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by Christina Crowe

UAB Pathology and the Division of Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics are pleased to announce a new next-generation sequencing (NGS) comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) Solid500 test which identifies and delivers genomic signatures for tumor mutation. The test also supports guideline-based therapy decisions and identifies genetic markers to help organize and differentiate clinical trial enrollment for various tumor treatments.

This FDA-cleared test for solid tumor has been performed in the Clinical Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, effective March 2, 2023. It targets 505 genes important in driving cancer—genes that would have mutations that would be significant in the growth and spread of cancer. It typically has a turnaround time of seven days from receipt of the sample results, and eliminates the need for tests to be sent out to reference labs.

“By having a big, comprehensive panel like this we span a spectrum of diseases that are all a form of solid tumors, so we can run one assay for many different diseases,” says Alexander “Craig” Mackinnon, M.D., Ph.D., GDB Division Director. This test represents about a tenfold increase in the number of genes we have the ability to test for, he says.

by Christina Crowe

Joseph L. Messina, Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, will retire July 1, 2023, after 29 years of service at UAB.

Messina received his Bachelor of Arts in a combined degree of Biology/Chemistry/Psychology/and Anthropology from Dartmouth College in 1977. He then obtained his Ph.D. in 1982 from the Department of Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School, working in the laboratory of the former Dr. Jack Kostyo. From 1982 to 1985, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of the former Dr. Joseph Larner, Department of Pharmacology, in the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

This funding will be used to research multiple health conditions, including alcohol-related liver disease, Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, heart failure, inflammatory bowel disease and Zhu-Tokita-Takenouchi-Kim syndrome.Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pathology recently received multiple R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling more than $15 million in research funding.

by Hannah Buckelew

Rajasekaran Namakkal-Soorappan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Pathology’s Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, has been awarded a Transformative Project Award from the American Heart Association for his project, “Atrial Remodeling Precedes Ventricular Dysfunction in Proteotoxic Cardiac Disease.” This $300,000 award will run for three years, through 2026.

by Christina Crowe

Rakesh Patel, Ph.D., Director, Division of Molecular & Cellular Pathology, has been selected as the Chair of the NIH Training and Workforce Development Study Section starting in October 2023. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity (TWD) study sections review training grant applications (including graduate and medical scientist training (MSTP) programs) designed to foster the training and development of a strong and diverse biomedical research workforce.

Dr. Patel's appointment on the study section as a chartered member is for a two-year term starting October 1, 2023.

UAB Pathology is proud to welcome four new fellows into the department this summer, joining the five UAB residents or existing fellows who are staying on to complete a fellowship with us. 

Graduating Fellows and their new roles:

Forensic Pathology: Ben Daggett, M.D., Charlotte Mecklenberg Medical Examiner, Charlotte, NC
GI Pathology: Christine Pesoli, M.D., Advanced Pathology Solutions, Little Rock, AR
Hematopathology: Gabe Collins, D.O, Community Pathology Laboratory, Cookeville, TN
Molecular Genetic Pathology: Bushra Nazir, M.D., Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Surgical Pathology: Anne Prater, D.O., North Shore Pathologists, Appleton, WI
Women's Health: Junlin Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., Pathology Group of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA

The UAB Department of Pathology is incredibly proud of the accomplishments of these skilled young pathologists and wishes them all the best in their future endeavors.

We are excited to welcome the incoming class of fellows to UAB Pathology, effective July 1, 2023:
Michael Williams, M.D. - Forensic Pathology
Frances Gomez Gonzalez – GI/GU Pathology (New to UAB)
Sarah DePew, D.O.. - Hematopathology
Geoff Herndon, D.O. - Hematopathology
Ammoura Ibrahim, M.D. - Molecular Genetic Pathology (New to UAB)
Brandon Maveal, M.D. - Neuropathology
Sarah Anderson, D.O. – Surgical Pathology
Daniel Jackson, M.D. – Surgical Pathology (New to UAB)
Gangandeep Kaur, M.D. — Women's Health (New to UAB)

by Christina Crowe

The UAB Department of Pathology is proud to announce the appointment of Neda Wick, M.D., as an assistant professor in the Division of Neuropathology, led by division director C. Ryan Miller, M.D., Ph.D., Vishnu B. Reddy Translational Research Endowed Professor, effective July 1. Dr. Wick, with her extensive training and experience in neuropathology, is poised to make significant contributions to the department's research and educational endeavors.

