Silvio H. Litovsky, M.D., professor in the Department of Pathology, has been awarded the senior faculty Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He is an educator as well as a cardiovascular pathologist who has had an achievement-filled career since its start.
Litovsky earned his M.D. from the University of Buenos Aires Medical School, Argentina, in 1977. He received his board certification from the American Board of Pathology, Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, in 1995 and is licensed in six states.
Litovsky joined UAB in 2004 and taught the Cardiovascular Pathology Course in UAB Medical School until the MS-1 Organ Module was instituted in 2007. Since that time, he has served as the Cardiovascular Module Director. Each year, his module has been nominated for the Argus Award for a total of 21 nominations and 18 awards. His achievements in teaching have been recognized with the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2014.
He teaches the graduate school course, “Biology of Disease,” and gives four lectures each year on the histology and pathology of heart disease. He has led Cardiovascular Laboratory Demonstrations at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama every other month since 2017 and also became the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society UAB Councilor in 2015. Litovsky has acted as an advisor to the Medical Spanish interest group since 2014; an advisor to the Pathology Interest Group since 2018; and a department liaison with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion since 2015. As CAP Alabama State Commissioner and Inspector, when inspecting a laboratory, Litovsky and his group teach and advise on best pathology and laboratory practices.
He is a standout teacher in the department’s Autopsy Section, signing out every explanted heart with the residents. Students and residents often praise him as an instructor who will go to great lengths to explain a concept until it is clearly understood. By his own account, he gets great joy from seeing students and residents learn.
“Silvio has made a significant impact as a Professor in the Department of Pathology,” says George Netto, M.D., Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair in the Department of Pathology. “He is not only an excellent cardiovascular pathologist but also exemplifies an outstanding educator. He brings passion to his profession and teaching it to others, and is a well-deserved recipient of this award.”