The Department of Pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine educates medical students, graduate students, clinical residents, and fellows in pathology and is committed to improving our specialties through impassioned teaching and instruction, innovative research and excellence in patient services though our affiliated care facilities.
Message from the Chair
We in the Department of Pathology at Northwestern University welcome in the year 2023 with much to celebrate, since we are achieving excellence in all our academic and clinical missions, and doing so in a vibrant, inclusive and collegial environment. For a department of our size and scope, it is healthy to occasionally internally reflect on our progress and shortcomings, as well as to determine priorities for improvement. As part of a 5-year internal review, we have seen that our clinical services have grown substantially in this era, in terms of faculty members, clinical volumes, diagnostic and testing capabilities and divisional strengths. Since September 2017, we have had a 32% growth in the number of faculty members in the department, and we continue to actively recruit more outstanding candidates. In fact, at NMH, we now have more clinical faculty that have joined in the past 5 years than those that were here 5 years ago, which is an amazing evolution. With the integration of our 11 hospitals and other labs throughout NMHC, we have noted a substantial increase in anatomic pathology consultations and in esoteric testing performed centrally at NMH. Of our 35% growth in clinical productivity in the past 5 years, the largest has been in molecular pathology, cytogenetics and hematopathology, including flow cytometry. To accommodate this expansion, we have just recently completed 3 phases of our 4-year renovation of the Feinberg/Galter lab footprint, which has increased the number of faculty offices and sign-out spaces, and dramatically improved histology/IHC labs, the residency room, staff breakroom and conference room. Our initiatives in NGS sequencing, liquid biopsies, methylation profiling, digital pathology and artificial intelligence put us in a strong position for the clinical practice of tomorrow.
In the educational arena, our residency program has now reached a total of 26 members after a much needed 5-year phased-in growth period from 22. This includes 3 active physician scientist (PSTP) trainees, the most in the history of the program. Bigger is not always better, yet our residency program’s reputation has also improved tremendously, reaching a national rank of 13 in Doximity, up from a rank of 32 just 5 years ago. We have placed a premium on increasing the number and strengths of our clinical fellowships and have now added 6: molecular pathology, medical microbiology, transfusion medicine, gynecological pathology, general surgical pathology and clinical informatics. Thus far, these have succeeded remarkably, with graduates going onto outstanding faculty appointments at many leading academic institutions, including our own. We continue our emphasis on scientific training in the laboratory setting and are among very few departments that will have 2 NIH-sponsored T32 training grants (one in carcinogenesis and one in immunology). We have a total of 25 post-doctoral fellows, 22 PhD students in Driskill and NUIN Programs and 7 MD/PhD students currently training with us. As for medical school education, we continue our critical role as educators in small groups and didactic lectures, and have prioritized bringing students into our department for 2-week selectives, 4-week electives and research experiences.
By just about any metric, our research programs are thriving. Our faculty with NIH-sponsored research programs continue to publish at a healthy clip in highly prestigious journals, especially in the areas of immunology/inflammation, carcinogenesis and epithelial and developmental biology. We also excel in clinical investigation and are among the national leaders in academic activities at national meetings such as the USCAP, ASCP and CAP, as well as subspecialty meetings. Our grant support in the department has almost doubled in 5 years, going from $6.6 million to nearly $12 million in this period, with a 74% increase in active awards. We’ve had the good fortune of receiving philanthropic funds that have allowed us to purchase state-of-the-art research equipment that enhances our ability to perform flow cytometry, whole slide scanning for computational pathology, metabolomic analysis, microscopy for live, 3D imaging and flow sorting for single cell sequencing. We continue to recruit in collaboration with the Lurie Cancer Center, the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease and the Center for Human Immunobiology and will soon be opening a position for a physician-scientist with research and clinical interest in immunology.