Dr. Wick obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree with a Distinction in Medical Education from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Prior to that, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, with a minor in Comparative Literature, at the University of California, Davis. She pursued her Residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she also served as the Chair of the UT Southwestern Chief Resident Council and Chief Resident in the Department of Pathology.

by Hannah Buckelew

The UAB Department of Pathology gathered for an outgoing reception for our residents, fellows, and trainees on June 2. Department faculty, staff, residents and fellows came together to celebrate at the Fennec, adjacent to downtown Birmingham, with dinner and an awards ceremony.

A welcome by Brandi McCleskey, M.D., Director of the Pathology Residency Program, was followed by faculty awards presented by outgoing Chief Residents Sarah Anderson, D.O., and Sarah DePew, D.O. The Leonard H. Robinson Award for Resident Education in Anatomic Pathology was presented to Cristina Magi-Galluzzi, M.D., Ph.D., C. Bruce Alexander Endowed Professor, Division Director, Anatomic Pathology. The Shu T. Huang Award for Excellence in Laboratory Medicine Education was given to Marisa Marques, M.D, Professor, Laboratory Medicine, Director, Blood Bank.

by Hannah Buckelew

Joanne Murphy-Ullrich, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, will retire at the beginning of next month, July 1, 2023, after 37 years of service at UAB.

Murphy-Ullrich received her bachelor of science in medical technology from Marquette University and worked as a medical technologist in the University of Wisconsin Hospital’s Blood Bank before completing her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin in pathology in 1983. From 1983-1986, she was a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Deane Mosher in the Departments of Medicine and Physiological Chemistry. In 1986, Murphy-Ullrich came to UAB’s Department of Biochemistry where she served as senior research associate, research instructor, and research assistant professor before joining the UAB Department of Pathology as assistant professor in 1991. In 1995, she was promoted to associate professor, and in 2000, she was named professor. She had secondary appointments in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Cell Developmental and Integrative Biology.

Sixto Leal, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. (photo courtesy CAP Today)by Christina Crowe

Sixto Leal, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Laboratory Medicine, Director, clinical microbiology and Fungal Reference Lab and the SEBLAB biocontainment laboratory, is featured on the cover of the June 2023 issue of CAP Today, the monthly publication of the College of American Pathologists (CAP). CAP is the leading organization of board-certified pathologists, serving patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide. 

The article discusses candida auris, a relatively new, multidrug-resistant yeast first identified in 2009 in an ear specimen, and reported in the United States in 2016.

"Like certain other pathogens, C. auris’ domestic presence appeared to be linked to travel-related cases, then quickly spread, first to the metropolitan regions of Chicago and New York City and now to more than half the states," the article explains

by Christina Crowe

The gastrointestinal tract is home to trillions of microorganisms where they exist peacefully in a healthy individual, performing important functions in metabolism, nutrition and protection from disease-causing organisms.  Our immune system senses the microbiota but doesn't respond to it in an inflammatory manner, though in immune-mediated diseases of the GI system such as Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, CD4⁺ T cells over-react to components of the gut microflora and can induce inflammation and tissue damage.  However, a subset of CD4⁺ T cells known as regulatory T cells or Tregs, can prevent autoreactive immune responses and a secreted protein, IL-10, is the principal restraining factor. 

Robin Hatton, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anatomic Pathology, along with Casey Weaver, M.D., Wyatt and Susan Haskell Endowed Chair for Medical Excellence, recently received a dual-primary investigator R01 grant to study mechanisms controlling the development and function of intestinal eTreg cells.  The grant, funded by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), totals $3.6 million over five years.  Studies proposed in this award aim to define the cellular and molecular cues that direct the development of these IL-10–producing cells, with a long-term goal of identifying interventions to curb pathogenic immunity to the microbiota in human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

by Hannah Buckelew

Shannon Bailey, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Chair, UAB Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), has been awarded an R01 grant funding her research on circadian and mitochondrial dysfunction in alcohol-related liver disease. The grant, from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the NIH, is funded at $2.35 million over five years, through 2028.

Alcohol use is among the top 10 causes of preventable death in the United States, with alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) being the number one cause of death from alcohol use.

