Pathways to Excellence URMC DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY AND LABORATORY MEDICINE | WWW. PATHOLOGY. URMC. EDU | SUMMER 2022
Pathology Research Day was one of several gatherings to return in person this spring. Graduate student Trae Carroll, left, discusses his project with faculty judges Huina Zhang, M.D. and Brian Altman, Ph.D. (Biomedical Genetics). The event took place at the School of Medicine & Dentistry June 6.
celebrating together again Year-end events mark achievement in teaching, scholarship, and service The gradual, cautious return to in-person gatherings this spring happily has allowed our department to resume most of our traditional end-of-year activities at URMC. This was a welcome change after two years of hybrid or scaled-back gatherings that were mainstays prior to the global pandemic. Pathology Research Day, which returned in person June 6 after an all-virtual 2021, gave us the chance to showcase and celebrate the hard work of our graduate students and trainees. Graduates from our many educational programs likewise were recognized in the company of family and friends, starting with students in our clinical-medical technology training program, of whom 13 out of 15 have chosen to stay and work at our clinical laboratories. Faculty were also recognized at an end-of-year ceremony on June 7, which meant fond farewells to our departing residents and fellows as we welcome our new trainees. Read more about those coming and going through our ranks.
Resident Dingani Nkosi, MBBS, Ph.D., with Residency Program Director Linda Schiffhauer, M.D. at our annual awards dinner June 7. Continued on page 2
IN THIS ISSUE From the Chair.................................................................. 3
Awards.............................................................................. 5
In Memoriam.................................................................... 4
Focus on Faculty................................................................ 6
WELCOME, NEW RESIDENTS! Alexander Besen, M.D.
Hometown: Chappaqua, NY Medical school: New York Medical College Family: My parents live in Westchester County and my younger sister lives in Manhattan. My parents and I adopted a golden doodle, Molly, but she's staying downstate with them. What made you choose URMC? I was already familiar with the Rochester area thanks to attending RIT and loved my time there. I also worked for URMC Specimen Management before medical school. When I knew I wanted to apply to a pathology program, URMC was immediately on my radar because of the sheer volume and diversity of samples and specimens I knew they received. And I really enjoyed the folks I got to (virtually) meet through open houses, interview day, and Grand Rounds. I just knew it would be a perfect fit! Fun fact about you? I attended the great Wayne Gretzky's final NHL game before retirement. Unfortunately, I lost the commemorative hockey stick. Giby V. George, MBBS
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Medical school: Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Kerala, India Family: I am married to my medical school sweetheart and we have a daughter. What made you choose URMC? I fell in love with the program during my preinterview pathology exposures. I also feel greatly indebted to the faculty for having made my experiences so memorable. Fun fact about you? I share a birthday with Kawhi Leonard, who happens to be my favorite basketball player. Olivia Sagan, M.D.
Hometown: Arlington, MA and Strongsville, OH Medical school: The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences Family: Myself and my husband What made you choose URMC? URMC has everything I was looking for in a residency program: Large volume, caring and dedicated faculty, a focus on residents as educators, and friendly and welcoming residents. Rochester is also a perfectly sized city in a beautiful area of the country. Fun fact about you? I have logged over 700 hours playing Stardew Valley.
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Andrew Johnson, M.D.
Hometown: Auburn, NH Medical school: University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine Family: I am the oldest of two siblings, and the majority of my family is scattered around the Northeast What made you choose URMC? The two major things I was looking for were location in the Northeast and a great group of supportive people. From the first moment I saw and spoke to the faculty and residents at URMC, they could be described as nothing other than a family. The supportive and charismatic environment combined with ample opportunities to pursue career interests in a fantastic program made URMC the easy choice for me! Fun fact about you? I played quidditch (the sport from Harry Potter) all 4 years of undergrad for Hofstra University and the regional tournament was held every year in Rochester. To this day quidditch is the roughest sport I have ever played. J. Gael Uy, D.O.
