The Department of Pathology was proud to welcome visiting faculty from the University of Zagreb and the University Clinical Hospital in Zagreb, Croatia in April. The visit was part of a reciprocal exchange initiated by Department Chair Dr. George Netto, who visited the university in Eastern Europe in winter 2017.
From left to right: Sooryanarayana Varambally, Ph.D.; Monika Ulamec, M.D., Ph.D.; George Netto, M.D.; Nino Sincic, M.D., Ph.D., Selvarangan Ponnahazan, Ph.D.
The visitors included Monika Ulamec, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology, Clinical Department of Pathology & Cytology at the University Clinical Hospital; Ana Katusic Bojanac, Ph.D., and Nino Sincic ,MD., Ph.D., both assistant professors in the Department of Biology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb.
The trio spent three days in Birmingham visiting with faculty in the Department of Pathology as well as in the School of Health Professions. They also visited several pathology labs around campus. The visitors were impressed with what they saw.
"This visit was very pleasant and useful as we got the opportunity to meet with wonderful people who work at your Hospital and University," Ulamec said. "You have great network of basic researchers and clinicians collaborating and working together. I'm sure this is just a beginning of collaboration between our institutions."
Dr. Sincic agreed. "I must confess that we expected a lot from our visit to UAB and I’m glad to say that we found even more," he said. "Apart from great infrastructure and strong management, it was highly motivating to meet great people 'creating' UAB by their honest commitment to clinical practice, teaching and research. It was inspiring!"
During the visit Dr. Netto gave his first Grand Rounds presentation to the department since arriving at UAB, on the topic of "Changing the Landscape of Bladder Cancer Management," which the visiting group attended. 
George Netto, M.D., Chair of the UAB Department of Pathology gives Grand Rounds on April 5, 2018.
"We are excited about the opportunity for the exchange of ideas, future collaborations in research, training and education with a premier university such as the University of Zagreb," Netto said. "This visit is just one in a series of what we hope will be a long-lasting relationship with our European counterparts. We stand to learn a great deal from one another."
In 2017, UAB signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Zagreb School of Medicine, represented by the dean, Professor Marijan Klarica, M.D., Ph.D., and the UAB Board of Trustees, represented by senior vice provost and senior international officer, Suzanne Austin, Ph.D., with the intent of establishing "joint relations and working schemes on projects of mutual academic interests, both for the advancement of knowledge in their particular field of inquiry, as well as for the development of good relations between their respective institutions and cultural environments."
Enjoy the following images from the University's centennial celebration.
