The Department of Pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine educates medical students, graduate students, clinical residents, and fellows in pathology and is committed to improving our specialties through impassioned teaching and instruction, innovative research and excellence in patient services though our affiliated care facilities.
Message from the Chair
With the end of summer quickly approaching in Chicago, there is a growing sense of recovery and revival within our city that is at its most palpable level since the pandemic. Tourists and conventions are back, bringing people to our once-deserted streets, and often in large numbers to events like Taylor Swift and Beyonce concerts, NASCAR at Grant Park, and Lollapalooza. Restaurants, the arts, and sporting events are in full swing, and there is an overall sense of revitalization and normalcy in our beautiful city by the lake. Similarly, our academic calendar in the Department started once again in the summer, ushering in a renewal, which is typical this time of year, but with a greater sense of resilience and resurgence than in past years. We have overcome tremendous obstacles in the Covid-19 years and have emerged stronger and with tighter bonds because of it. While some practices initiated by the pandemic will stay with us, such as virtual interviews for residency, limited work-from-home when appropriate, and a reliance on Zoom and Teams for convenient meetings; other practices have faded, like mandatory masking that hid our smiles, restrictions on food services and travel that limited enjoyment, and the weeklong absences of those that tested positive. Our academic year ended with the graduation of residents that had spent much of their training during pandemic or immediate post-pandemic years. Now, we have a wonderful new group of 6 first-year residents, introduced below, that never had to experience training during the pandemic years, and hopefully never will, together with 12 new clinical fellows and some stellar new faculty members, who will surely share their own experiences, struggles, and achievements from these years. As our current edition of the Scope clearly shows, our Department has weathered the storm extremely well and has emerged strengthened by amazing accomplishments, including promotions, national awards, celebrations, and technological advances. We have a lot to be proud of and much more to look forward to.
Graduation
What's Next for Our Graduates?
Yevgen Chornenkyy, MD: Selective Pathology GI Fellow, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Megan Kinn, DO: Forensic Pathology Fellow, Cook County Medical Examiner's Office
Melissa Mejia Bautista, MD: Pediatric Pathology Fellow, Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Erik Pearson, DO: Hematopathology Fellow, Northwestern University
Sam Weinberg, MD, PhD: Assistant Professor, Northwestern University
Taylor Zak, MD: Hematopathology Fellow, Northwestern University
Gihan Dawood, DO: Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Ian Gelarden, MD: Pediatric Pathology Fellow, Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Michael Swete, DO: Anatomic Pathologist, Kaiser Permanente, West Los Angeles
Lucy Fu, MD: Assistant Professor, Northwestern University
Emily Alvey, MD: Staff Pathologist, Tri-State Pathology Associates, Ascension St. Vincent Evansville Hospital
Kendall Kling, MD: Assistant Professor, Northwestern University
Zachary Chelsky, MD: Molecular Pathologist, Tempus Labs, Inc.
Pouya Jamshidi, MD: Assistant Professor, Northwestern University
Monica Butcher, MD: Pathologist, SaraPath Diagnostics, Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Mei Lin, MD: Staff Pathologist, Houston Methodist Hospital
Jessica Nguyen, MD: Assistant Professor, Northwestern University
Sharlene Helene Chua See, MD: Assistant Professor, Health Sciences North, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
He "Carl" Zhen Ren, MD: Pathologist, Vancouver General Hospital
Faculty Highlights
Faculty Promotions
Dr. Edward Thorp - Promotion to Professor with Tenure on the Investigator Track
Dr. Edward Thorp leads a highly successful research program focused on improving the understanding of cardiovascular disease and inflammation, which represent an extremely large healthcare burden across the globe. His work is creative and has advanced the understanding of how inflammatory cells within vascular plaques contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The quality and originality of Dr. Thorp’s work are best recognized by his publication and funding history, which are both stellar. His work is consistently published in high-impact journals, such as the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Nature Cardiovascular Research, and Cell Metabolism. He has received consistent support for his research program and currently has 11 active NIH awards spanning multiple domains. Dr. Thorp’s work has attracted national and international recognition, as noted by invitations to present his work at numerous prestigious national and international meetings and his selection to serve as an editorial board member for the high impact AHA journal, Circulation Research. He consistently takes part in grant reviews for the NIH and other international granting agencies, along with various foundations.