We still have room to grow and improve, and plan to prioritize areas of departmental strategic interest including digital pathology and AI for education, research and clinical service; and to continue to integrate our clinical labs across NMHC, with increased internal testing capabilities. The new year is young, but we have big plans and high expectations for the future. We will continue to greatly value and recognize our most valuable assets—our faculty, trainees and staff—to accomplish much more in 2023.
Faculty Highlights
Nayar Named President of the American Board of Pathology
Ritu Nayar, MD, was named the President of the American Board of Pathology effective January 1, 2023. This appointment comes as the apex of many years of commitment, service, and formal officer roles for the Board. The Department of Pathology is proud to have Dr. Nayar as the Vice Chair of Education and Faculty Development and Director of Cytopathology. She is a Professor in both the Departments of Pathology and Medical Education within the Feinberg School of Medicine.
Northwestern Pathology Power Listers
Each year, The Pathologist—a magazine dedicated to providing timely updates on all things in Pathology and Lab Medicine—publishes a Power List of individuals who are doing amazing things in the field. These individuals are influencers, innovators, creators and trendsetters, in addition to their roles as healthcare professionals. Three members of Northwestern Pathology were named to the 2022 Pathologist Power List: Drs. Carla Ellis, the Director of Renal Pathology and Wellness, Diversity and Inclusion, Lee Cooper, the Director of Computational Pathology, and Adam Booth, a gastrointestinal pathologist and national leader in social media and education, were all identified as some of the most influential figures in laboratory medicine this past year.
Pathology Leaders Support Lurie Cancer Center
Our faculty play many critical roles within the Lurie Cancer Center, many of them directly related to their expertise in pathology and laboratory medicine.
Craig Horbinski, MD, PhD, Director of Neuropathology, has taken over as the Director of the Pathology Core Facility of the Lurie Cancer Center. This large and multifaceted Core is responsible for biospecimen procurement and distribution for research studies, tissue-based investigations using a number of traditional and advanced technologies, and specimen management for clinical trials.
Erica Vormittag-Nocito, MD, Medical Director of the Diagnostic Molecular Biology (DMB) Lab has been named the Director of Cancer Molecular Diagnostics of the Lurie Cancer Center. In this role, she will utilize her expertise in advanced molecular pathology in oncology, including next-generation sequencing and methylation profiling, to meet the needs of Northwestern Medicine faculty for clinical care and investigation.
Jared Ahrendsen, MD, PhD, a neuropathologist and autopsy pathologist, was named Director of the Mouse Histology and Phenotyping Laboratory at Lurie Cancer Center. This laboratory is focused on providing investigators with research-specific histology services, advanced techniques such as tissue clearing and tissue-based RNA analysis, as well as consultation and training opportunities.
Trainee Highlights
Chornenkyy Reflects on Experience with Ukrainian Blood Bank Delegation
This has been a once in a lifetime experience for me. While rotating on the transfusion medicine service in October, I was lucky to be part of the team welcoming the Ukrainian Blood Banking Delegation to Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH). Their visit to Chicagoland blood banks, including NMH and Versiti, was coordinated by the Congressional Office for International Leadership (COIL), an agency of the U.S. Congress, and Council of International Programs in Chicago (CIP).
I was born in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, a small city southwest of Kyiv, where I spent a majority of my childhood before my family moved to Toronto. In the cities, we were taught Russian, but in smaller towns and villages we spoke Ukrainian - so my family speaks and understands both. When the conflict broke out, I wanted to do something to help and felt out of place. The situation was surreal. Suddenly, my home country was all over the news…I felt like there was nothing I could do but read the newspaper headlines day after day. Speaking to my Ukrainian and Russian friends, I came to see that it was not just the Ukrainian people who are suffering. Everyday Russian people who want no part of this are hurting too and being sent to fight for something they do not understand or believe in. The odd thing about the situation is that the majority of Ukrainians and Russians can understand each other’s language so this conflict is strange - it’s like a large fight in the international family. Everyone is confused as to why this is happening, and wants things to cool down and go back to normal.
