by Christina Crowe

Casey Weaver, M.D., is not an easy man to track down for an interview. Mired in his work, he is often in the lab, or writing- grant applications, journal articles, textbooks. Weaver is a renal pathologist, but not many people know him for that work. Most are familiar with Weaver for his work in immunology- as one of the world's leading experts in that field. 

This spring, Weaver was elected to the National Academy of Sciences- one of only three UAB faculty to ever earn this distinction, and the second immunologist. Weaver is modest about his successes, and credits his team of dedicated colleagues and mentees.

The United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) hosts its annual meeting in person and virtually this year, March 11-16, 2023, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Three researchers in the UAB Department of Pathology will receive research grants in the latest round of funding from the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA).

Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, is awarded a $100,000 grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, an organization in partnership with the O’Neal CCC working to raise funds to support cancer research in the state of Alabama. Her research project is titled, “A Novel Clinically Actionable Approach to Disable Resurgence Metastasis if Triple-Negative Breast Cancer,” aimed at testing a new approach to inhibit the mechanisms by which cancer cells survive cytotoxic chemotherapy with the goal of killing the tumor cells and reducing metastasis.

Shuko Harada, M.D., Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Department of Pathology, has been named to the Association of Pathology Chairs DEI Faculty Leaders Network.

The Association of Pathology Chairs is a non-profit society serving academic departments of pathology in the U.S. and Canada. The network was formed to unite the designated DEI representatives from the nation’s academic pathology departments, with the purpose of developing and providing shared educational resources.

“Being a part of this Leaders Network is very exciting, as we will have opportunities to share our experiences across departments,” Harada says. “Because pathology is one of the most diverse specialties in medicine, it is important to promote an inclusive and respectful environment together.”

Harada was appointed as the Inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on October 1, 2021. In her role she leads the department’s Diversity Task Force.

“Our first virtual meeting will be scheduled in March, and I am hoping to connect with DEI leadership from other institutions and share information,” Harada says.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Harada on her addition to the Association of Pathology Chairs DEI Faculty Leaders Network.

The Department of Pathology is excited to announce the award of department-funded Pilot/Feasibility Clinical Research grants to eight of our faculty for 2023. They are:

2023 Clinical Research Pilot Grant Awardees and grant titles:

Sameer Al Diffalha, M.D., Associate Professor, Anatomic Pathology - Differential gene expression to delineate racial disparity as a risk factor of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Co investigators: Darshan Chandraskehakar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Genomic Diagnostics & Bioinformatics; Prachi Bajpa

The UAB Department of Pathology is excited to announce our Chief Residents for the 2023-24 year and thank our 2022-23 Chiefs.

We would like to acknowledge the superb example that our 2022-23 Chiefs Drs. Sarah Anderson, Sarah Depew and Geoffrey Herndon have set over the past year. They excelled in their leadership positions, and we thank them all for a job well done.

Our 2024 Chief Residents, effective Tuesday, February 1, 2023, are:

Brooke Bartow, M.D. – Chief Resident of Anatomic Pathology

Dr. Bartow is currently completing her PGY2 AP/CP residency year, and is a graduate of E. Tennessee State University College of Medicine. She plans on pursuing a fellowship in dermapathology and will be applying in the summer.

"It is an honor and privilege to serve as the AP chief resident.  I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to represent, advocate, and support my fellow co-residents. I'm excited to work with the other chief residents and program leadership to continue advancing the quality and reputation of our strong residency program. "

Michael Robinson, D.O. – Chief Resident, Education and Outreach

Dr. Robinson is currently completing his PGY2 AP/CP residency year, and is a graduate of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri. He plans on applying to fellowship positions in the coming months, most likely with surgical pathology.

“I am humbled and honored to serve as chief resident. I hope to adequately fill the shoes of my predecessors and lead by their exampl

Jacob Havens, D.O. – Chief Resident of Clinical Pathology

by Christina Crowe

In this series, we spotlight several researchers in the Department of Pathology who hold endowed professorships and, in one case, a chair. We recognize each of these individuals for his or her dedication to and innovation in their respective fields of study.