Hometown: Amarillo, TX Medical school: Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest Family: All of my family is in Texas. I’m the eldest of three siblings, and easily the worst at Mario Kart (I hold my own in Smash Bros, though). What made you choose URMC? How considerate, easy-going, and dedicated the people are. Those I met during my interview day treated me like I was already a part of the team (even as my fire alarm went off halfway through!). It’s difficult to be so far from home, but finding people you can laugh with while being part of a tight-knit community makes things a lot easier. Fun fact about you? I helped organize a Zombie Prom-themed 5K and was a musician for the prom band! Alicia Schmidt, D.O.
Hometown: Warner, NH Medical school: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine What made you choose URMC? I chose URMC for the people and the wide breadth of resources and opportunities.
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FROM THE CHAIR
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reetings from Rochester, where summer is in full swing! As chair, one of my greatest joys is having the chance to meet and build relationships with our trainees as they come through URMC—some of whom you will meet in this newsletter. My wife Laura and I were recently honored to be invited to dinner at the home of a pathology resident, with several other trainees and their significant others. Not only was it wonderful evening of food and wine (consisting of mostly South American, which paired nicely with our Brazilian style grilled meats) but it reminded me of the sense of community we are fortunate to have in the department year in and year out. Since my last column, I have updates to share with you. Firstly, I am delighted to announce that effective Aug. 1, Paul Hosking, M.D. has accepted the job as the Director of the UR Medicine Central Laboratories at Bailey Road. Since last year, he has worked on our Transfusion Medicine team. He is formally trained in Clinical Pathology and Hematopathology and has many years of experience working in laboratories within the Buffalo system. He is a master educator and a consummate professional and I am thrilled that he has accepted this position. We also welcome a number of new faculty this summer. Allison Cox, M.D. has joined our Molecular Genetics group. Numbereye Numbere, M.D., who trained here as a resident and fellow, will join the GI faculty. Silva Kristo, M.D. is joining Cytopathology, Phuong-Lan Nguyen, M.D. will join our Transfusion Medicine faculty. In August we also welcome two new members of our Breast/Gyn team: Brian Finkelman, M.D., and Jack Chen, M.D. We also welcome Marisa Jacob-Leonce, M.D. to our Autopsy team and our thoracic group welcomes John Carney, M.D. In my next column I will introduce more incoming faculty. Until then, I wish you all a safe and enjoyable summer.
Bruce Smoller, M.D.
Paul Hosking, M.D.
WHERE THEY’RE HEADED… Outgoing Residents & Fellows Tatsiana Pukhalskaya, M.D. Dermatopathology Fellowship, University of California San Francisco Anthony Cardillo, M.D. Clinical Informatics Fellowship/Assistant Professor, New York University Caroline Miller, M.D. Blood Bank/Transfusion Medicine Fellowship, URMC
Chauncey Syposs, D.O. Hematopathology Fellowship,URMC Numbereye Numbere, MBBS Faculty, Gastrointestinal Pathology, URMC Michael Greas, M.D. Dermatopathologist, Loma Linda University (California) Ilyas Yambayev, M.D. Faculty, Boston Medical Center
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SMOLLER WINS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM CAP Chairman Bruce Smoller, M.D. has been selected to receive the 2022 CAP Lifetime Achievement Award by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The award recognizes his excellence in teaching dermatopathology and work as a scholar, mentor and diagnostician throughout his career. Smoller, who has served as department chair since 2014, will accept the award at the annual CAP meeting in October.
GIVE BACK We are grateful for your support! To make a tax-deductible gift, visit www.pathology.urmc.edu and click the “Make a Gift” button or contact Melissa Head at (585) 273-2890 or melissa.head@rochester.edu.
