Clinical Programs
Anatomic Pathology
Nirag Jhala, MD, MIAC, Director of Anatomic Pathology
The division of Anatomic Pathology has four major sections that include: surgical pathology, cytopathology, oral pathology, immunohistochemistry and ancillary testing, neuropathology and autopsy pathology.
The goals of the division are to deliver excellent patient care stemming from pathology best practices and to help shape the future of pathology through training the next generation of pathologists. Furthermore, the mission of the division is to take academic pathology to the next level. Anatomic Pathology is housed in a modern, recently redesigned laboratory space.
The Anatomic Pathology division has benefited from the work of pathologists who have provided academic fervor and strong academic leadership in the field of pathology. The division possesses a strong heritage provided by pathologists who have moved the field of pathology, including stalwarts like Ernest Aegerter and Walter Levy (surgical pathologists with focus on musculoskeletal pathology), Si Chung Ming (surgical pathologist with focus on gastrointestinal tract pathology who provided the basis for the Lauren and Ming classification for gastric carcinoma), Walter Clarke (surgical pathologist who provided prognostic classification for melanoma), Chik-Kwun Tang (surgical pathologist who provided the morphologic basis for the term Merkel Cell Carcinoma), Irena Koprowska (founding member of the American Society of Cytology and a cytopathologist trained with George Papnicolaou who provided the first description of lung carcinoma cells in sputum samples) and many others who followed them.
The divisional pathologists provide solid evidence-based patient care utilizing state of the art technologies. The division hosts experts whose works span from subcellular pathology to autopsy pathology. The division supports the mission of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine and that of the Temple University Health System (TUHS).
The division of Anatomic Pathology provides support for multidisciplinary patient focused management and educational conferences. Such conferences/tumor boards help to provide a therapeutic, personalized and precision care for the unique patients we serve. Faculty in the division and their work support clinical trials within TUHS. The faculty members in the division also provide support for clinical research enterprises within and outside the TUHS.
Surgical Pathology
The section of Surgical Pathology evaluates around 35,000 surgical pathology accessions anually, including those from a unique subset of oral pathology specimens delivered from around the nation. The section utilizes state of the art equipment and technologies to provide excellent diagnostic services. Surgical Pathology has a breadth of experience in wide ranging areas of transplant pathology, oncologic pathology, gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary and pancreatic pathology, lung pathology (neoplastic and non-neoplastic), breast pathology, renal pathology, genitourinary and gynecologic pathology. Neuropathology and medical renal pathology service is offered at Temple University Hospital and other hospitals of TUHS including TUH – Jeanes Campus as well as the Fox Chase Cancer Center. The section train residents, fellows from other specialties as well as medical students. Furthermore, the section has an active second opinion (consult) service provided by experts in their respective fields. The section offers a wide range of ancillary testing including immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy and molecular testing.
Faculty
- Yuri Persidsky, MD, PhD, Surgical Pathology, Nephropathology, Transplant Pathology (Chairman)
- Israh Akhtar, MD, Breast and Pulmonary Pathology, Cytopathology
- Jeff Fu, MD, PhD, General Surgical Pathology, Hematopathology
- Maria F. Gonzalez, MD, Cytopathologist and Surgical Pathologist. Head and Neck Pathology, GI Pathology.
- Jared Hassler, MD, Renal Pathology and Transplant Pathology
- Nirag Jhala, MD (Director) GI, Liver, Pancreaticobiliary Pathology, Urologic Pathology, Head and Neck Pathology
- Daniela Proca, MD, Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology, General Surgical Pathology
- Yuan Rong MD, PhD, Neuropathology, General Surgical Pathology, Autopsy
- Mehri Mollaee, MD, Pulmonary Pathology and Transplant Pathology
- Laura Barry, MD, General Surgical Pathology
- Nikolina Dioufa, MD, Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology
- Randa Hennawy, MD, General Surgical Pathology
Oral Pathology
The highly regarded and sought after Oral Pathology service is part of Surgical Pathology. The service receives biopsy specimens from offices of oral surgeons, periodontists, endodontists and general dentists throughout the Delaware Valley and beyond and is one of the largest such academic diagnostic services in the country. It receives requests for microscopic consultation on challenging histopathology slides from various local hospitals (second opinions) and in the majority of cases, reports are issued within 24 hours following receipt of the specimen/slides. Also, along with accurate diagnoses, oral pathologists provide guidance for patient management to assist referring doctors in providing the best care for their patients. The attending oral pathologists are Diplomates of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology. They have specialty training in the clinical, radiographic and histological interpretation of lesions occurring in the oral/head and neck area. With dental/medical experience, they consistently provide state-of-the-art services, comprehensive consultations and standard services including tissue processing, staining, molecular diagnostics, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry.
