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Elizabeth E. Brown, Ph.D., MPH, will be the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Associate Director for Population Science beginning January 1, 2024. Brown is the Endowed Professor of Cancer Pathobiology in the Department of Pathology at the Heersink School of Medicine, immediate past chair of the International Lymphoma and Epidemiology Consortium and co-leader of the O’Neal Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program.

By Christina Crowe

On Thursday, November 2, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees voted to approve the appointment of Casey Weaver, M.D., to the Leonard H. Robinson Endowed Chair in Pathology.

Kavita Varma, M.D., DNB, joins the Department of Pathology as an assistant professor covering the Community Pathology Practice Program (CPPP) in Anniston, Alabama, under Walter Bell, M.D., Chief of CPPP.

by Christina Crowe

Marisa Marques, M.D., Professor Emerita, receives the ASCP Distinguished Service AwardUAB Pathology faculty, trainees and staff were busy presenting their latest work at several conferences related to their respective specialties throughout the month of October, and several received recognition

Dr. Schnaar (left) with Dr. Girish Melkani, lecture organizerby Hannah Buckelew

The UAB Department of Pathology welcomed a world-renowned expert on glycobiology Ronald L. Schnaar, Ph.D., John Jacob Abel Professor and Interim Director, Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to present the eighth annual John Jay Listinksy Lecture in Glycobiology. The lecture, “Glycan Recognition in Human Immune Regulation- a Special Role for Sialic Acid” was presented on Thursday, October 26, 2023, in the West Pavilion Conference Center.

by Hannah Buckelew

The UAB Department of Pathology honored several faculty members for their esteemed accomplishments and outstanding service to UAB and to the department with a Faculty Awards Reception on October 27, 2023 at Cafe Dupont. Retirements, endowments, distinctions, awards, and promotion and tenure were celebrated amongst the following faculty:

by Christina Crowe

The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce the appointment of Sameer Al Diffalha, M.D., Associate Professor, Anatomic Pathology, as Vice Chair for Outreach for the Department of Pathology, effective April 1, 2023. The role was previously managed by the now interim chair, Gene Siegal, M.D., Ph.D., however, with the continued expansion of the Community Pathology Practice Program (CPPP) the vice chair position was created.

by Christina Crowe

Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, UAB Department of Pathology, has been awarded a $1.48 million grant over the next three years to study the immune microenvironment of breast cancer, specifically the plasticity of regulatory T cells. The grant, a Level 2 Breakthrough Award from the Breast Cancer Research Program of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program of the Department of Defense, is so called because of its potential to, “make an impactful breakthrough and accelerate progress toward ending breast cancer,” Shevde-Samant says.

by Hannah Buckelew

Members of the UAB Department of Pathology attended a department wellness outing at Oak Mountain State Park on Saturday, October 14. Colleagues, alongside their families, enjoyed one another’s company over an outdoor picnic.

Attendees brought an assortment of food and grilled burgers together. Children enjoyed a variety of activities, including games, fishing and face painting.

by Christina Crowe

Sixto Leal, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Laboratory Medicine, UAB Pathology, has been awarded a 4-year, $2.97 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study secondary mold infections in patients with severe viral infections, such as COVID. These mold infections, if not recognized or treated, can be fatal. The grant, titled, “The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Immune Dysregulation on Antifungal Immunity,” runs through July 2027.

by Hannah Buckelew

Peter Anderson, DVM, Ph.D., a professor in the UAB Department of Pathology’s Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, has been inducted into UAB’s chapter of the National Academy of Inventors. Anderson was recognized at an induction ceremony at the UAB Collat School of Business on October 13, 2023.

by Hannah Buckelew

Zdenek Hel, Ph.D., a professor in the UAB Department of Pathology’s Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, received a five-year, $3.6 million R01 to support his project, “Dysregulated neutrophil subpopulations as a driving mechanism of liver and gastrointestinal disease in HIV-1-infected individuals.” The grant is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and will run from July 2023 through May 2028.

by Christina Crowe

The Department of Pathology is honored to announce the promotion and tenure of four of our esteemed faculty colleagues for 2023, effective October 1, 2023:

by Christina Crowe

The Association of Pathology Chairs elected 20 of the most accomplished educators in the specialty of pathology and laboratory medicine as founders of the newly established Academy of Distinguished Pathology Educators at its annual conference held late this summer.  Peter Anderson, DVM, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, was selected as part of the inaugural class of Distinguished Pathology Educators. 