IN MEMORIAM RENAL PATHOLOGIST AND TEACHER, BERNARD PANNER, M.D. Most of his former students and colleagues have stories about the late Bernard Panner, M.D., but one in particular involves a doughnut. David Hicks, M.D., says Panner's teaching and mentorship greatly influenced his decision to become a pathologist. When Hicks was a second-year medical student in Panner’s pathology class at the School of Medicine. As he opened the small blue book, he was met by a red line drawn through his answer to an essay question, marked 50 percent. “Mr. Hicks,” Panner had written, “If the answer to this question was a doughnut, you would have eloquently described the hole and missed the dough completely.” Today, Hicks is just one example of many lives Panner touched during his long and fruitful career. Panner died April 20 at the age of 93. An Ohio native, he was born the son of Jewish immigrants and came to Rochester after the Korean War, after serving as a Navy ship doctor. He was chief pathology resident at Strong Memorial in the late 1950s and stayed for the rest of his career. He specialized in renal pathology, became professor emeritus in 1998 and fully retired in 2017. He is known for being the first pathologist in the Rochester region to use electron microscopy (EM) to examine renal biopsies, using high-powered magnification to diagnose and guide treatment for kidney diseases. This was cutting edge technology, and these contributions paved the way for more precise patient diagnoses and treatment to this day. “Bernie was among the first generation of subspecialty renal pathologists,” said Bruce Goldman, M.D., who is a renal pathologist at URMC and a longtime colleague. “I don’t think I have known any renal pathologist who was more informed, thoughtful, disciplined or caring in his diagnostic approach.” Outside of work, Goldman said Panner, who played cello, recruited him to play in the Penfield Symphony Orchestra. He was an avid reader and lifelong learner with a passion for history—especially Talmud and Jewish history. He and wife
Molly, who had three sons and 10 grandchildren, hosted many Shabbat dinners at their home in Brighton. Panner was a wine connoisseur and took pleasure in sharing wines from his personal cellar. “Although he did say more than once that his principal criterion for judging wine was whether or not it conformed to the shape of the glass,” said Goldman. “I really can’t fully express the importance Dr. Panner had in my life, both professionally and personally. I treasure my memories of the time I spent with him.” While students or others who had heard of his reputation could find him intimidating, those who worked with him say that under the seemingly stern exterior was an incredibly kind, brilliant mentor—who loved to crack a witty joke. He regularly took his staff to lunch, and invited their families out to dinner each year. Steve Coleman, who worked as Panner’s lab technician for nearly 30 years, said he would treat everyone with equal politeness and courtesy no matter if you were a physician or a janitor. “He was just someone who you looked up to and respected because of the way he acted toward everyone,” said Coleman. “The world needs more Dr. Panners in it.” Karen Vanderbilt, who was the technical specialist in the EM lab leading up to his retirement, "He was just someone who you looked agreed. She up to and respected because of the way remembers his he acted toward everyone." white tea kettle, - Steve Coleman, and unpretentious former renal lab technician brown bag lunches he took to work each day. “He just expected the best from you and had high expectations,” said Vanderbilt. “He would include me if he found something interesting in a patient. He was the one I learned it all from.” While his professional accomplishments were many, he was first and foremost a proud father and grandfather. Vanderbilt recalls, “His family came first and his job was a very close second.”
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NEWS BRIEFS ANNUAL REGIONAL SYMPOSIUM RETURNS On June 7 the Regional Updates in Pathology Symposium, which made its debut in 2019 and has been on hiatus until this year, successfully returned. Ten of our AP and CP faculty presented virtually. We also hosted several guest presenters: Bo Xu, M.D., Ph.D. (Roswell Park Cancer Center), Dongwei Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. (Indiana University), and keynote speaker Ritu Nayar, M.D. (Northwestern University). Jennifer Findeis-Hosey, M.D. co-chaired the event with Hani Katerji, M.D. “It was so great to bring everyone back together for our regional pathology symposium again,” said Findeis-Hosey. “This event is really aimed at showcasing the talent of our department to those across the region, and while virtual, we were able to have attendees from as far away as Canada and California.”
BOARD EXCELLENCE WINNER IS LONGTIME MED TECH Marie Rouse (pictured at right with hospital COO Kathy Parrinello) who has worked as a medical technologist in Clinical Virology since 1990, was one of nine individuals from URMC to receive Board Excellence Awards at a special ceremony May 31. “She is an expert at distilling exactly what all members of our community need to be successful, all the while making them feel safe, supported and respected,” wrote nominator Vicki Roberts.