In addition to providing ongoing monthly seminars to the Temple oral surgery residents, the Oral Pathology laboratory provides 1-2-week rotations for over 25 post-graduate dental residents as part of 5 residency programs (U Penn oral surgery, Temple periodontics, Einstein endodontics and general practice residents from Einstein Medical Center, Abington Hospital and the Philadelphia VA).
Faculty
- Riya Kuklani, DDS (Director)
Renal Pathology Service
The Renal Pathology service reviews over 200 non-neoplastic renal biopsies annually. It supports the active and growing renal transplant services. The section offers analysis of the full range of immunofluorescence antibodies as well as electron microscopy services. The section promotes and provides consultative services and actively supports training of residents and clinical fellows.
Faculty
- Yuri Persidsky, MD, PhD
- Jared Hassler, MD (Director)
Cytopathology
The Cytopathology service at Temple University Hospital offers evaluations of both gynecologic and non-gynecologic samples. The section provides state of the art liquid-based cytology preparations for gynecologic cytology and offers molecular analyses of HPV and additional microbial agents from a single vial. The section supports a busy and rapidly expanding FNA service with emphasis on the niche areas of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS and EBUS) guided FNA, head and neck FNA and thyroid cytology. The section also provides services to perform hands on FNA as well as pathologist assisted FNA. The section lends support for performing molecular diagnostic testing on samples obtained from various organ sites including thyroid and lung cancer. The section is supported by five board cytopathologists with breadth of expertise and rich experiences and continues to contribute to the academic missions of the medical center.
Faculty
- Israh Akhtar, MD
- Nirag Jhala, MD (Director)
- Maria F. Gonzalez, MD
- Nikolina Dioufa, MD
Neuropathology
The neuropathology service provides rich diagnostic services. The section provides enhanced support for oncologic diagnosis with comprehensive reporting by incorporating molecular diagnostics. The section supports review of non-neoplastic brain to determine underlying pathology for autopsy services. The section supports this growing enterprise at TUHS. The section reviews approximately 180 tumor and non-tumor pathologies. The section is involved in the training of medical students, pathology residents, and fellows from various clinical specialties.
Faculty
- Yuan Rong, MD, PhD
Autopsy
The Autopsy service provides complete autopsy evaluation and professional consultation for all hospitals of TUHS and regional hospitals without the facility to perform autopsy examinations. We also consider requests to perform autopsies (full or partial) for research tissue harvesting from outside institutions.
The Autopsy service is staffed by three faculty members who are certified in anatomic pathology and/or clinical pathology and neuropathology, two lab technologists, and one or two rotating pathology residents who perform about 90 to 120 autopsies a year. The TUHS pathologists and supporting staff have contributed many years of knowledge and experience to the autopsy service.
Postmortem examination of brain (brain cutting sessions) is routinely performed once a month to teach pathology residents, neurology residents and medical school students for basic neuroanatomy and clinical and clinical-pathological correlation.
The data from the Autopsy service has been used to monitor and improve the quality of patient care (mortality and morbidity conferences). The Autopsy service contributes to the training and education of pathology residents and medical school students. Interesting cases are often used for presentation in national conferences and publications in high impact peer-reviewed journals.
Faculty
- Yuan Rong, MD, PhD (Director of Autopsy)
- Jared Hassler, MD
- Nahum Duker, MD