]

On Sunday, October 10, the Department of Pathology hosted its annual Fall Picnic at Wiard's Orchard in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Members of the department ranging from faculty, to staff, to trainees, came out for a day of fun in the fall weather [...]

Research pertaining to Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinomas was just published in the latest edition of Modern Pathology. Led by the team of Drs. Paul Harms, May Chan, Aaron Udager, Rajiv Patel, and more [...]

It is with incredible sadness that we report the death of  Pathology’s Chief Department Administrator, Martin “Marty” Lawlor.  Marty passed away at the age of 56 following a brief illness on Friday, September 17^th, surrounded by his children, Maxwell, Sarah, and Brendan, his mother Sylvia Lawlor, and his partner Andrea Springsteen [...]

Research from experts in the Department of Pathology was published in Europe PMC's Histopathology. The team comprised of Drs. Jiaqi Shi, Laura Lamps and Erika Hissong examined the impact of adenomatoid tumors within the gastrointestinal tract [...]

Dr. Justin Kelley, a fourth-year resident at the Department of Pathology, was recently named to the College of American Pathology's Quality Practices Committee (QPC) and will be formally introduced for the 2022 academic year [...]

The Pathology Desktop Support and Help Desk team provides everyone in Pathology with computing and printing hardware, network access, software portfolio, and support services. Without them, the department could not function [...]

An interview with Drs. Ul Balis, David McClintock, and Jerome Cheng of the Pathology Informatics team.

Michigan Medicine and the American Red Cross will be hosting blood drives on campus next month. To schedule an appointment, log onto RedCrossBlood.org (use sponsor code: goblue), call 1-800-RED-CROSS [...]

Dr. Chisa Yamada was highlighted by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) in their August newsletter. Read more about Dr. Yamada's career within transfusion medicine, her interest in pediatrics, as well as her greatest personal triumphs [...]

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

Dr. Xiao-Ming (Mindy) Wang and colleagues from the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology and Department of Pathology published a groundbreaking finding from an inter-institutional study regarding TRIM63 in Modern Pathology  [...]

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 [...]

For the last 18 months, faculty and staff have had to endure the renovation being done in the hallways of the University Hospital, which caused significantly longer routes to deliver specimens, social separation from teammates, and the usual challenges associated with construction. However, on July 7, 2021, the walls came down and completed another milestone.

On Friday June 18, the Department of Pathology hosted its second-annual Equality Walk in observance of the Juneteenth holiday.

The Department of Pathology is pleased to announce that Dr. Carmen Gherasim has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the 2020-2021 Faculty Teaching Award [...]

Join us in congratulating the 2020-2021 Graduating Class of Residents.

Congratulations to our Graduates!

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 [...]

A research effort by Drs. Jolanta Grembecka and Tomasz Cierpicki was just published in Nature Communications. Learn more about the protein made by the ASH1L gene, which plays a key role in the development of acute leukemia, along with other diseases [...]

Research from the Department's Lombard Lab was just published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The study, which focuses on how the deacylase SIRT5 compound supports melanoma viability by influencing chromatin dynamics, was led by Dr. Lombard [...]

Learn more about pathologists' attitudes toward patient interactions in this new publication, led by Dr. Cathryn Lapedis.

The department has navigated an unprecedented workload over the past year and continues to increase. Hear from experts Christine Kizer, Dr. Michael Bachman, Jennifer Bergendahl, and more, as they discuss how efforts have helped Michigan Medicine stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic [...]

A new publication from the Department of Pathology, led by Dr. Kathleen Cho, was just published in the American Association for Cancer Research's flagship journal. highlights how altering the microbiome within a mouse model of oviductal high-grade serious carcinoma can inhibit tumorigeneis [...]

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 [...]  

A new study, led by U-M graduate in molecular and cellular pathology Dr. Andi Cani, was just published in European Urology Oncology. The publication focuses on the development of a whole-urine, multiplexed, next-generation RNA-sequencing assay that is used for the early detection of aggressive forms of prostate cancer [...]

This year's Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (MLPW) kicks off from April 18 until April 24, 2021. The department plans to celebrate with virtual events and activities for all those within the department! When did it start, and how can you be a part of it?  Continue to the article for more information [...]

Research by Drs. Ann Laszczyk and the Department of Pathology's Dr. Gregory Dressler was just published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The study focuses on PAX2 proteins and their effects on kidney function and development.

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

A series of sophisticated processes are required in the development of innate lymphoid cells (ILC) for them to reach maturity. The Kim laboratory discovered that basic leucine zipper ATF-like transcription factor (Batf) regulates the production of ILC progenitors in the bone marrow as well as the maintenance of ILCs in the periphery. These cells are strategically distributed in peripheral tissues to provide important innate immunity to fight pathogens such as pathogenic viruses and bacteria.

A collaboration between the Department of Pathology and the Department of Dermatology examined biomarkers of outcomes in 346 cases of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), an aggressive type of skin cancer. The study was published in the recent edition of Clinical Cancer Research [...]