The third individual we showcase is a longstanding member of our research faculty, Elizabeth E. Brown, PhD, MPH, second holder of the Endowed Professorship in Cancer Pathobiology, in the Division of Molecular & Cellular Pathology.

Elizabeth Brown,Ph.D., with Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair George Netto, M.D.


Elizabeth E. Brown, Ph.D, MPH, was already accomplished before completing her graduate training and accepting her first faculty appointment at UAB in 2006. Brown was instrumental in obtaining National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation of the Oregon Cancer Center (OCC) by establishing Center infrastructure to support the clinical research domain. It was this leadership experience, centered on promoting the translation of science across a wide spectrum of epidemiologists, clinicians, basic scientists, administrators and community stakeholders, that ignited her passion for immuno-epidemiology.

This year, the Department of Pathology is proud to announce we have two faculty receipients for the Argus Awards, presented by the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine.

Created in 1996, the Argus Awards give medical students the chance to honor their mentors, professors, courses, and course directors for outstanding service to medical education. Faculty members are nominated by course evaluations, and students vote to select award winners in each category. The Department of Medical Education and the Argus Society announced this year's winners at a ceremony on Friday, January 6, 2023.

Congratulations to the following UAB Pathology faculty awardees:

Best MS1 Course: Cardiovascular  

• Silvio Litovsky, M.D., Professor, Anatomic Pathology
  

Dr. Vishnu Reddy and his wife, SaralaWritten by Christina Crowe

On January 9, colleagues, trainees, alumni and friends of Dr. Vishnu Reddy, Division Director, Laboratory Medicine, came together to recognize and celebrate his 30 years of dedication to UAB, at the Vishnu B. Reddy Hemepath Symposium.

Marisa Marques, M.D., Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Director of the Blood Bank and Stem Cell Facility, Callahan Eye Hospital, organized the event in honor of her colleague and mentor, having been a trainee of Dr. Reddy's years ago.

Casey Weaver, M.D.Written by Christina Crowe

Casey Weaver, M.D., Wyatt and Susan Haskell Endowed Chair for Medical Excellence and Professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology, was recently awarded a MERIT grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a continuation of an R01 award, “Coordination of Innate and Adaptive Immunity in Intestinal Barrier Defense.”

The Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) award is a rarely distributed funding mechanism whereby the recipients do not apply for the funding; rather, the agency (in this case NIAID) distributes them to give investigators, “with stellar records of research accomplishments,” a five-year award without undergoing another review. The new MERIT award will provide $2.84 million over five years, through spring of 2032, and converts the original R01 to an R37. According to their website, the agency awards just around a dozen MERIT awards annually, making this a rare distinction.

As a co-investigator on a 2022 Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health Pilot Grant, Paul Benson, M.D., Associate Professor and Autopsy Section head, visited Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, from December 4 to 14. The purpose of the trip was an extension of research Benson is conducting collaboratively with Adrie Steyn, Ph.D., Professor, UAB Department of Microbiology, covered recently by UAB News

The pilot grant is titled, “Establishing an intercontinental alliance between UAB and the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa to accelerate research and training to help end the tuberculosis pandemic.”

by Christina Crowe

In 2022 our department lost a dear friend and colleague, Alex Feldman, M.D., who passed away unexpectedly in May at age 38. 

Dr. Feldman was a well-known and respected assistant professor in our Neuropathology Division who joined the department in his first faculty role in July 2021. However, this was not his first time working with us in the Department of Pathology—Alex completed medical school here at UAB as part of the challenging M.D./Ph.D. program. Alex completed AP/CP residency here, serving as chief resident in his final year and teaching multiple medical school classes. He undertook a pediatric fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in Columbus, Ohio, followed by a neuropathology fellowship at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Hua Guo, M.D., M.S.Written by Christina Crowe

The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to welcome Hua Guo, M.D., M.S., to the Division of Women’s Health as an Associate Professor, effective December 1. Dr. Guo joins us from Columbia University and will serve as director, Breast Pathology Service.