By Christina Crowe

Adam Wende, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, has received a R01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH to study new roles of specific proteins called pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases, or PDKs, in heart failure. The $2.3 million grant runs through 2028.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of mortality in the United States. Wende’s research examines the heart’s metabolism and fuel utilization. One of the key functions of a cell is the entry of nutrients into the mitochondria, which is highly regulated. That regulation, by a family of kinases called pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases, or PDKs, is induced by exercise, but suppressed in heart failure, mimicking a “switch.”

by Jane Longshore

Gene Siegal, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as the interim chair of the Department of Pathology in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine effective June 1, 2023.

By Christina Crowe

Shu Chen, Ph.D., Ona Faye-Petersen Endowed Professor, Neuropathology, has been awarded an R01 grant funding his research on biomarkers for early diagnosis of mixed pathologies in Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias. The grant, from the National Institute on Aging, is funded at $3.68 million over five years, through 2028.

The goal of the project is to develop and validate diagnostic biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, such as tauopathies, Lewy body dementia and their comorbidities, using easily accessible peripheral tissues, such as skin.

“Currently we don’t have a definitive diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in living patients—it requires an autopsy,” Chen says. “The brain is most inaccessible. We have devised an assay to measure misfolded protein—including in colon biopsy and the skin—and hope to develop a noninvasive biomarker that can be used for routine diagnosis during a clinic visit.”

On June 1, UAB Pathology hosted the sixth annual C. Bruce Alexander Lecture in Pathology Education featuring Amy Treece, M.D., Chief of Pediatric Pathology, Children's of Alabama. 

In Treece's talk, titled,"What I Wish I Knew in Residency: Lessons in Life and Career Development," she addressed leadership, mentoring, and networking, including some of the tougher topics of imposter syndrome and learning how to say no.

A mentor himself of many residents during his time at UAB Pathology, Dr. C. Bruce Alexander was present for the lecture and posed for photos with several of his former resident trainees who are now on faculty in the department. 

    Dr. C. Bruce Alexander (seated) poses with current and former residents, including Dr. Amy Treece in center (in blue dress).

Dr. Marisa Marques, Professor, Laboratory Medicine and a fellow former resident of UAB Pathology whose career was celebrated at a symposium in May, introduced Dr. Treece.

Watch the full lecture recording here on our UAB Pathology YouTube channel.

by Hannah Buckelew

Selvarangan Ponnazhagan, Ph.D., Endowed Professor in Experimental Cancer Therapeutics in the UAB Department of Pathology’s Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, has recently been awarded a $1.7 million R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute based on his project submission, titled, “Mechanisms and therapeutic targeting of osteoimmune functions of RANKL in breast cancer.” The award will run through March 31, 2027.

Dr. Brandi McCleskey, UAB Pathology Residency Program Director, with 2023 Boyd Medal Awardee Karan Goel, M.D.by Christina Crowe

UAB medical student Karan Goel is the 2023 recipient of the William Boyd Medal, distributed at the 2023 University of Alabama School of Medicine Dean's Awards ceremony, held on May 20, 2023. The Boyd Medal is given each year to the UAB medical student whose performance in all aspects of their pathology education has been most outstanding.

by Christina Crowe

Steve Lim, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Molecular Cellular Pathology, has been appointed as a standing member to serve on the Atherosclerosis and Vascular Inflammation (AVI) Study Section of the National Institute of Health, under the Vascular and Hematology Integrated Review Group (VH), the Center for Scientific Review.

AVI reviews applications involving inflammation of the vascular system with a focus on the pathobiology of the blood vessels leading to atherogenesis, its reversal and prevention. There is an emphasis on macrophage biology and hyperlipidemia, involving transport and metabolism of cholesterol, lipoproteins and their oxidation derivatives. The effects of major risk factors such as diabetes, liver disease, aging, and smoking on the vasculature are considered. Most studies use cell cultures and animal systems with some human subject approaches.

Dr. Lim's appointment on the study section as a chartered member is for a four -year term starting July 1, 2023.

by Christina Crowe

On Wednesday, May 24, the UAB Department of Pathology honored Marisa Marques, M.D., with a symposium featuring colleagues, guest speakers and mentees of this longtime faculty member. Marques, a native of Brazil, has been with UAB Pathology since 1993 when she joined the department as a resident. She is director of the Blood Bank and Transfusion Services. 

The Marisa B. Marques Transfusion Medicine Symposium featured opening remarks by George Netto, M.D. Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair, UAB Pathology, followed by comments from Gene Siegal, M.D., Executive Vice Chair, and Vishnu Reddy, M.D., Professor and Division Director, Laboratory Medicine.