The Department of Pathology at CWRU/UHCMC

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The Department of Pathology at CWRU/UHCMC
Missions To Heal. To Teach. To
Discover. Cutting Edge Clinical Diagnostics.
Clinical and Research Education. Basic,
Translational and Clinical Research.
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Pathology department roles are very much engaged
in service to and collaboration with other
departments 1. Clinical Serve needs of
patients and clinicians from other departments
for diagnostic tests. 2. Research Many
collaborations in basic, translational and
clinical research. Basic end of translational
research. Tissue based research. 3. Research
education Pathology graduate program is
explicitly designed to engage interdepartmental
participation and is well suited to many clinical
faculty in Medicine given the focus areas of
disease mechanisms, cancer, immunology/I.D.
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Pathology Faculty (1 at CWRU/UHCMC) June 2015
32 CWRU-employed Expt Path (1 part-time) 1
CWRU-employed Anatomy Ed 25 UHMG-employed (3
part-time) 12 Case-UHMG dual-employed
(AP-9,CP-3) 5 UHMP-employed 4 UHCMC-employed
Total 79 (includes part time 1-yr Clin
Instruct x 2)
Department of Pathology, 2013
(Not counted PRNs Medical examiners office, VA)
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Red Changed since last year Blue Department
Divisions Green Sections
Vice Chair-Clinical Affairs Medical Director J.
Willis, MD
Administrative Director UHCMC/UHLSF Labs D. Landek
Division of Anatomic Pathology G. MacLennan,
MD (24 faculty )
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Pathology Clinical Leadership(Overall AP/CP
see section medical directors for specific lab
areas)
AP Greg MacLennan, Division Chief Hannah
Gilmore, Director of Surgical Pathology CP Joe
Willis, Division Chief Christine Schmotzer,
Associate Division Chief
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Pathology Graduate Program
Mission Research training focused on mechanisms
of disease, including basic and translational
research

• Constituent Training Programs (51 PhD students)
• Molecular Cellular Basis of Disease Training
  Program (MCBDTP) 8 students
• Director Bob Petersen, PhD.
• Immunology Training Program (ITP) 27 students
• Director Brian Cobb, PhD.
• Co-Sponsors Infectious Diseases, Global Health,
  Ophthalmology, CFAR, CCF Immunology.
• Cancer Biology Training Program (CBTP) 16
  students
• Director, Mark Jackson, PhD.
• Co-Sponsor Cancer Center
• INTERDEPARTMENTAL NATURE Majority of students
  in Pathology graduate program are in labs of
  faculty with primary appointments in other
  departments. SECONDARY OR TRAINER APPOINTMENTS.

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Major Research Missions Synergies with other
departments/initiatives

• Immunology
• Synergy with I.D., Global Health, Ophthalmology,
  Gastroenterology, Dermatology, Rheumatology
• CWRU SOM Strategic Plan Infect Immun.
• Cancer Biology
• Synergy with Cancer Center, many depts
• CWRU SOM Strategic Plan Cancer.
• Neuropathology
• Synergy with Neuro Institute (Neuro
  Institute-BHI), Neuroscience, Peds Heme/Onc,
  Cancer Center
• CWRU SOM Strategic Plan Neuro and Cancer.
• Other areas corresponding to clinical
  subspecialty areas and small basic science focus
  areas.

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National NIH Grant Ranking 10 of 87 US
NIH-funded Pathology depts (FY14) (up from 13 in
2012, 11 in 2013)
From the BLUE RIDGE INSTITUTE for MEDICAL RESEARCH From the BLUE RIDGE INSTITUTE for MEDICAL RESEARCH BRIMR.ORG
Rank Name Pathology
1 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 43,750,152
2 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY 42,912,905
3 EMORY UNIVERSITY 32,519,648
4 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 27,467,594
5 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES 27,428,155
6 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON 24,738,513
7 WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 24,520,915
8 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 19,237,961
9 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR 13,224,486
10 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY 12,909,287
11 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO 12,886,758
12 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 11,954,531
13 STANFORD UNIVERSITY 11,207,005
14 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM 11,167,114
15 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA 9,115,125
16 UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 9,079,419
17 YALE UNIVERSITY 8,660,311
18 VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY 8,443,632
19 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 8,443,253
20 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH 8,346,780

• Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research
  (brimr.org)
• Grants, direct plus indirect costs

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Faculty changes in Experimental Pathology July
2014-June 2015

1. Selected Arrivals Sam Xiao, Rafick Sekaly

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Goals Research and Graduate Education

• Build research and graduate training, primarily
  in Immunology, Cancer and Neuropathology, but
  including selected other areas that fit with
  department strengths and missions and SOM
  strategic plan.
• Foster research grant success. Build successful
  collaborative teams.
• Faculty recruitment in
• Cancer research (general, Hemepath, GI Path)
• Immunology research
• Renew training grants. (Note interdepartmental
  participation).
• Contribute to institutional planning for Tissue
  Procurement, Biobanking with Cancer Center, UH
  CCRT.

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Mission Clinical Diagnostics Recent Faculty
Changes in Anatomic Path, Clinical Path

1. Selected AP faculty recruitments 2014-2015 Sarah
   White (surgical/breast path), Dan Cowden (renal
   path service restart/cytology), Shahrazad Saab
   (surgical/peds/renal path).
2. Selected AP recruits summer/fall 2015 Qinghu Ren
   (surgical/GU path), Holly Harper (surgical path
   Ahuja).
3. CP recruits 2014-2015 Jaime Noguez (Clin Chem).
4. CP recruits summer 2015 Navid Sadri (cancer
   genomics),

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Goals Clinical Faculty Recruitment

• Clinical Microbiology Director replacement.
• Hematopathology replacement.
• Surgical pathology replacement (Avril effort)
• Surgical pathology Instructor replacement (2)
• Immunology research (3 positions over next 2
  years).
• Physician-scientist recruitments (CRI package)
  Hematopathology, GI pathology (probably in later
  year)

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Overview of selected 2015-2016 goals UHMG/UHCMC
Pathology

• IT/LIS and Informatics Complete recruitment and
  organization of LIS team. Improve test reporting
  and ordering, develop data mining and dashboard
  functions, apply to test utilization/appropriate
  test ordering for patient care improvement and
  budget savings, develop informatics to apply to
  genomics.
• AP Enhance sub-specialty service logistics and
  AP residency training organization. Tune newly
  launched renal pathology service.
• CP Establish Next Gen Sequencing in clinical
  labs for Cancer Genomics. Enhance Mol/Gen Dx. New
  automated microbiology system.

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AP subspecialty services

• Full Services Weight
• 1 GU 1
• 2 Lung, ENT 1
• 3 GI Large 1
• 4 GI Biopsy 1
• 5 Breast 1
• 6 Gyn Surgicals 1
• 7 Frozen section 1
• 8 Non-Gyn cytology 1
• 9 Gyn Cytology 1
• 10 Pediatric Pathology 1
•  Partial services  
• 11 Bone, soft tissue, skin 0.3
• 12 Neuropathology 0.6
• 13 Transplant/Renal 0.5
• 14 Eye Pathology 0.1
• Autopsy 0.4
• 17 Medical liver 0.3
• 18 Cardiac Pathology 0.1

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Goals Clinical Interactions

• Interdepartmental interactions Foster engagement
  of clinicians with pathologists to enhance
  patient care, test interpretation, utilization
  and reporting to meet clinical needs.
• Clinical colleagues urged to reach out to
  Pathology
• When considering changes or additions to programs
  that involve laboratory/diagnostic needs.
• To engage pathologists in discussion of test
  utilization and interpretation.
• We need to work together to define new test
  needs/opportunities, e.g. design gene panels for
  NGS cancer genomics.

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Goals Research Interactions

1. Interdepartmental research interactions Promote
   interdepartmental collaborations in basic,
   translational, clinical research.
2. Graduate Program (PhD, MD-PhD students).
3. ITP Retreat.
4. Tissue procurement. For tissue-based research,
   pathologist is often needed to select cases,
   select appropriate blocks and areas, tissue
   connection to pathology collaborators is
   important reach out to Greg MacLennan or me.
   Effort support on grants when possible.