Dr. Guo obtained her medical and her master’s degrees in Pathology and Pathophysiology from West China School of Medicine. She completed her Anatomic Pathology training at Peking University First Hospital in China followed by Anatomic Pathology/Clinical Pathology residency at Northwell Health, New York. She then pursued subspecialty Breast Pathology fellowship training at the University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. 

Guo joined the faculty of Department of Pathology & Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, in 2018. She is actively engaged in the diagnostic surgical pathology service, especially in breast pathology service. Over the course of her career, Dr. Guo has developed into an expert in the field. Her major research interests include discovery and evaluation of biomarkers in breast cancer, phenotype pattern and molecular mechanisms of breast carcinoma brain metastasis, and breast carcinoma in young females. 

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Guo to the Division of Women’s Health.

by Christina Crowe

Megan Amerson-Brown, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Laboratory Medicine, has been named a member of the board of directors of the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, the top infection prevention and epidemiology professional organization in the world.

by Christina Crowe

The UAB Department of Pathology honors all those who served, and is grateful to share a few personal stories from our team.

Solomon Strong currently works as a Pathology Specialist in the Autopsy Department, for the past two years. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force. He was a member of the 186th ARW as a Security Forces Member out of Meridan, Mississippi, serving six years with a total of one tour overseas.

by Christina Crowe

The American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions meeting in Chicago, November 5-7, saw representation from researchers across both the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and the Department of Pathology this year.

Students in the labs of researchers in both specialties presented posters across a broad spectrum of topics in the field.

Yu An Lu, graduate student in the lab of Yang Zhou, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, BME, presented a poster on, “Stage-Specific Roles of ELMSAN1 in the Control of Cardiac Cell Fate Differentiation of Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.”

Jay Zhang, at left, with Suzanne Oparil,M.D., Division of Cardiology, UAB Department of Medicine at center.

Scott Ballinger, Ph.D.Written by Jessica Martindale

Scott Ballinger, Ph.D., has been named the new associate dean for Faculty Affairs.

Ballinger has a broad academic background, including an undergraduate degree in Zoology, a master’s degree in Wildlife Fisheries, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and postdoctoral training in Environmental Pathology.

by Hannah Buckelew

(l-r): Dr. Anderson's eldest son Robert, his wife Lindsey, their son Robert Charles Anderson, Dr. Peter Anderson, and his wife JoanColleagues in the Department of Pathology gathered Wednesday, October 5, for a reception to dedicate the portrait of Reverend Robert and Ruth Anderson, parents of Peter Anderson, D.V.M., Ph.D., Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, and benefactor of the Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair, held by the Department Chair George Netto, M.D.

by Christina Crowe

Our department gathered some of its longest-serving, most highly honored faculty alongside some of our newer faculty members on October 20 to recognize awards and distinctions from the previous two years. At an event previously intended to be annual, but postponed by COVID, several faculty, trainees and staff came together at the UAB National Alumni House to celebrate with a dinner reception.

The following individuals were recognized:

2022

Awards/Recognition

Erin Ahn, Ph.D. Featured Discovery, January 2022
Vishnu Reddy, M.D., UAB President’s Excellence Award
Casey Weaver, M.D., National Academy of Sciences
Michael Williams, M.D., M.Sc. Fellow, The Pathologist Power List
Tom Winokur, M.D. New Division Director, Women’s Health

by Hannah Buckelew

On October 3, 2022, the Department of Pathology welcomes a new member to our UAB Community Pathology Practice Program (CPPP) in Montgomery, AL.

Eric Bixby, M.D., joins the department as assistant professor from both Brookwood Baptist Medical Center where he served as Laboratory Medical Director and PathGroup where he served as a pathologist in Birmingham, AL.