Pathology at Johns Hopkins
The Department of Pathology at Johns Hopkins is preeminent nationally and globally in the study and treatment of human disease and in professional training in all areas of pathology and laboratory science. Currently, there are over 1400 people in the department, which includes approximately 120 full-time faculty, 36 residents, 45 graduate students, over 100 fellows, and 1000 staff members.
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Publications Spotlighted
Johns Hopkins Pathology Takes Center Stage:
Johns Hopkins Pathology has been the number one NIH funded pathology department for 11 of the past 12 years.
Our research interests span a broad area— we highlighted a few research discoveries.
- It's in the DNA: Germ Line Risk Revealed in Genetic Analysis of IPMN patients
- New Insights: Molecular Basis of Pancreatic Cancer
- Capturing Extraprostatic Extension on Prostate Biopsy Offers Clues for Staging and Treatment
- Powering Up a New Phasing Method to Discover Alleles
It's in the DNA: Germ Line Risk Revealed in Genetic Analysis of IPMN patients
Scientists led by Dr. Nicholas Roberts from the Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center analyzed inherited genetic changes that predispose to pancreatic cancer in patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs). IPMNs are pancreatic precursor lesions with a risk of progressing to cancer. In this study, published in Gastroenterology, Dr. Roberts and colleagues identified inherited genetic changes that predispose to pancreatic cancer in almost 3% of patients with an IPMN. This study furthers our understanding of how our inherited genes influence pancreatic cancer risk and in future may help identify IPMN patients most at risk of progression.
New Insights: Molecular Basis of Pancreatic Cancer
Capturing Extraprostatic Extension on Prostate Biopsy Offers Clues for Staging and Treatment
When prostate cancer spreads beyond the confines of the prostate, this is frequently associated with aggressive disease, however pathologists typically don't know whether this is the case until after a patient has had a radical prostatectomy. However, rarely on needle biopsy there is evidence of prostate cancer involving the fat, which is by definition extraprostatic extension of the tumor. Here, we examined the clinical features of cases with extraprostatic extension of prostate cancer on needle biopsy who underwent radical prostatectomy at Johns Hopkins. We found that these patients overwhelmingly had high grade, high stage disease at surgery; more than half had positive surgical margins and more than one third had metastatic tumor involving lymph nodes. The three year metastasis-free survival rate was only 75%. Finally, nearly half of all patients required post-operative adjuvant or salvage radiation therapy. These data can be useful to counsel such patients in regard to the treatment approach and the expected outcomes after surgery.
Powering Up a New Phasing Method to Discover Alleles
Phasing determines whether two DNA mutations are on the same or different chromosomes. For a tumor suppressor gene it is critical to establish that both copies of it are inactivated. It is typically done by inference, which is computationally intense. We report a more direct subtractive approach that is 10-100 times faster.
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What's New?
Hopkins Pathology Residency Ranked #1
July 22, 2019Doximity just came out with its new 2019-2020 year rankings of residency training programs, and Hopkins Pathology is ranked #1 for the second year in a row. While such rankings reflect the popularity of a program more than a substantive review, we are gratified to see our program recognized by our peers, and we are profoundly proud of the quality and achievements of our residents.
Congratulations, Alisha Ware!
July 22, 2019
Our 4th year resident Alisha Ware was awarded the "2019 APC Inspiration Award" at the 52nd annual meeting of the Association of Pathology Chairs in Boston, MA. Alisha gave a platform and a poster presentation entitled, "The 'Race' Towards Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in Pathology: The Johns Hopkins Experience." This team effort hopes to increase diversity in pathology at the resident and faculty levels. Congratulations Alisha!
New iPad App On Thyroid Pathology
July 22, 2019
We just released our latest iPAD App - it is a beautifully illustrated application (APP) for the iPAD.
The Johns Hopkins Atlas of Thyroid Pathology is the sixth teaching app in our series from the Johns Hopkins University Department of Pathology. This app is designed to teach residents, fellows, and practicing pathologists the assessment of thyroid fine needle aspiration specimens with histologic correlation. The APP includes numerous examples of common entities, such that viewers can experience the variety of morphologies associated with each entity, as well as rare entities... read more »