Dr. Thorp is a great mentor, having served on multiple thesis committees at Northwestern and hosting many students at various levels of training in his lab, including multiple current Ph.D. students, as-well-as post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty members. The lab’s pre- and post-doctoral trainees are routinely funded by the American Heart Association fellowships. In addition, he has recently taken the role as the Director of the NIH/IMP T32 training grant for Northwestern University. This role was previously held within the Department of Immunology and has shifted into Pathology under his leadership.
Madina Sukhanova, PhD – Promotion to Associate Professor, Clinician-Educator Track
Dr. Madina Sukhanova provides outstanding clinical service within the Cytogenetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratories at NMH and serves as the Co-Medical Director of the Cytogenetics Lab and Assistant Technical Director of the Diagnostics Molecular Biology laboratories. Efforts in these labs now include serving as the centralized laboratory for Cytogenetics and esoteric Molecular testing for the entire 11-hospital NMHC system. She oversees the operation and accreditation of the cytogenetics and diagnostic molecular biology laboratories, while simultaneously developing and implementing new tests for the NM patient population. Most notably, she has assisted in the development of microarray analysis of CNS tumors along with the creation of our next generation sequencing for hematologic malignancies. The development and implementation of these tests for patient care, along with others, has cemented the Department as a global leader.
Dr. Sukhanova’s research focuses on the identification of genomic markers in high-risk hematologic neoplasms to better understand the mechanisms of cancer development and progression. She has been highly collaborative and productive, publishing 36 articles in peer reviewed journals in the past 5-years. As a sign of her growing national and international reputation, she has had several invitations to speak at prestigious meetings and institutions, including the International Conference on Cancer and Oncotherapy, Oxford University, and was recently invited to serve as an Assistant Editor for the American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP). She has also been highly engaged in the education of residents and fellows and has mentored them on topics that span the breadth of research and educational domains.
#PathPride
Clinical Laboratory Spotlight: GT450 Scanners
Northwestern Medicine continues to invest in new technologies through capital funds to assist with the integration of our 11 NMHC hospitals in a manner that enhances the practice of medicine and patient outcomes. These funds are instrumental in driving the expansion of digital pathology as we add multiple new high throughput scanners throughout our health system, including an additional three scanners to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fiscal year 2024. The Leica GT450 scanners offer cutting-edge technology that enables high-resolution imaging and accurate analysis of tissue samples, transforming the way pathologists diagnose diseases. By investing in these scanners, the Department will continue to enhance its diagnostic capabilities. In time, the expansion of digital pathology will streamline the diagnostic process, enabling pathologists to access, review, and collaborate on digital images remotely, and to implement artificial intelligence into our practice. This increased accessibility not only accelerates diagnoses but also promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, leading to improved patient outcomes. We expect that this year will be a major step forward in our use of digital pathology, potentially with the addition of selective artificial intelligence applications.
Departmental News
Weinberg Granted Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award
Dr. Samuel Weinberg was recently awarded the distinguished Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists. This award grants him funds for laboratory development for 5 years. Dr. Weinberg completed his MD/PhD training, residency, and fellowship at Northwestern. For more information on Dr. Weinberg and the Burroughs Wellcome Award, please view this article from the Feinberg School of Medicine.
Gama Named ASCP 40 Under Forty Nominee
Dr. Alcino Gama (PGY-3) was nominated to the 40 Under Forty List of the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Each year, this program recognizes pathology and laboratory medicine professionals for their accomplishments. Dr. Gama is dedicated to advancing the care of patients with kidney diseases and is highly active in various initiatives committed to doing so.
Nayar Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
The Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology has awarded Dr. Ritu Nayar with their 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the field of Cytopathology. Dr. Nayar is a highly regarded researcher and is well-known for her work in publishing the Bethesda System for Reporting Cervical Cytology.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday Noon Conferences
Monday Noon Conferences are designed to provide Northwestern faculty and trainees with further education in special topics within pathology. The Pathology Departments hosts two types of Monday Noon Conferences: outside speakers invited by faculty and Calandra speakers, which are student research presentations.
Grand Rounds
The Northwestern Pathology Grand Rounds Lecture Series attracts some of the highest caliber experts in the field of pathology. We have hosted renowned thought leaders in policy, business, and research. In the coming academic year, we will host Dr. Emily Volk, Dr. Timothy Allen, Dr. Sara Becker, Dr. Jiaoti Huang, Dr. Eric Glassy, and Dr. Octavia Peck-Palmer.
Contact Us
The Department of Pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine welcomes your questions and feedback.
Special thanks to the Feinberg Office of Communications for initial design work and campus photos.