Daniela M. Proca, MD

Clinical Interests

• General surgical pathology
• Gastrointestinal and pancreaticobilliarry pathology
• Genitourinary pathology

Research Interests

• Soft tissue tumors of the gastrointestinal tract
• Prognostic markers in neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas and gastrointestinal tract
• Digital pathology

Educational Background

• Fellowship, Surgical Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
• Residency, AP&CP, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
• MD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania

Certifications

• Anatomic and Clinical Pathology

Memberships

• Pennsylvania Association of Pathologists (PAP)
• Philly Pathology Society

Honors & Awards

• America’s Top Pathologists, Consumers’ Research Council of America, 2007-2017
• Top Doctor, Castle Connolly, 2017-2018
• Top Pathologist in PA, PA Magazine, July 2021 & 2022

Digital Bibliography

View Digital Bibliography

Publications

1. Ahmed Lazim, Suad Taraif, Daniela Proca. Placentas from SARS-CoV-2 + unvaccinated mothers: 18 Months of Institutional Experience in View of Literature Reports. Abstracts and Case Studies from the College of American Pathologists 2022 Annual Meeting (CAP22), Arch Pathol Lab Med (2022) 146 (9): e2–e186  DOI: https://doi.org/10.5858/arpa.2022-0231-AB

2. Mohamad Mazen Gafeer; Danial Mir; Daniela M. Proca. Differential Diagnosis of low grade uterine leiomyosarcoma - can fumarate hydratase testing help in addition to careful, extensive microscopic examination of the tumor?  Arch Pathol Lab Med (2021) 145 (9): e2–e194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5858/arpa.2021-0267-AB

3. Jiejing Yin, Yekaterina Belogrivtseva, Dina Zenezan, Aileen Arriola, Daniela Proca, Riya Kuklani.  Differentiating Characteristics of Cemento-Ossifying Fibroma and Focal Cemento-Osseous Dysplasia in the Jaw: A 15-year Single Institution’s Experience Poster, USCAP National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 2023 [Peer Reviewed]

4. Ahmed F Lazim, Falzan Malik, Malika Winfield, Israh Akhtar, Jian Jeff Fu, Daniela Proca, Aileen Grace Arriola, Kumarasen Cooper. DDIT3IHC Expression in DDIT3 Amplified De- Differentiated Liposarcoma with Myxoid Liposarcoma-Like Morphology. Poster, USCAP National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 2023 [Peer Reviewed]

5. Ahmed Lazim, Dina Zenezan, Daniela Proca, Riya Kuklani. Central Giant Cell Granuloma of the Mandible and Maxilla; A Clinicopathological Study of 21 Cases. Poster, USCAP National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 2023 [Peer Reviewed]

6. Samir Amer, Alisa Nobee, Riya Kuklani, Daniela Proca.  ABC, a rare diagnosis in oral pathology, based on our 15-year institutional experience. Poster, Annual ASCP National Meeting, Chicago, IL, Sept. 2022 [Peer Reviewed]

7. Daniela M Proca, Dina Zenezan, Ahmed Lazim, Nirag C Jhala. GIST: Our decade long institutional experience. Poster, Annual ASCP National Meeting, Chicago, IL, Sept. 2022 [Peer Reviewed]

8. Daniela Proca, Ahmed Lazim, Samir Amer, Jian Jeff Fu, Israh Akhtar. De-differentiated liposarcomas with heterologous and homologous elements –MDM2, CDK4 and DDIT3 testing of several blocks showing homologous and heterologous elements is useful for diagnosis. Poster, 34th European Congress of Pathology, Basel, Switzerland, September 2022 [Peer Reviewed] (Published in Virchows Archives)

9. Daniela M Proca, Ahmed Lazim, Nirag C Jhala. Co-Morbid Associations in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors - What can we learn from them? Poster, 14th International Conference on Genomes, Pathways, and Systems Medicine, Rhodes, Greece, June 2022] [Peer Reviewed]

10. Ahmed Lazim, Daniela Proca. Peritoneal Carcinomatosis vs Malignant Mesothelioma in a 35yo female with h/o Hepatitis C and Cirrhosis. Poster, Pennsylvania Association of Pathology Annual Scientific Meeting, 8-9 April 2022, Harrisburg, PA [Peer Reviewed]

11. Samir Amer, Ahmed Lazim, Daniela Proca. Myxofibrosarcoma - Can Molecular Testing Be of Any Help in this Diagnosis of Exclusion? Poster, Pennsylvania Association of Pathology Annual Scientific Meeting, 8-9 April 2022, Harrisburg, PA [Peer Reviewed]

12. Daniela Proca, Salvatore Luceno, Jalil Nasibli, Yuan Rong. Solitary Fibrous Tumor Presumed to be a Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor involving Right Branchial Plexus- A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Virtual poster, International Conference on Cancer Medical Research, March 28-29, 2022 Singapore, Singapore [Peer-Reviewed]

13. Proca, Daniela; Lazim, Ahmed; Mazur, Iryna; Jhala, Nirag. Incidental Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors - What can we learn from them? Poster, ASCP 2021 Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, Oct 2021 [Peer-Reviewed]

14. Alisa R Nobee, Daniela M Proca. Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma- A Diagnosis of Exclusion. Virtual Poster, Pennsylvania Association of Pathology Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting, June 2021 [Peer Reviewed]

15. Danial Mir, Daniela M Proca. Atypical Carcinoid of the Lung, Paraneoplastic Hyperparathyroidism, and Brown Tumor of the Femur – A Case Report. Virtual Poster, Pennsylvania Association of Pathology Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting, June 2021 [Peer Reviewed]

16. Ahmed F Lazim, Daniela Proca. A Case Report of De-differentiated Liposarcoma with heterologous Osteosarcoma Differentiation. Virtual Poster, Pennsylvania Association of Pathology Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting, June 2021 [Peer Reviewed]

17. Grace Amadio, Riya Kuklani, Nirag Jhala, Yuan Rong, Aileen Ariola, Israh Akhtar, Amandeep Aneja, Jian Jeff Fu, Daniela Proca, Suad Taraif, Eli Balshan. Interobserver variability in upper aerodigestive tract squamous dysplasia using two-tier and three-tier grading systems. Virtual Poster, Pennsylvania Association of Pathology Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting, June 2021 [Peer Reviewed]

18. S. Chbeir, K.L.G. Russat, W.H. Walker, D.M. Proca, A.C. Devries, R.J. Nelson. Disruption of endogenous circadian rhythms by exposure to light at night accelerates pancreatic tumor growth in mice. Poster, Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting. 3–7 November 2018. San Diego, CA.  [Peer Reviewed]

19. Sobotka L. A., Wellner M., Proca,D., Cirocco W., & El-Hinnawi A. (2018). A Rare Etiology of Colonic Mass in a Patient that Underwent Liver Transplantation: Malakoplakia. J. Clin. Exp. Transplant. 2018. 3(2).

Research

2021-2022 A lookback at histologic changes in Placentas from SARS-CoV-2 + mothers at one- year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic IRB 28241

2021- 2024 A decade institutional experience with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) IRB 28242

2021- 2024 Review of bone lesions involving the maxillo-facial bones- A thirty-year retrospective review of our institutional oral pathology experience IRB 28418