Thanks to our incredible residency program at Northwestern University, our Department, Dr. Glenn Ramsey, Dr. Paul Lindholm, and our amazing Blood Bank staff, I was able to help by doing something I was trained to do - be a helpful pathology trainee, help greet the Delegates, and take meeting minutes. My involvement deepened and became more rewarding when the Ukrainian Delegates were interested in collaborating on an abstract for the Illinois Association of Blood Banks (ILABB). Later that week, Dr. Marium Malik, our transfusion medicine fellow, and I drove to Versiti to again meet with the Ukrainian Delegates and finalize the abstract. It was rewarding and humbling to use my language skills and assist with translating the final technical and medical aspects of the abstract as we prepped it for submission.
This experience, along with pathology’s role during COVID-19 pandemic, made a deep and lasting impression on me of how incredible pathology is, and how much positive impact it has on patient care. These experiences reaffirmed that I made the right decision by pursuing pathology as a career and being lucky to match at Northwestern for residency. As my four years of residency comes to a close next June, each day still feels like the first day. Thank you for letting me be part of the team and doing my part.
Resident Spotlight
Brian Vadasz, MD (PGY-3) originally became curious about digital pathology because he found the intersection between medicine and technology compelling. What began as a research interest in computational pathology has now evolved into a career path. Dr. Vadasz has won many competitive awards including the CAP Foundation Informatics Award, Association for Pathology Informatic Award, and the Digital Pathology Association Award. Currently, Dr. Vadasz serves on the College of American Pathologists committees on Artificial Intelligence and Informatics as well as Northwestern Pathology's own Digital Pathology Committee. In addition, he recently accepted an invitation to serve on the Pathology Informatics Essentials for Residents (PIER) Leadership Committee. Dr. Vadasz was also involved in the installation and validation of the first slide scanner at Northwestern. After the completion of his training, he hopes to be a practicing hematopathologist with an interest in computational pathology.
Physician Scientist Training Program
The Department of Pathology is proud to offer a robust Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP). The basic structure of the program involves progression from general clinical activity (2.5 years of structured training in the categorical AP or CP residency training program), to research (1-2 years), to specialized clinical fellowship training (1 year). During the pre-research phase of training, each scholar is assigned a Career Development Mentor who, together with an advisory committee composed of other physician-scientists, will help guide the trainee’s overall career development. Once a research lab has been chosen, the trainee’s Research Mentor is also represented on the Career Development Committee, which meets at regular intervals to evaluate career development progress. Trainees are selected from a highly competitive applicant pool and have multiple publications or research grants before matriculation.
Current trainees in the PSTP program are highly accomplished. Dr. Samuel Weinberg was recently awarded the Emerging Generation Award from the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and Dr. Matthew McCord was recently awarded a NCI F32 grant. First-year PSTP trainee Dr. Joshua Mayoral is off to a productive start with his current microbiology research. A majority of program alumni stay in academia with many becoming physician-scientists at highly-ranked institutions. Under the direction of Dr. Peng Ji, the program is seeking opportunities to expand in the future and develop further collaborations with other PSTP programs at the Feinberg School of Medicine.
Q&A with Pathology Pre-Med Intern, Shubhanjali Minhas
Why Pathology? I did not know much about Pathology prior to joining the NM Premed Internship, but I am very happy with my placement. I was amazed by the speed and expertise pathologists used when determining diagnoses through analyzing slides. Everyone I have met within the department has been so welcoming and passionate. I was so appreciative that the many questions I asked were met with enthusiastic responses. During my time here, I particularly enjoyed seeing the collaborative atmosphere that was very apparent within the residents’ room.
What was your favorite part of the pre-med internship? One of my favorite parts of the internship was meeting and learning from so many bright peers. The people within the program were genuinely some of the most talented and passionate students I have met. It is encouraging to see the next generation of physicians committed to making healthcare a more inclusive and diverse place. I’m excited to see what everyone does in the future!