Members of the Academy will work closely and collaboratively with the education committees of the Association of Pathology Chairs and with the Residency Program Directors Section and Undergraduate Medical Educators Section to:

by Christina Crowe

Rakesh Patel, Ph.D., Division Director, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, has been named the Victor Darley-Usmar, Ph.D., Endowed Professor in Pathology, effective August 31, 2023. The endowment was originally established as the Endowed Professorship in Mitochondrial Medicine and Pathology in 2011 and awarded to Darley-Usmar that year. In 2023 the Board approved a renaming of the endowment to the Victor Darley-Usmar, Ph.D., Endowed Professorship in Pathology to be awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to education, research and administration at UAB.

by Hannah Buckelew

Girish Melkani, M.S., Ph.D., an associate professor in the UAB Department of Pathology’s Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, received funding to support his project, “Promoting circadian rhythms to optimize gut-to-brain signaling for Alzheimer’s disease.” The five-year $3.2 million R01 is funded by the National Institutes on Aging. 

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of neurodegeneration worldwide and one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Alterations in gut microbiota are associated with neurodegenerative diseases, however the link between AD and gut microbiome is poorly studied. Melkani’s study will investigate the effects of microbiome disruption on AD progression.

by Christina Crowe

Alexander “Craig” Mackinnon, M.D., Ph.D., Division Director, Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics, has been named the Robert B. Adams Endowed Professor in Pathology. He is the second individual to hold this endowment, established in 2014, effective August 31. The first holder was X. Long Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., former director, Division of Laboratory Medicine.

A board-certified anatomical and molecular genetic pathologist, Mackinnon joined UAB in 2019 after serving as associate professor in the Department of Pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Mackinnon directed the Clinical and Translational Research Laboratory (CTRL) at MCW, where he provided interpretation related to the pathology of tumor samples. The lab developed multiple Next Generation Sequencing-based panels targeting variants in both DNA and RNA. He has experience designing and validating targeted, custom DNA and RNA sequencing assays. Mackinnon’s lab interpreted a range of tests, from sequencing data to digital quantitative imaging for immunohistochemical analysis.

“Dr. Mackinnon has been a pioneer of the validation of custom assays and an innovative leader in the field of genomic diagnostics,” says Gene P. Siegal, M.D., Ph.D., Interim Chair, UAB Pathology. “This endowment, generously supported by the Adams family, bolsters his work and the work of our team of experts in genomics diagnostics, allowing us to further expand the services and tests we offer.”

Mackinnon is a member of the College of American Pathologists and the American Society of Clinical Pathology, where he served on the Molecular Pathology Section, Pathologist Recertification Individualized Self-Assessment Examination Committee. His research interests include the molecular pathology of solid tumors and quantitative immunohistochemistry.

by Christina Crowe

Three UAB Pathology faculty members have been assigned emeritus status in the department, effective August 31.

Marisa Marques, M.D., Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Director, Blood Bank, Stem Cell Facility, Callahan Eye Hospital Lab, retired July 31, 2023, after more than 30 years of service to UAB.

Joanne Murphy-Ullrich, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular & Cellular Pathology, retired July 1, 2023, after 37 years at UAB.

Ralph Sanderson, Ph.D., Professor and former division director, Molecular & Cellular Pathology, retired August 31, 2023, after 17 years of working at UAB.

All three were approved as professors emeritus by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees vote held September 1. Congratulations to these outstanding faculty who dedicated their careers to UAB Pathology.

by Christina Crowe

Two UAB Pathology faculty members have been awarded pre-R01 awards by the O’Neal Invests program of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.:

Selvaranagan Ponnazhagan, Ph.D., Endowed Professor in Experimental Cancer Therapeutics, received a pre-R01 funded at $160,000 each year for two years to study, “Elucidating the functional significance of full-length androgen receptor in castration-resistant prostate cancer.”

Steve Lim, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Molecular & Cellular Pathology, received a pre-R01 for the same amount for his work, “Nuclear FAK-mediated Epigenetic Reprogramming of Triple Negative Breast Cancer,” from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA).

Congratulations to both researchers on their continued success.

by Hannah Buckelew

Ralph Sanderson, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, will retire August 31, 2023, after 17 years of service at UAB and 34 years in the field of pathology.

Sanderson earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Alabama in 1975 and his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from UAB in 1986. He became a postdoctoral scholar at the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics before joining the faculty as assistant professor of pathology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in 1989. Sanderson became an associate professor in 1995 and the Director of the Division of Experimental Pathology in 1998. In 1999, he became both a senior scientist at the UAMS Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and the Director of Basic Research in the Arkansas Cancer Research Center. Sanderson was promoted to professor of pathology, neurobiology and developmental sciences in 2000 before being named the Drs. Mae and Anderson Nettleship Endowed Chair in Oncologic Pathology in 2002.