The UAB Department of Pathology is excited to announce the addition of John Choi, M.D., Ph.D., as professor, Division of Laboratory Medicine, led by interim director Marisa Marques, M.D. Choi comes to UAB from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Pathology Department in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was an associate member and director, Hematopathology, Hematology, Immunopathology and Special Hematopathology.
Dr. Choi completed his residency in Anatomic Pathology and a fellowship in hematopathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Upon completion, he joined the Department of Pathology at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania as a hematopathologist. After three years, he was recruited and moved 100 yards to establish a pediatric hematopathology program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. After 10 years and successfully building a highly regarded pediatric hematopathology service, Dr. Choi was recruited and moved to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where he maintained a top pediatric hematopathology service and established clinical flow-based minimal residual disease (MRD) assays for national acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) protocols. After 9 years, he was recruited to UAB.
Dr. Choi has published over 100 peer reviewed articles and 12 book chapters with two main research focuses. One is clinically based and applies new approaches to diagnose difficult pathologic entities. The other is more bench science based and focuses on increasing our understanding of the transcription factor TCF3 and its relationship to normal and leukemic B cell development. He has two patents and has been involved in several clinical trials on oncology related drug research throughout his career. His teaching and lecturing resume is extensive.
Several of our trainees and faculty have had poster or presentation abstracts accepted for presentation at the upcoming College of American Pathologists (CAP) annual meeting, scheduled virtually for October 10-14, and featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci, M.D. as keynote speaker.
Rana Aldrees, M.D., PGY-3 Resident
- Breast Implant-Associated Squamous Cell Carcinoma Presenting with a Breast Abscess
- Metastatic Lesions to the Pancreas on Cytology: A 10-Year Review from a Tertiary Medical Center
Maria Del Carmen Rodriguez Pena, Postdoctoral Student
-Myopericytic-Like Features in a Juxta Glomerular Cell Tumor: A Potential Pitfall
Faculty and trainees in the division of Anatomic Pathology published the following articles June-July, 2020:
Pantaleon Vasquez R, Arslan ME, Lee H, King TS, Dhall D, Karamchandani DM.Mod Pathol. 2020 Jul 15. doi: 10.1038/s41379-020-0622-0. Online ahead of print.PMID: 32669613
Selvarangan Ponnazhagan, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, recently published an article in the journal Cancer Research on the need for a of combination therapies when using immunotherapy to treat prostate cancer. The article, "Revisiting Immunotherapy: A Focus on Prostate Cancer," was featured in Renal & Urology News.
"Immunotherapy is reemerging as a powerful alternat therapy for many cancers," said Ponnazhagan in the Renal & Urology News interview. "However, the potential of immunotherapy as a standalone approach may not yield long-term benefits. Hence, based on patient-specific molecular signatures, immunotherapy needs to be combined with other therapies."
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