Why Medicine? I could give a very long answer to this question, but I’ll leave it at- medicine has a unique way of emphasizing the importance of community and human connection. One of the reasons why I would like to be a physician is because I have been so inspired and supported by others around me. I have benefited a lot due to the efforts of my community, and I’d like to give back. I would like to do so within medicine because it allows me to exercise my critical thinking skills, which I’ve found to be incredibly rewarding, while also learning from others’ personal experiences through discussion. Medicine bridges both my interests in the sciences as well as my love for connecting with others. I am very appreciative for having received an opportunity to develop my understanding of the holistic nature of medicine throughout this summer and look forward to the future as I strive to become the best physician I can be.
Galter Renovation Completed
The Galter renovation project construction began in February 2020 and was completed in January 2023. The project took place in three phases to address the needs of our busy and rapidly growing Pathology department. Pathology had not expanded since moving into the hospital in 1999. Since then, testing volume and staff count has continually risen. Pathology currently has a total of over 500 FTEs and supports more than 16,000,000 annual tests at NMH. Throughout the construction, Pathology was able to provide full service.
Phase One construction included doubling the Pathology conference room size, expanding the staff break/locker room, histology student teaching area, and resident workspace. Phase Two construction included the addition of pathologist offices, reading rooms, and a dedicated storeroom for the Core Laboratory. Phase Three work involved expanding the existing Histology/IHC laboratory space. Improvements realized during the project include: space for a second H&E stainer, an increase from ten to fifteen microtomy workstations, addition of dedicated Histology student laboratory workspace, and addition of a dedicated Histology/IHC storeroom. The renovation also included the addition of a dedicated tissue processor room, allowing for improved safety engineering measures.
The expansion of the laboratory space has improved the functionality of the laboratory and staff satisfaction while allowing for Pathology to better support the needs of the hospital.
Holiday Party
Members of the central region of Northwestern Pathology enjoyed a holiday party at D4 Irish Pub to celebrate a year of outstanding accomplishments. The Department of Pathology is profoundly grateful to have dedicated faculty, staff, and trainees supporting its overall mission everyday.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Renew CPR Certification
Northwestern Medicine is offering an increased amount of Basic Life Support (BLS) renewal classes in 2023. Information regarding BLS renewal class dates is available on NMI.
USCAP Annual Meeting
USCAP's 112th Annual Meeting will take place in New Orleans from March 11-16, 2023. The reception for departmental faculty, trainees, and alumni will take place at 5:30PM on March 13 at the Hilton Riverside New Orleans.
Monday Noon Conferences
Monday Noon Conferences are designed to provide Northwestern faculty and trainees with further education in special topics within pathology. The Pathology Departments hosts two types of Monday Noon Conferences: outside speakers invited by faculty and Calandra speakers, which are student research presentations.
Grand Rounds
The Northwestern Pathology Grand Rounds Lecture Series attracts some of the highest caliber experts in the field of pathology. We have hosted renowned thought leaders in policy, business, and research. In the coming months, we will host James Crawford, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Laboratory Services at Northwell Health and Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Zucker School of Medicine, Arie Perry, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Neurological Surgery and Director of Neuropathology at the University of California-San Francisco, and Henry Tazelaar, MD, Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Arizona.
Contact Us
The Department of Pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine welcomes your questions and feedback.
Special thanks to the Feinberg Office of Communications for initial design work and campus photos.
Credits:
Created with images by chokniti - "Laboratory equipment optical microscope, closeup of scientific microscope with metal lens, data analysis in the laboratory" • blvdone - "Chicago downtown buildings skyline sunset evening Navy Pier" • zhu difeng - "landscape in winter,snow covered highway" • CARLOS - "Metro Car chicago" Northwestern Pathology Faculty and Resident Portraits courtesy of Mike Parra Campus Photos courtesy of Feinberg Office of Communications