Thursday, January 28^th, was a bittersweet day for the Department of Pathology. Bill LeBar, Administrative Manager of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, retired after more than 12 years of service. A virtual retirement ceremony was held in his honor, with more than 50 faculty, staff, and family members attending [...]

A new publication, generated by Department of Pathology faculty members Drs. Aaron Udager and Scott Tomlins was successfully published in European Urology. The research highlights a longitudinal cohort study centered around the serial molecular profiling of low-grade prostate cancer in order to better assess tumor upgrading [...]

A new study by the University of Michigan's Rogel Cancer Center analyzed patients with cancer and the factors that cause the cancer to spread to the liver, leading to worse outcomes. 

Clinical trials underway are testing whether drugs that target the androgen receptor – successful in controlling prostate cancer – could also work against the coronavirus. wo proteins, ACE2 and TMPRSS2, help the coronavirus gain entry and replicate within cells. TMPRSS2 is well-known to Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD. His lab discovered that TMPRSS2 fuses with the ETS gene to drive more than half of all prostate cancers [...]

Recently, Department of Pathology faculty member Dr. Laura Lamps appeared on the December 3 episode of the PathPod Pocast's Beyond the Scope. In the episode, Dr. Lamps discusses a varierty of topics including her role as the Director of Gastrointestinal Pathology at Michigan Medicine, her involvement in United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP), personal hobbies and her experience working in medicine overall [...]

A new study led by Drs. Jolanta Grembecka and Tomasz Cierpicki of the Department of Pathology was just published in Blood's American Society of Hematology. The research focuses on combinatorial treatment with menin and FLT3 and how inhibitors induce complete remission in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with activating FLT3 mutations [...]

New research by the Department of Pathology was recently published in Modern Pathology. The study, led by Drs. Aaron Udager, Noah Brown, Bryan Betz, Jonathan McHugh and Scott Tomlins, focuses on how TP53 mutations and CDKN2A mutations and deletions are highly recurrent molecular alterations within malignant progression of sinonasal papilomas [...]

Congratulations to Dr. Celina Kleer who was awarded the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP)'s 2020 Outstanding Investigator Award. Dr. Kleer receives the award for her demonstrated excellence in research in experimental pathology [...]

Research by the Department of Pathology's Drs. Richard Miller and Joseph Endicott was just published in the Journal of Cell Biology. The study focuses on the inhibition of class I PI3K and how it enhances chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) [...]

Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Myers, who was recently selected by Michigan Medicine for the 2020 Jack Billi Award for Inspiring Quality Improvement. Dr. Myers was selected for his exemplifying behaviors of an effective improvement leader and for using LEAN design principles and tools in his daily work [...]

Experts from the Department of Pathology's Phlebotomy Team were featured on Michigan Medicine's "The Wrap" podcast. The podcast focuses on the department's Poke Plan Program at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, an initiative that helps to alleviate pain and fear among children during the blood draw process [...]

Congratulations to Don Giacherio, PhD, who retired July 31, 2020, following 38 years of service in the University of Michigan Department of Pathology. Giacherio completed his PhD at the University of Illinois in 1980, followed by a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at Mayo Clinic. In 1982, Giacherio joined the University of Michigan Department of Pathology as an Instructor in Pathology [...]

Kathy Davis, IT Administrative Director in Pathology Informatics, retires after more than 40 years of service to the Department of Pathology. Over her career, she has contributed to lab information system software development efforts that have impacted the history of pathology informatics, both at Michigan and nationally.

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 [...]

Dr. Vincent Laufer was recently awarded the 2020 William Boyd Medal for the Outstanding Student in Pathology. The award is given to a medical student who demonstrates outstanding expertise in all aspects of their pathology education [...]

Dr. Aaron Udager recently appeared on Michigan Medicine's 3P's of Cancer: Prevention, Preparedness, Progress podcast

Graduating Class of Residents.

Graduating Class of Fellows and Clinical Lecturers.

Nicholas Lukacs, PhD, The Godfrey Dorr Stobbe Professor of Pathology, received an Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA or an R35) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) entitled, “Viral and allergen-driven immunity in chronic lung disease.” This award will provide 7 years of funding. [...]

Three years ago, Julian Mioc decided to plan for his retirement and his official last day is February 28, 2020. “I'm looking forward to my retirement in Florida to be with my family and grandchildren.” Please join us in wishing Julian a peaceful and joyous retirement! [...]

National Donor Day, observed on February 14^th each year, is an opportunity to raise awareness and educate about tissue, eye, and organ donation. In Michigan, there are more than 3000 people waiting for organ donation and, nationally, 22 patients die waiting [...]

The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition (F99/K00) Award supports outstanding PhD and other Research Doctoral candidates who complete their dissertation research training (F99 phase) and transition in a timely manner to mentored, cancer-focused postdoctoral career development research positions (K00 phase). [...]

Surinder Kumar, Ph.D., has received The Pablove Foundation Childhood Cancer Research Grant for his proposal entitled “The sirtuin SIRT5 as a novel therapeutic target for Ewing’s Sarcoma” [...]

You will see some familiar faces from M4 rotations and the interview season.