FACULTY GARNER AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING, SERVICE The Eric A. Schenk Award for Excellence in Teaching was given to freshman faculty member Siba El Hussein, M.D. of Hematopathology. The debut Janet Sparks Teaching Award went to Kate Ackerman, M.D. (Pediatrics) who is graduate program faculty. And finally, the Chair’s Recognition Award went to Director of Clinical Microbiology, Dwight Hardy, Ph.D.
FOCUS ON FACULTY the range of diagnostic challenges you see in a given day; whether it’s malaria or an organ transplant, in addition to providing routine care for residents of the local community. “Our patients are profoundly loyal,” he said. “In my field I can see their entire trajectory of their health history and the cataclysm of diseases that we diagnose and see them through it.” Clinical practice is one thing, but Burack has continued to build upon his body of research—which has most recently explored big questions about tumor diversity and its implications for health outcomes. For example, he and collaborators have found that for older adults with follicular lymphoma, having greater cellular diversity in the makeup of their tumor does not indicate worse outcomes, but some patients have a genetic mutation that can confer resistance to radiation. Another recent project that brought Burack into collaboration with Wilmot’s Community Engagement efforts explored pesticides and lymphoma. The data (which
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still aren’t final) may show that people who live in rural areas with higher pesticide usage have less diversity in their tumors. This kind of exploratory, data-driven discovery is the type of work Burack finds exciting. “I’m happy having made a difference in a lot of lives and helped my oncology colleagues better practice medicine,” he said. “It has also been so rewarding to help our pathology residents and fellows have more satisfying careers.” The seriousness of his mission is written on his face, but anyone who knows Burack is familiar with his easygoing nature and of course, socks and sandals. Outside of work, he finds great enjoyment in reading nonfiction (currently working his way through a selection of Pulitzer prize winners) and being outdoors year round. This year, he has made a goal to encourage other people to visit all 22 parks in Monroe County. He and his wife Michelle live in Rochester’s Corn Hill district with their children Poppy, 14, and Linden, 17, who attend the School of the Arts.
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Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine University of Rochester Medical Center 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 626 Rochester, NY 14642
FOCUS ON FACULTY RICHARD BURACK, M.D., PH.D. Seeing the big picture often takes extra effort, but that’s exactly what Richard Burack is good at. Whether it’s zeroing in on what’s behind a patient’s strange or unexplained illness or finding answers to big questions in data from thousands of patients–the vice chair of clinical operations knows that his role carries great responsibility that can have a lasting impact on how care is delivered. It takes a certain amount of idealism and selflessness to treat unseen patients, Burack says. His success in teaching trainees and students—for which he’s garnered many teaching awards—draws on this theme over and over. “Sometimes we have to say explicitly: It’s not about you,” he said. “It’s not about you curing the patient or getting them out of the ED. It’s about them. I think the process of educating, and being in medicine is both humbling and a blessing. It makes you very grateful.” Burack grew up in New Hampshire and vividly remembers the day his life changed in science class. He was 10, and the teacher was showing a 16 mm film about the circulatory system. A character
named Hemo the Magnificent was asked to explain the “meaning of blood.” His response? “Sea water.” Finding inspiration for his career in a cartoon might be a little odd, but the concept that blood, like sea water, bathes nutrients and life was nothing short of a true “aha!” moment for young Burack. He later studied at the University of Virginia’s M.D./Ph.D. program where he also completed pathology residency. After one rotation in hematopathology, he was completely hooked. In 2007 he and wife Michelle, a fellow physician-scientist he met in the same M.D./Ph.D. program, moved their family to Rochester where he joined URMC as the director of Hemepath, a position he held until 2019. Why Rochester? He notes the longstanding legacy of discovery around hematology at the institution and department that began with George Whipple winning the Nobel Prize for discovering why anemias happen. “There are few places in the country where the premier component of the cancer center is hematological malignancies, and UR is one of them,” he said. “This place has a special strength in leukemias and lymphomas.” He was appointed Vice Chair for Clinical Operations, a role that greatly expanded his oversight to include all clinical pathology for UR Medicine. He says an aspect he likes most about this job is Continued on Page 5 URMC DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY AND LABORATORY MEDICINE 6